Application of Electrostatic Force to Informotion

Abstract

This article reviews electrostatic actuation in the context of "informotion", which is a concept combining "information" and “motion”created by actuators. Thin and transparent electrostatic actuators were installed on surfaces of LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors to realize object motions synchronized with visual images. Through the synchronized motions, the systems could deliver information to users in more intuitive or efficient manners, making them good examples of the "informotion" concept. The article introduces basic structures and principles of the electrostatic actuators, including their planar 2-DOF variants. Then, the systems combining LCD monitors and transparent 2-DOF actuators are reviewed, and their characteristics are discussed. As the future direction of the developments, haptic rendering on LCD monitors using electrostatic force is also discussed.