Investigation of Method Presented Nonverbal Information Using Tactile Sensations of Real Objects

The objective of this study is to aid visually impaired people by presenting them with nonverbal information regarding aspects such as the atmosphere, object state, and facial expressions through the incorporation of tactile sensations of real objects. Such information is often helpful in stimulating one’s imagination and in comprehending or predicting a situation without using words, and it comprises multiple elements such as emotions, motions, and relationships among objects. Furthermore, it is difficult to express such information by employing a single scale, and it is thus necessary to present multiple elements. In this context, the sense of touch can be employed for simultaneously presenting multiple elements and reading tactile sensations. In this study, tactile sensations of objects were utilized for presenting nonverbal information. A prototype system was developed for combining tactile sensations associated with softness, smoothness, and flatness. This study also investigated the number and variety of tactile sensations presented by the proposed system that could be recognized by sighted people. The obtained results indicate that approximately 80% of the people can recognize the sensation of smoothness presented by the system, and more than 50% of the people can recognize the sensations of softness and flatness.