This paper presents a novel wearable interface for the foot: a shoe-integrated tactile display that enables users to obtain information through the sense of touch via their feet. A 16-point array of actuators stimulates the sole of the foot by inducing different vibration frequencies. A series of experiments were conducted with 20 sighted and 5 blind voluntary subjects to evaluate the role of tactile perception by the human foot and the tactile sensitivity of the plantar surface. Tests evaluated the perception of simple shapes, patterns and directional instructions. The results showed that some information is discriminable and that tactile-foot stimulation could be used for a wide number of applications in human-machine interaction. Furthermore, the results also suggested that the blind perform better in some key tasks and support the feasibility of footwear providing tactile feedback for situational awareness, mobility and the navigation assistance of the blind.
This paper presents preliminary work towards the evaluation of an on-shoe tactile display that enables users to obtain information through the sense of touch of their feet. A series of experiments were designed to determine the performances of 20 healthy sighted and 5 blind voluntary subjects. Tests evaluated the perception of simple shapes, patterns, and directional instructions. Results show that some information is discriminable and that tactile-foot stimulation could be used for a wide number of applications in human-machine interaction. In particular, results suggest that the blind perform better in some key tasks and that it is feasible to exploit podotactile feedback for mobility and navigation assistance of the blind.
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