Pub Date : 2025-12-08DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2025.3641707
Lucy Dowdall;Celia Foster;Tamar R. Makin
Haptic feedback is essential for precise motor control, making its integration into artificial limbs a critical design challenge. Current approaches to restoring lost tactile input in patients have focused on interfacing with somatosensory pathways at the brain, nerve, or skin level, achieving partial restoration. However, augmentative artificial limbs, devices that provide novel movement capabilities beyond the biological body, pose unique challenges. These limbs lack dedicated sensory pathways, raising fundamental questions about how to deliver tactile feedback for these devices without disrupting existing somatosensory function. A promising direction lies in exploiting intrinsic tactile feedback, which emerges naturally at the interface between wearable devices and the body. When an artificial limb moves or interacts with objects, the skin detects rich tactile cues transmitted through this interface. Amplifying and refining this intrinsic feedback, via materials optimized for transmission of tactile signals and wearable designs, could enable more intuitive and interpretable haptic feedback for augmentative limbs. This approach offers a pathway toward enhancing embodiment and motor control of augmentative artificial limbs.
{"title":"From Restoration to Augmentation: New Approaches to Haptic Feedback for Artificial Limbs","authors":"Lucy Dowdall;Celia Foster;Tamar R. Makin","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3641707","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3641707","url":null,"abstract":"Haptic feedback is essential for precise motor control, making its integration into artificial limbs a critical design challenge. Current approaches to restoring lost tactile input in patients have focused on interfacing with somatosensory pathways at the brain, nerve, or skin level, achieving partial restoration. However, augmentative artificial limbs, devices that provide novel movement capabilities beyond the biological body, pose unique challenges. These limbs lack dedicated sensory pathways, raising fundamental questions about how to deliver tactile feedback for these devices without disrupting existing somatosensory function. A promising direction lies in exploiting intrinsic tactile feedback, which emerges naturally at the interface between wearable devices and the body. When an artificial limb moves or interacts with objects, the skin detects rich tactile cues transmitted through this interface. Amplifying and refining this intrinsic feedback, via materials optimized for transmission of tactile signals and wearable designs, could enable more intuitive and interpretable haptic feedback for augmentative limbs. This approach offers a pathway toward enhancing embodiment and motor control of augmentative artificial limbs.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 4","pages":"821-824"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145707993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-21DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2025.3635628
Hiroyuki Kajimoto
Electrotactile displays are a promising technology that combines the simplicity of implementation using only electronic circuits with the flexibility to deliver tactile sensations across many body sites. In recent years, their applications and research have rapidly advanced. This article provides an overview of studies published in IEEE Transactions on Haptics, covering diverse aspects such as application domains of electrotactile stimulation, techniques for stabilizing percepts, methods for efficient information rendering, and the use of electrotactile displays as tools for investigating human tactile perception. Through this review, the engineering and scientific potential of electrotactile interfaces is highlighted, along with prospects for realizing future tactile displays that are low-cost, high-density, and large-area.
{"title":"Recent Achievements of Electrotactile Displays in IEEE Transactions on Haptics","authors":"Hiroyuki Kajimoto","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3635628","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3635628","url":null,"abstract":"Electrotactile displays are a promising technology that combines the simplicity of implementation using only electronic circuits with the flexibility to deliver tactile sensations across many body sites. In recent years, their applications and research have rapidly advanced. This article provides an overview of studies published in IEEE Transactions on Haptics, covering diverse aspects such as application domains of electrotactile stimulation, techniques for stabilizing percepts, methods for efficient information rendering, and the use of electrotactile displays as tools for investigating human tactile perception. Through this review, the engineering and scientific potential of electrotactile interfaces is highlighted, along with prospects for realizing future tactile displays that are low-cost, high-density, and large-area.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 4","pages":"818-820"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145573529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-06DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2025.3630042
Kimin Kwon;Sung H. Han;Dawoon Jeong;Junseong Park;Seungmoon Choi
Motion, conveyed through motion platform movements on which the audience is seated, is the most commonly employed four-dimensional (4D) effect. It enhances immersion and influences emotional responses, with its impact varying depending on design factors. This variation suggests the potential for optimizing audience emotions through motion design. However, previous studies have either overlooked motion design factors or focused on single motion types, limiting the generalizability of their findings. This study focused on 4D ride films, which provide first-person ride experience. We examined the effects of motion presence and developed regression models to explain the relationship between motion design factors and emotional intensity. Models were constructed for representative emotions such as confused and urgent, using maximum amplitudes as independent variables. Based on these models, we proposed motion design guidelines to optimize emotional intensity by adjusting the maximum amplitudes of pitch, roll, and heave. These findings will help 4D ride film producers elicit the intended emotional intensity in audiences.
