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Figure and texture presentation capabilities of a tactile mouse equipped with a display pad of stimulus pins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2007

Masahiro Ohka*
Affiliation:
Department of Complex Systems Science, Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
Hiroshi Koga
Affiliation:
Nize Inc., Kitajima 1-3-13-302, Gifu 502-0911, Japan.
Yukihiro Mouri
Affiliation:
Toyota Motor Company, Toyota-cho 1, Toyota 471-8571, Japan.
Tokuhiro Sugiura
Affiliation:
Computer Center, Mie University, Kamihama-cho 1515, Tsu 514-8507, Japan.
Tetsu Miyaoka
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science, Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology, Toyosawa 2200-2, Fukuroi 437-8555, Japan.
Yasunaga Mitsuya
Affiliation:
Department of Micro System Engineering, Graduate School and School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan.
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: ohka@is.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Summary

To obtain specifications for a tactile display that would be effective in virtual reality and tele-existence systems, we have developed two types of matrix-type experimental tactile displays. One is for virtual figures (display A) and the other is for virtual textures (display B). Display A's pad has a 4 × 6 array of stimulus pins, each 0.8 mm in diameter. Three pad configurations, in which distances between any two adjacent pins (pin pitch) are 1.2, 1.9, or 2.5 mm, were developed to examine the influence of distance on a human operator's determination of virtual figures. Display B has an 8 × 8 array of stimulus pins, each 0.3 mm in diameter and with 1-or 1.8-mm pin pitch, because presentation of virtual textures was presumed to require a higher pin density. To establish a design method for these matrix-type tactile displays, we performed a series of psychophysical experiments using displays A and B. By evaluating variations in the correct answer percentage and threshold caused by different pin arrays and different pin strokes, we determined under what conditions the operator could best feel the virtual figures and textures. The results revealed that the two-point threshold should be adopted as the pitch between pins in the design of the tactile display, that a pin stroke should exceed 0.25 mm, and that the adjustment method is the most appropriate to evaluate the capabilities of tactile displays. Finally, when we compared the virtual texture with the real texture, we found that the threshold for the real texture is almost 1/3rd that of the virtual texture. This result implies that it is effective to present variations in patterns caused by rotation and variation in shearing force, itself produced by relative motion between the finger surface and object surface.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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