Estimation of vibration stimulus threshold for inducing kinesthetic illusion

Abstract

In order to utilize the phenomenon of kinesthetic illusion as a human interface capable of presenting kinesthetic sense, it is necessary to define specification of the vibrator required to elicit kinesthetic illusion. In this study, the stimulation thresholds of the illusion have been investigated using the staircase method, which is an adaptive psychometric method. The result of the experiment reveals that the kinesthetic illusion can be elicited with an acceleration of about 40 [m/s2], with vibratory stimuli of 50 to 90 [Hz]. Furthermore, at the highest frequency of 120 [Hz] the illusion cannot be elicited unless the acceleration is increased to 60 [m/s2].