{"title":"Modeling Emotion Induced by Motion in 4D Rides","authors":"Kimin Kwon;Sung H. Han;Dawoon Jeong;Junseong Park;Seungmoon Choi","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3630042","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3630042","url":null,"abstract":"Motion, conveyed through motion platform movements on which the audience is seated, is the most commonly employed four-dimensional (4D) effect. It enhances immersion and influences emotional responses, with its impact varying depending on design factors. This variation suggests the potential for optimizing audience emotions through motion design. However, previous studies have either overlooked motion design factors or focused on single motion types, limiting the generalizability of their findings. This study focused on 4D ride films, which provide first-person ride experience. We examined the effects of motion presence and developed regression models to explain the relationship between motion design factors and emotional intensity. Models were constructed for representative emotions such as <italic>confused</i> and <italic>urgent,</i> using maximum amplitudes as independent variables. Based on these models, we proposed motion design guidelines to optimize emotional intensity by adjusting the maximum amplitudes of pitch, roll, and heave. These findings will help 4D ride film producers elicit the intended emotional intensity in audiences.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 4","pages":"1033-1044"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145458612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-23DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2025.3623837
Antonio Cataldo;Tianhui Huang;William Frier;Patrick Haggard
Gesture control systems based on mid-air haptics are increasingly used in infotainment systems in cars where they can reduce drivers’ distractions and improve safety. However, studies on vibrotactile adaptation show that exposure to mechanical vibration impairs the perception of subsequent stimuli of the same frequency. Given that moving vehicles generate different types of mechanical noise, it is crucial to investigate whether mid-air ultrasound stimuli are also affected by mechanical adaptation. Here, we directly addressed this question by testing participants’ perception of ultrasound stimuli both before and after exposure to different mechanical vibrations. Across two experiments, we systematically manipulated the frequency (Experiment 1) and amplitude (Experiment 2) of the adapting mechanical stimulus and measured participants’ detection threshold for different ultrasound test stimuli. We found that low-frequency mechanical vibration significantly impaired perception of low-frequency ultrasound stimuli. In contrast, high-frequency mechanical vibration equally impaired perception of both low- and high-frequency ultrasound stimuli. This effect was mediated by the amplitude of the adapting stimulus, with stronger mechanical vibrations producing a larger increase in participants’ detection threshold. These findings show that mid-air ultrasound stimuli are significantly affected by specific sources of mechanical noise, with important implications for their safe use in the automotive industry.
{"title":"Investigating the Effect of Mechanical Adaptation on Mid-Air Ultrasound Vibrotactile Stimuli","authors":"Antonio Cataldo;Tianhui Huang;William Frier;Patrick Haggard","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3623837","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3623837","url":null,"abstract":"Gesture control systems based on mid-air haptics are increasingly used in infotainment systems in cars where they can reduce drivers’ distractions and improve safety. However, studies on vibrotactile adaptation show that exposure to mechanical vibration impairs the perception of subsequent stimuli of the same frequency. Given that moving vehicles generate different types of mechanical noise, it is crucial to investigate whether mid-air ultrasound stimuli are also affected by mechanical adaptation. Here, we directly addressed this question by testing participants’ perception of ultrasound stimuli both before and after exposure to different mechanical vibrations. Across two experiments, we systematically manipulated the frequency (Experiment 1) and amplitude (Experiment 2) of the adapting mechanical stimulus and measured participants’ detection threshold for different ultrasound test stimuli. We found that low-frequency mechanical vibration significantly impaired perception of low-frequency ultrasound stimuli. In contrast, high-frequency mechanical vibration equally impaired perception of both low- and high-frequency ultrasound stimuli. This effect was mediated by the amplitude of the adapting stimulus, with stronger mechanical vibrations producing a larger increase in participants’ detection threshold. These findings show that mid-air ultrasound stimuli are significantly affected by specific sources of mechanical noise, with important implications for their safe use in the automotive industry.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 4","pages":"992-1002"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145354678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-20DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2025.3623645
Donghyeon Kim;Gunhyuk Park
In providing a realistic texture scanning sensation in VR, traditional haptic devices have mainly provided unidirectional skin-slip feedback using bulky actuation systems. Recently, concentric rotational feedback using a fingertip-sized contactor was proposed to address the bulkiness issue with plausible scanning realism, but its scanning experience has not yet been rigorously compared to that of conventional unidirectional feedback. Therefore, we investigated whether concentric rotation of textures can yield comparable scanning realism to unidirectional skin-slip feedback on the fingertip. We designed a custom haptic device capable of adjusting the distance between the center of the fingerpad and the center of a textured disk (center distance), while synchronizing the speeds of disk rotation and users' scanning motion. Throughout three user studies using sandpaper and silk textures, we validated that variations in the radial distance of finger contact from the disk's rotation center did not significantly impact scanning realism in VR. These findings highlight the feasibility of fingertip-sized concentric feedback and suggest its potential applicability to other haptic devices, particularly where a compact form factor is desired.
