Force sensors for haptic surfaces

A method comprising:

• receiving, from a touch surface that is coupled to a support by a pivot mechanism and enabled to rotate about a pivot axis by the pivot mechanism, one or more contact signals indicating a location of a contact with the touch surface;
• receiving, from a sensor that is positioned to detect a force associated with the contact, one or more sensor signals indicating the force applied to the touch surface during the contact;
• and
• determining a contact force exerted on the touch surface based on one or more of the contact signals and one or more of the sensor signals.

A non-transitory computer readable medium configured to store at least executable instructions, wherein the executable instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

• receive, from a touch surface that is coupled to a support by a pivot mechanism and enabled to rotate about a pivot axis by the pivot mechanism, one or more contact signals indicating a location of a contact with the touch surface;
• receive, from a sensor that is positioned to detect a force associated with the contact, one or more sensor signals indicating the force applied to the touch surface during the contact;
• and
• determine a contact force exerted on the touch surface based on one or more of the contact signals and one or more of the sensor signals.

A system comprising:

• a support;
• a surface;
• a pivot mechanism, a first end of the pivot mechanism coupled to the surface and a second end of the pivot mechanism coupled to the support, the pivot mechanism enabling the surface to move with respect to the support;
• a first sensor positioned to detect a force associated with a contact with the surface and to transmit first sensor signals indicating the force, the first sensor positioned proximate a first side of the surface;
• a second sensor positioned to detect a force associated with a contact with the surface and to transmit second sensor signals indicating the force, the second sensor positioned proximate a second side of the surface, wherein the second side is opposite the first side;
• a non-transitory computer-readable medium;
• and
• a processor in communication with the first sensor, the second sensor, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the processor configured to execute processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to:
• receive the first sensor signals from the first sensor and the second sensor signals from the second sensor;
• and
• determine a contact force exerted on the surface based on first sensor signals and the second sensor signals.