Abstract: When manipulating objects, humans begin adjusting their grip force to friction within 100 ms of contact. During motor adaptation, subjects become aware of the slipperiness of touched surfaces. Previously, we have demonstrated that humans cannot perceive frictional differences when surfaces are brought in contact with an immobilised finger, but can do so when there is submillimeter lateral displacement or subjects actively make the contact movement. Similarly, in, we investigated how humans perceive friction in the absence of intentional exploratory sliding or rubbing movements, to mimic object manipulation interactions. We used a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm in which subjects had to reach and touch one surface followed by another, and then indicate which felt more slippery. Subjects correctly identified the more slippery surface in 87 ± 8% of cases (mean ± SD; n = 12). Biomechanical analysis of finger pad skin displacement patterns revealed the presence of tiny (<1 mm) localised slips, known to be sufficient to perceive frictional differences. We tested whether these skin movements arise as a result of natural hand reaching kinematics. The task was repeated with the introduction of a hand support, eliminating the hand reaching movement and minimising fingertip movement deviations from a straight path. As a result, our subjects’ performance significantly declined (66 ± 12% correct, mean ± SD; n = 12), suggesting that unrestricted reaching movement kinematics and factors such as physiological tremor, play a crucial role in enhancing or enabling friction perception upon initial contact. (Figure presented.). Key points: More slippery objects require a stronger grip to prevent them from slipping out of hands. Grip force adjustments to friction driven by tactile sensory signals are largely automatic and do not necessitate cognitive involvement; nevertheless, some associated awareness of grip surface slipperiness under such sensory conditions is present and helps to select a safe and appropriate movement plan. When gripping an object, tactile receptors provide frictional information without intentional rubbing or sliding fingers over the surface. However, we have discovered that submillimeter range lateral displacement might be required to enhance or enable friction sensing. The present study provides evidence that such small lateral movements causing localised partial slips arise and are an inherent part of natural reaching movement kinematics.

Human tactile perception and motor control rely on the frictional estimates that stem from the deformation of the skin and slip events. However, it is not clear how exactly these mechanical events relate to the perception of friction. This study aims to quantify how minor lateral displacement and speed enables subjects to feel frictional differences. In a 2-alternative forced-choice protocol, an ultrasonic friction-reduction device was brought in contact perpendicular to the skin surface of an immobilized index finger; after reaching 1N normal force, the plate was moved laterally. A combination of four displacement magnitudes (0.2, 0.5, 1.2 and 2 mm), two levels of friction (high, low) and three displacement speeds (1, 5 and 10 mm/s) were tested. We found that the perception of frictional difference was enabled by submillimeter range lateral displacement. Friction discrimination thresholds were reached with lateral displacements ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 mm and surprisingly speed had only a marginal effect. These results demonstrate that partial slips are sufficient to cause awareness of surface slipperiness. These quantitative data are crucial for designing haptic devices that render slipperiness. The results also show the importance of subtle lateral finger movements present during dexterous manipulation tasks.

Perception of the frictional properties of a surface contributes to the multidimensional experience of exploring various materials; we slide our fingers over a surface to feel it. In contrast, during object manipulation, we grip objects without such intended exploratory movements. Given that we are aware of the slipperiness of objects or tools that are held in the hand, we investigated whether the initial contact between the fingertip skin and the surface of the object is sufficient to provide this consciously perceived frictional information. Using a two-alternative forced-choice protocol, we examined human capacity to detect frictional differences using touch, when two otherwise structurally identical surfaces were brought in contact with the immobilized finger perpendicularly or under an angle (20° or 30°) to the skin surface (passive touch). An ultrasonic friction reduction device was used to generate three different frictions over each of three flat surfaces with different surface structure: 1) smooth glass, 2) textured surface with dome-shaped features, and 3) surface with sharp asperities (sandpaper). Participants (n = 12) could not reliably indicate which of the two surfaces was more slippery under any of these conditions. In contrast, when slip was induced by moving the surface laterally by a total of 5 mm (passive slip), participants could clearly perceive frictional differences. Thus making contact with the surface, even with moderate tangential forces, was not enough to perceive frictional differences, instead conscious perception required a sufficient size slip.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study contributes to understanding how frictional information is obtained and used by the brain. When the skin is contacting surfaces of identical topography but varying frictional properties, the deformation pattern is different; however, available sensory cues did not get translated into perception of frictional properties unless a sufficiently large lateral movement was present. These neurophysiological findings may inform how to design and operate haptic devices relying on friction modulation principles.