Tactile displays are an intuitive alternative to visual and audio displays. They are often used in situation where people can become disorientated with the use of their visual and balance senses.

A lot of work on tactile displays has been undertaken by the US Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRL). This has focused on fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. Many aircraft accidents occur because pilots become disorientated. The tactile display provides a simple method of providing orientation information to improve both pilot performance and safety.