학술논문

Effect of Tactile Masking on Multi-Sensory Haptic Perception
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Transactions on Haptics IEEE Trans. Haptics Haptics, IEEE Transactions on. 15(1):212-221 Jan, 2022
Subject
Computing and Processing
Signal Processing and Analysis
Haptic interfaces
Skin
Visualization
AC motors
Wearable computers
Actuators
Vibrations
Multi-sensory haptics
cutaneous haptics
psychophysical evaluation
tactile masking
haptic perception
Language
ISSN
1939-1412
2329-4051
2334-0134
Abstract
Multi-sensory wearable haptic devices are able to encode a variety of information using multiple haptic cues. However, simultaneous cues can be misperceived due to tactile masking effects. In this paper, we investigate the effect of masking on the perception of skin stretch and squeeze. We performed three experiments measuring the just-noticeable difference (JND) and the absolute threshold of skin stretch and squeeze alone and in the presence of simultaneous haptic cues. Additionally, we investigate the relative perceptual amplitudes of these haptic cues. Results indicate that the JND for a skin stretch cue increases with a masking squeeze cue, while the JND for a squeeze cue does not change with a masking stretch cue. Also, masking has a significant effect on the absolute threshold of both skin stretch and squeeze. These results suggest that the effect of masking diminishes as haptic cues become larger in amplitude. The results from the subjective equality experiment suggest a potential nonlinear relationship between perceptual magnitudes. Further testing should be carried out to investigate this relationship. Future multi-sensory devices can use these perceptual experiment findings to ensure the delivery of salient cues to users.