Rendering Moving Tactile Stroke on the Palm Using a Sparse 2D Array

Abstract

The present study presents a new rendering algorithm for a moving tactile stroke on the palm of the hand placed on a sparse 2D tactor array. Our algorithm utilizes the relation between signal duration and signal onset asynchrony previously proposed for “tactile brush” [1], but extends it by applying 3-actuator phantom sensations and adjusting the sampling rate. We compare our proposed algorithm to the tactile brush algorithm for their similarity in target trajectories and uniformity of tactile stroke motions. The results show that the participants judge the tactile strokes with our algorithm to move significantly closer to target motions and with more uniform velocity than the “tactile brush.” The effect of our algorithm is more significant for experimental stimuli with longer travel time and length.