title: The Impact of Simultaneously Applying Normal Stress and Vibrotactile Stimulation for Feedback of Exteroceptive Information.
abstract: Commercially available prosthetic hands do not convey any tactile information, forcing amputees to rely solely on visual attention. A promising solution to this problem is haptics, which could lead to new prostheses in which tactile information is conveyed between the amputee and the artificial limb. However, the haptic feedback must be optimized so that amputees can use it effectively; and although several studies have examined how specific haptic feedback systems can transmit certain types of tactile information, there has not yet been much research on the effects of superposing two or more types of feedback at the same location, which might prove to be more effective than using a single type of feedback alone. This paper investigates how the simultaneous application of two different types of haptic feedback-vibration and normal stress-impacts the human sensory perception of each separate feedback type. These stimuli were applied to glabrous skin on the forearms of 14 participants. Our experiments tested whether participants experienced more accurate sensory perception, compared to vibration or normal stress alone, when vibration was applied at the same time as the normal stress, at either the same location, or at a different location 6 cm away. Results indicate that although participants' perception of the normal stress diminished when vibration was applied at the same location, the same combination improved their perception of the vibration. Apparently, vibration has a negative impact upon the ability to perceive normal stress, whether applied at the same or a different location; whereas the opposite is true for the effect of normal stress upon the perception of vibration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Automated Production Engineering, Control and Robotics Laboratory (CoRo), École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS), Montréal, QC H3C 1K3, Canada e-mail: mohammadreza.motamedi.1@ens.etsmtl.ca.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reza Motamedi
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Science, REPARTI Center, University of Québec at Chicoutimi, Saguenay, QC G7H 2B1, Canada e-mail: martin_otis@uqac.ca.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Otis
authors.affiliation: Department of Automated Production Engineering, Control and Robotics Laboratory (CoRo), École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS), Montréal, QC H3C 1K3, Canada e-mail: vincent.duchaine@etsmtl.ca.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Duchaine
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001186:Artificial Limbs; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013997:Time Factors; D055698:Touch Perception; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014732:Vibration; D055815:Young Adult