title: Feeling textures through a probe: effects of probe and surface geometry and exploratory factors.
abstract: Vibratory roughness perception occurs when people feel a surface with a rigid probe. Accordingly, perceived roughness should reflect probe and surface geometry, exploratory speed, and force. Experiments 1 and 2 compared magnitude estimation of roughness with the bare finger and two types of probes, one designed to eliminate force moments, under the subject's active control. Experiments 3 and 4 varied speed under passive control. Log magnitude was consistently a quadratic function of log spacing between elements in the surface. The location of the function's peak was related to the drop point--that is, the spacing at which the probe can just drop between elements--which is affected by probe tip diameter, element height, and speed. Other parameters of the quadratic were affected by probe type and speed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA. klatzky@cmu.edu
authors.forename: Roberta L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Klatzky
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lederman
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Molly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grindley
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Swendsen
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D014110:Touch; D014732:Vibration