Tactile friction & Sense of Touch Applications | ForceBoard™ Tactile Tester Applications
ForceBoard™ Tactile Tester is the world’s only tactile friction measurement system designed for true haptic perception analysis. It enables objective, repeatable quantification of how surfaces actually feel to the human finger—bridging the gap between subjective touch perception and measurable data.
Simply place a material or product surface on ForceBoard™ and swipe your finger across it. The system simultaneously measures interacting normal and friction forces, allowing you to precisely capture tactile properties such as smoothness, grip, stick-slip behavior, and perceived quality. These measurements make it possible to scientifically quantify touch sensation and surface performance.
Powered by our proprietary Force Point Tracking (FPT) technology, ForceBoard™ also tracks the position, direction, and speed of the finger in real time, ensuring highly accurate and context-aware tactile data - ideal for product development, material comparison, and quality control.
For advanced applications, ForceBoard™ can be expanded with a 3D force measurement kit, enabling full three-dimensional tactile force analysis for complex interactions and next-generation haptics research.
Ideal for applications in:
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Consumer product design & surface optimization
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Skin care products and formulation
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Automotive and interior material evaluation
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Mobile phones and tablets
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Packaging, coatings, and material R&D
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Haptics, UX, and human perception research
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Quality control and benchmarking of tactile surfaces
ForceBoard™ transforms touch from a subjective impression into actionable, measurable insight.
Sense of touch and tactile friction testing example
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Read our LinkedIn article related to tactile friction:
ForceBoard™ Tactile Tester
Tactility optimization and tactile friction are rapidly growing branches of product development aimed at optimizing the feel of surfaces found in medical devices, consumer products, skin care products, hair care products and mobile devices. Tactile friction data can also be used to mimic a material or fine tune an artificial sensation generated by a secondary electronic device.
Machine learning algorithms can also be incorporated into our software ForceBoard Analyzer to detect "good" and "bad" surfaces.
Tactile friction measurement between finger and a rough aluminium surface with position and speed tracking of finger
White papers:
2011 Alejandra León, Matilda Kaba-Liljeberg, Tactility in fabrics of clothing - A tactile study of silk, cotton and wool, Bachelor Thesis, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
2011 Natalia Chuvashova, Development of a hiking aid with focus on the user and tactility, Master Thesis, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
2012 Lisa Skedung, Tactile Perception - Role of Friction and Texture, ISSN: 1654-1081, Doctoral Thesis, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
2015 Stéphanie Bernatchez, Stephen Theiss et al. Reducing Friction on Skin at Risk: The Use of 3M™ Cavilon™ No Sting Barrier Film https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4651030/
2016 Kenneth Duvefelt, Adhesion and Friction - a Study on Tactility, ISSN: 1400-1179, Doctoral Thesis, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
2017 Martin Arvidsson, Lovisa Ringstad, Lisa Skedung, Kenneth Duvefelt, Mark Rutland, Feeling fine - the effect of topography and friction on perceived roughness and slipperiness
2018 Lisa Skedung, Charles El Rawadi, Martin Arvidsson, Mark Rutland, Céline Farcet, Gustavo Luengo (L'Oréal), Lionel Breton (L'Oréal), Mechanisms of tactile sensory deterioration amongst the elderly
2018 Lisa Skedung, Kathryn Harris, Elizabeth S. Collier, Martin Arvidsson, Anelila Waeckerlin, Walter Haag, Marco Bieri, Andriy Romanyuk, Mark W. Rutland, Feeling Smooth: Psychotribological Probing of Molecular Composition
2020 Lisa Skedung, Kathryn L. Harris, Elizabeth S. Collier1, Mark W. Rutland The finishing touches: the role of friction and roughness in haptic perception of surface coatings
Note: Industrial Dynamics Sweden AB has also developed an easy to use method that can be used to measure the exact contact area between your finger and a smooth hard surface.