Comparison of Perceptual Characteristics of Vibrotactile and Squeezing Stimuli in Haptic Devices
摘要
The importance of exploring the presenting location and type of tactile stimuli has grown along with various applications of haptic feedback. We measured the just noticeable differences (JNDs) for the vibrotactile and squeezing stimuli applied to the wrist to reveal the perceptual characteristics of each stimulus. We set the upper limit as the intensity perceived as unpleasant by individuals, and we used the same percentage of each individual’s upper limit as the reference stimulus. This methodology allows for the normalization of the intensity of reference stimuli, provides a consistent scale across individuals, and facilitates the comparison of perceptual sensitivity across different sensory stimuli. The results of the psychophysical experiments showed that for vibrotactile stimuli, the Weber ratio remained constant across different stimulus intensities, whereas that of the squeezing stimulus was higher at lower intensities and lower at higher intensities. These results indicate that each stimulus type has high-resolution regions, emphasizing the importance of selecting an appropriate stimulus based on specific environments and information.