Effect of Relocated Thermal and Pressure Stimuli on Vibrotactile Sensitivity
H.A.J. van Riessen (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
Y. Vardar – Mentor (TU Delft - Human-Robot Interaction)
Yke Bauke B. Eisma – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Human-Robot Interaction)
Daan M. Pool – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Control & Simulation)
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Abstract
Relocated haptic feedback from the fingertip to the proximal phalanx can alter the perception of physical interactions by simultaneously displaying relocated multimodal tactile cues. However, how these relocated tactile cues alter the vibrotactile sensitivity of the fingertip remains unclear. This two-site stimulation study employs a customdesigned multimodal haptic ring for the proximal phalanx to evaluate the effect of relocated cold, hot, and pressure stimuli on the vibrotactile sensitivity of the fingertip. Our results show no significant difference between the vibratory detection thresholds of six multimodal tactile conditions. In contrast to single-site multimodal stimulation, where vibrotactile sensitivity is significantly altered by pressure and thermal stimuli, these results imply the feasibility of applying thermal and pressure stimuli without significantly altering fingertip sensitivity. Relocation of tactile stimuli keeps the vibrotactile sensitivity of the fingertip intact and opens up the possibility of altering tactile perception while interacting with the physical environment, making this technology feasible for mixed reality applications.