Ultrasound Feedback for Mid-air Gesture Interaction in Vibrating Environment

Abstract

Mid-air ultrasound skin stimulation is a known technology used to provide haptic feedback for touchless communication. Even though some in-car interaction already takes place with mid-air gestures, the utilization of this type of feedback is still uncommon. In this study we evaluated how environmental vibration affects the recognition of ultrasound haptic feedback exposed to the driver’s hand. Four skin stimulation shapes of two durations were projected onto the driver’s palm while driving a simulator within a laboratory setting and in a test vehicle on a closed track. Results show that road vibration had a very little effect on driver’s ability to recognize the shape of the stimulation, but, some shapes may require additional training to be recognized consistently. Our findings also suggest that ultrasound haptic output can remain an efficient feedback source even in noisy vibration environments, (i.e., on the road) as compared to conventional vibrotactile feedback, thus drivers can focus their attention more towards the primary task and yet still interact with the onboard IVIS.