Patent ID: 8203529

Claim:
A tactile input/output system for representing, manipulating and editing computer-generated surfaces, said system comprising: at least one input device for providing a physical representation of a computer model on a computer display surface, said computer model comprises a mathematical model representing a surface reflecting a physical 3-D object; a tactile device enabling a user to touch and modify said physical representation on the computer-generated surface, said tactile device including a 5 degree-of-freedom robot arm mounting an array of pins, said pins having tips matching the computer display surface; a software controller of said computer enabling said robot arm mounting said array of pins to manipulate the computer model on the computer display surface, said array of pins mounted on said robot arm being displaceable by said software controller responsive to changes in the computer model representation to enable a user to edit and transform the computer model by pressing on the pins; said robot arm mounting said array of pins being manipulatable by said user to facilitate viewing and manipulating of said computer model so as to change and enter new or modified shapes of said physical representation on said computer display surface responsive to operation by said user, while the computer controls and maintains the overall representation of the new or modified display surface and concurrently enforce any pre-established constraints by communicating properties of the physical 3-D object to the user through pin displacements.