An electrotactile sound detector for the deaf

Saunders, F.

doi:10.1109/tau.1973.1162451

Cited by 20 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…For example, people with balance impairments caused by damage to their inner ear's vestibular system, can benefit from wearing a vibrotactile array around their waist that uses vibration to alert the wearer to excessive body tilt which may cause them to lose their balance or fall (Wall & Weinberg, 2003). Tactile displays can be used by people with hearing impairments to communicate localized sounds by translating recorded audio signals into electrotactile or vibrotactile pulses of varying intensity and rhythm (Saunders, 1973). Some tactile displays have been used as visual aids to help the visually impaired navigate through their surroundings by providing spatial tactile cues about their immediate environment.…”

Section: Types and Uses For Tactile Displaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When designing a display for navigation other factors must also be considered, such as ensuring that its placement on the body does not interfere with an individual's ability to move or perform other functions (van Erp, 2007 Not only do tactile displays serve different purposes, but they also use different types of stimuli and actuators: electrical and mechanical. Electro-tactile or electrocutaneous stimulation stimulates the skin by passing electrical pulses through electrodes in contact with the skin (Saunders, 1973). However, electrical stimulation is somewhat unstable and can potentially hurt or injure the user (van Erp, 2007).…”

Section: Erp 2007)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mechanical and Psychophysical Studies of Surface Wave Propagation during Vibrotactile Stimulation

Sofia

Jones

2013

IEEE Trans. Haptics

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Vibrotactile displays are based on mechanical stimulation delivered using an array of motors to communicate with the user. The way in which the display's motors are spaced and positioned on the body can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of communication, especially for tactile displays used to convey spatial information. The objective of the present research was to determine how the surface waves induced by vibrotactile stimulation of the skin varied as a function of the site on the body where the motors were mounted, and how these waves influenced the ability to localize vibrotactile stimulation. Three locations on the body were selected for study: the palm, the forearm, and the thigh. A flexible printed circuit board containing 3-axis micro-accelerometers was fabricated to measure the amplitude and frequency of surface waves produced by a vibrating motor at each body site. Results of these experiments showed significant differences in the frequency and amplitude of vibration on the glabrous skin on the palm as compared to the hairy skin on the arm and thigh. The palm had the highest frequency and lowest amplitude surface waves, and the forearm and thigh were very similar with lower frequency higher amplitude surface waves. No anisotropies were found from surface wave measurements. Most wave attenuation occurred within the first 8 mm from the motor, but there were still detectable amplitudes at a distance of 24 mm from the motor, which suggests that motor spacing should be at least 24 mm for this type of motor when used for precise spatial localization.A series of psychophysical experiments was conducted using a three-by-three array of motors in which the ability of subjects to localize the point of stimulation in an array was determined at each of the three body locations. The results from these experiments indicated that the palm had the highest localization accuracy (81% correct) as compared to the forearm and thigh which had similar localization accuracies (49% correct on forearm, 45% correct on thigh). Accuracy on the palm and forearm improved when the motor spacing increased from 8 mm to 16 mm, but increased spacing did not improve accuracy on the thigh. The results also showed that subjects were more able to identify the column of activation as opposed to the row of activation, which suggests a higher spatial acuity along the mediallateral as opposed to proximal-distal axis. The localization experiments indicate that glabrous skin is better suited for precise spatial localization than hairy skin, and that precise spatial localization requires an inter-motor spacing of more than 16 mm at these sites.

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Section: Types and Uses For Tactile Displaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Erp 2007)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical and Psychophysical Studies of Surface Wave Propagation during Vibrotactile Stimulation

Sofia

Jones

2013

IEEE Trans. Haptics

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“…Spatial and temporal acuity of electrical stimuli is poorer than levels cited with mechanical stimulation. Two-point discrimination distances and temporal resolving periods were found to be two to three times greater in magnitude with electrocutaneous stimuli than values obtained with mechanical stimulation (see Jones, 1956;Saunders, 1973).…”

Section: Spatial and Temporal Acuity Of Electrocutaneous Stimulimentioning

confidence: 86%

Teletouch Display Development. Phase 1

Wiker¹

1988

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“…Two major attempts have been made to use electrotactile stimulation in tactile aids. Saunders (1973) and Saunders, Hill, and Easley (1978) describe the Teletactor. Originally, the instrument was a two-chan nel device providing stimulation to the fore head.…”

Section: Location Of Stimulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tactile Aids for the Profoundly Deaf

Roeser¹

1985

Semin Hear

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An electrotactile sound detector for the deaf

Cited by 20 publications

References 3 publications

Mechanical and Psychophysical Studies of Surface Wave Propagation during Vibrotactile Stimulation

Mechanical and Psychophysical Studies of Surface Wave Propagation during Vibrotactile Stimulation

Teletouch Display Development. Phase 1

Tactile Aids for the Profoundly Deaf

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