{"title":"SpinTexture: Exploring Scanning Realism From Concentric to Uni-Directional Slip Feedback Using a Spinning Textured Disk","authors":"Donghyeon Kim;Gunhyuk Park","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3623645","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3623645","url":null,"abstract":"In providing a realistic texture scanning sensation in VR, traditional haptic devices have mainly provided unidirectional skin-slip feedback using bulky actuation systems. Recently, concentric rotational feedback using a fingertip-sized contactor was proposed to address the bulkiness issue with plausible scanning realism, but its scanning experience has not yet been rigorously compared to that of conventional unidirectional feedback. Therefore, we investigated whether concentric rotation of textures can yield comparable scanning realism to unidirectional skin-slip feedback on the fingertip. We designed a custom haptic device capable of adjusting the distance between the center of the fingerpad and the center of a textured disk (center distance), while synchronizing the speeds of disk rotation and users' scanning motion. Throughout three user studies using sandpaper and silk textures, we validated that variations in the radial distance of finger contact from the disk's rotation center did not significantly impact scanning realism in VR. These findings highlight the feasibility of fingertip-sized concentric feedback and suggest its potential applicability to other haptic devices, particularly where a compact form factor is desired.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 4","pages":"1020-1032"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145336779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-20DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2025.3623531
Nicholas A. Barrow;Orestis Georgiou;Patrick N. Haggard
Digital touch refers to haptic technologies that deliver somatic sensations primarily via cutaneous mechanoreceptors, with additional involvement of deeper receptors (e.g., muscles and joints). Like all emerging technologies, its benefits must be balanced against potential risks. We explore ethical concerns for future digital touch technologies by analysing the distinctive physiology and function of the human somatosensory system. Much current research on digital touch focuses on active touch. However, we argue that most pressing ethical concerns emerge with passive touch, where touch stimuli are controlled by external agents. First, somatosensation is “always on”. Haptic technologies such as alerting systems often make use of this sensory availability, although doing so potentially undermines our sensory autonomy—the right to control our own sensations. Second, users need transparency about who/what is touching them and why, necessitating clear consent mechanisms. Third, as touch directly connects us with our environment, haptics that alter this interaction pose significant epistemic challenges, potentially distorting a user's perception of reality. Our analysis raises critical questions about cultural norms, privacy of bodily sensation, bodily self-awareness, control, transparency, and epistemic procedures. We propose an ethical design framework for digital touch, comprising four simple questions to guide future development of digital touch systems.
{"title":"The Ethics of Digital Touch","authors":"Nicholas A. Barrow;Orestis Georgiou;Patrick N. Haggard","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3623531","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3623531","url":null,"abstract":"Digital touch refers to haptic technologies that deliver somatic sensations primarily via cutaneous mechanoreceptors, with additional involvement of deeper receptors (e.g., muscles and joints). Like all emerging technologies, its benefits must be balanced against potential risks. We explore ethical concerns for future digital touch technologies by analysing the distinctive physiology and function of the human somatosensory system. Much current research on digital touch focuses on active touch. However, we argue that most pressing ethical concerns emerge with passive touch, where touch stimuli are controlled by external agents. First, somatosensation is “always on”. Haptic technologies such as alerting systems often make use of this sensory availability, although doing so potentially undermines our sensory autonomy—the right to control our own sensations. Second, users need transparency about who/what is touching them and why, necessitating clear consent mechanisms. Third, as touch directly connects us with our environment, haptics that alter this interaction pose significant epistemic challenges, potentially distorting a user's perception of reality. Our analysis raises critical questions about cultural norms, privacy of bodily sensation, bodily self-awareness, control, transparency, and epistemic procedures. We propose an ethical design framework for digital touch, comprising four simple questions to guide future development of digital touch systems.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 4","pages":"1003-1019"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145336794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-15DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2025.3622096
Ozioma Ozor-Ilo;Lynette A. Jones
It has been known for some time that a perception of wetness can be elicited when the skin is in contact with a cold, dry surface, a phenomenon called illusory wetness. The critical feature of the illusion is the rate at which the skin cools. This paper focuses on understanding the variables that contribute to illusory wetness by initially determining the sensitivity of participants to the rate with which the skin is cooled and then examining how the perception of illusory wetness is affected by the thermal and material properties of the contact surface. In the first experiment, the method of constant stimuli was used to measure the difference threshold for the rate of cooling on the hand. The results showed that the threshold averaged 0.90 $^{circ }$C/s at a reference value of 0.5 $^{circ }$C/s and that wetness was perceived at an average cooling rate of 1.09 $^{circ }$C/s. In the second experiment, participants rated the perceived wetness of five contact materials presented at four different surface temperatures. The results showed that temperature was the more critical variable in determining perceived wetness, and that the influence of material properties in this experiment related primarily to their effects on the heat transfer process.
