Phantom Illusion Based Vibrotactile Rendering of Affective Touch Patterns

Abstract

Physically accurate (authentic) reproduction of affective touch patterns on the forearm is limited by actuator technology. However, in most VR applications a direct comparison with actual touch is not possible. Here, the plausibility is only compared to the user's expectation. Focusing on the approach of plausible instead of authentic touch reproduction enables new rendering techniques, like the utilization of the phantom illusion to create the sensation of moving vibrations. Following this idea, a haptic armband array (4x2 vibrational actuators) was built to investigate the possibilities of recreating plausible affective touch patterns with vibration. The novel aspect of this work is the approach of touch reproduction with a parameterized rendering strategy, enabling the integration in VR. A first user study evaluates suitable parameter ranges for vibrational touch rendering. Duration of vibration and signal shape influence plausibility the most. A second user study found high plausibility ratings in a multimodal scenario and confirmed the expressiveness of the system. Rendering device and strategy are suitable for a various stroking patterns and applicable for emerging research on social affective touch reproduction.

Cortical processes of multisensory plausibility modulation of vibrotactile perception in virtual environments in middled-aged and older adults

“…The sense of touch operates with a more precise temporal resolution than vision and hearing 17 ; therefore, including tactile information into digitalized environments could further enhance virtual experiences. Possibilities to integrate touch into digital and communication technologies are presently being intensively researched and evaluated 16 , 18 , 19 . When these technologies are matured, they could provide new multisensory experiences for humans to perceive in virtual (or remote) environments through digitalized tactile and kinematic information 10 , 20 , besides visual and auditory signals.…”