{"title":"Influence of Cooling Rates and Contact Material on Illusory Wetness","authors":"Ozioma Ozor-Ilo;Lynette A. Jones","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3622096","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3622096","url":null,"abstract":"It has been known for some time that a perception of wetness can be elicited when the skin is in contact with a cold, dry surface, a phenomenon called illusory wetness. The critical feature of the illusion is the rate at which the skin cools. This paper focuses on understanding the variables that contribute to illusory wetness by initially determining the sensitivity of participants to the rate with which the skin is cooled and then examining how the perception of illusory wetness is affected by the thermal and material properties of the contact surface. In the first experiment, the method of constant stimuli was used to measure the difference threshold for the rate of cooling on the hand. The results showed that the threshold averaged 0.90 <inline-formula><tex-math>$^{circ }$</tex-math></inline-formula>C/s at a reference value of 0.5 <inline-formula><tex-math>$^{circ }$</tex-math></inline-formula>C/s and that wetness was perceived at an average cooling rate of 1.09 <inline-formula><tex-math>$^{circ }$</tex-math></inline-formula>C/s. In the second experiment, participants rated the perceived wetness of five contact materials presented at four different surface temperatures. The results showed that temperature was the more critical variable in determining perceived wetness, and that the influence of material properties in this experiment related primarily to their effects on the heat transfer process.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 4","pages":"970-979"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145300106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-10DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2025.3620038
Mehmet Yilmaz;Anil Ufuk Batmaz;Mine Sarac
In this paper, we present a virtual training platform for soldering based on immersive visual feedback (i.e., a Virtual Reality (VR) headset) and scaffolded guidance (i.e., disappearing throughout the training) provided through a haptic device (Phantom Omni). We conducted a between-subject user study experiment with four conditions (2D monitor with no guidance, VR with no guidance, VR with constant, active guidance, and VR with scaffolded guidance) to evaluate their performance in terms of procedural memory, motor skills in VR, and skill transfer to real life. Our results showed that the scaffolded guidance offers the most effective transitioning from the virtual training to the real-life task — even though the VR with no guidance group has the best performance during the virtual training. These findings are critical for the industry and academy looking for safer and more effective training techniques, leading to better learning outcomes in real-life implementations. Furthermore, this work offers new insights into further haptic research in skill transfer and learning approaches while offering information on the possibilities of haptic-assisted VR training for complex skills, such as welding and medical stitching.
{"title":"Haptic-Assisted Soldering Training Protocol in Virtual Reality: The Impact of Scaffolded Guidance","authors":"Mehmet Yilmaz;Anil Ufuk Batmaz;Mine Sarac","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3620038","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3620038","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we present a virtual training platform for soldering based on immersive visual feedback (i.e., a Virtual Reality (VR) headset) and scaffolded guidance (i.e., disappearing throughout the training) provided through a haptic device (Phantom Omni). We conducted a between-subject user study experiment with four conditions (2D monitor with no guidance, VR with no guidance, VR with constant, active guidance, and VR with scaffolded guidance) to evaluate their performance in terms of procedural memory, motor skills in VR, and skill transfer to real life. Our results showed that the scaffolded guidance offers the most effective transitioning from the virtual training to the real-life task — even though the VR with no guidance group has the best performance during the virtual training. These findings are critical for the industry and academy looking for safer and more effective training techniques, leading to better learning outcomes in real-life implementations. Furthermore, this work offers new insights into further haptic research in skill transfer and learning approaches while offering information on the possibilities of haptic-assisted VR training for complex skills, such as welding and medical stitching.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 4","pages":"958-969"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145274448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-01DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2025.3616046
Iliyas Tursynbek;John de Grosbois;Brendan Hart;Mounia Ziat
Despite advances in vibrotactile displays, most existing systems are limited in their ability to deliver calibrated, frequency-differentiated stimulation across multiple touch modes. This constrains our understanding of how supra-threshold frequency modulation influences tactile perception, particularly in dynamic, shape-based interactions. To address this gap, we introduce the PinArray—a novel hybrid haptic device featuring a 4 × 3 array of independently actuated pins capable of delivering vibrations from 0 to 300 Hz. The PinArray uniquely supports static, passive, and active touch conditions, enabling nuanced exploration of tactile shape encoding. We evaluated the device in a user study examining the perception of edge-like shapes generated via frequency pairings. Results show that specific combinations, especially those involving static and dynamic frequency pairs, significantly enhance shape recognition. These findings highlight the device's potential for advancing both perceptual research and the development of expressive tactile interfaces.
{"title":"Exploring Tactile Perception: Development and Evaluation of the PinArray, a Novel Haptic Device","authors":"Iliyas Tursynbek;John de Grosbois;Brendan Hart;Mounia Ziat","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3616046","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3616046","url":null,"abstract":"Despite advances in vibrotactile displays, most existing systems are limited in their ability to deliver calibrated, frequency-differentiated stimulation across multiple touch modes. This constrains our understanding of how supra-threshold frequency modulation influences tactile perception, particularly in dynamic, shape-based interactions. To address this gap, we introduce the PinArray—a novel hybrid haptic device featuring a 4 × 3 array of independently actuated pins capable of delivering vibrations from 0 to 300 Hz. The PinArray uniquely supports static, passive, and active touch conditions, enabling nuanced exploration of tactile shape encoding. We evaluated the device in a user study examining the perception of edge-like shapes generated via frequency pairings. Results show that specific combinations, especially those involving static and dynamic frequency pairs, significantly enhance shape recognition. These findings highlight the device's potential for advancing both perceptual research and the development of expressive tactile interfaces.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 4","pages":"936-947"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=11186136","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145206288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We developed a new aerial push-button with tactile feedback using focused airborne ultrasound. This study has two significant novelties compared to past related studies: 1) ultrasound emitters are equipped behind the user's finger and reflected ultrasound emission that is focused just above the solid plane placed under the finger presents tactile feedback to a finger pad and 2) tactile feedback is presented at two stages during pressing motion; at the time of pushing the button and withdrawing the finger from it. The former has a significant advantage in apparatus implementation in that the input surface of the device can be composed of a generic thin plane including touch panels, potentially capable of presenting input touch feedback only when the user touches objects on the screen. We experimentally found that the two-stage tactile presentation is much more effective in strengthening perceived tactile stimulation and believability of input completion when compared with a conventional single-stage method. This study proposes a composition of an aerial push-button in much more practical use than ever. The proposed system composition is expected to be one of the simplest frameworks in the airborne ultrasound tactile interface.
{"title":"Aerial Push-Button With Two-Stage Tactile Feedback Using Reflected Airborne Ultrasound Focus.","authors":"Hiroya Sugawara, Masaya Takasaki, Keisuke Hasegawa","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3619566","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3619566","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We developed a new aerial push-button with tactile feedback using focused airborne ultrasound. This study has two significant novelties compared to past related studies: 1) ultrasound emitters are equipped behind the user's finger and reflected ultrasound emission that is focused just above the solid plane placed under the finger presents tactile feedback to a finger pad and 2) tactile feedback is presented at two stages during pressing motion; at the time of pushing the button and withdrawing the finger from it. The former has a significant advantage in apparatus implementation in that the input surface of the device can be composed of a generic thin plane including touch panels, potentially capable of presenting input touch feedback only when the user touches objects on the screen. We experimentally found that the two-stage tactile presentation is much more effective in strengthening perceived tactile stimulation and believability of input completion when compared with a conventional single-stage method. This study proposes a composition of an aerial push-button in much more practical use than ever. The proposed system composition is expected to be one of the simplest frameworks in the airborne ultrasound tactile interface.</p>","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"PP ","pages":"948-957"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：