Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Prog Brain Res. 2011;192:113-28. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53355-5.00008-7.
Tactile communication systems based on vibrotactile signals have been developed as sensory substitution devices for those with visual, auditory, or vestibular impairments and to assist users in spatial orientation and navigation in unfamiliar environments. One of the main challenges in using tactile displays to compensate for sensory loss in other modalities or to overcome the limitations of visual and auditory information overload is in determining what type of information can be presented tactually and which parameters of stimulation can be used to convey these messages effectively. Psychophysical studies of vibrotactile perception provide a framework that assists in determining which stimulus dimensions and ranges of values can be used to create tactile patterns, known as tactons. A number of experiments have been conducted in which the ability of participants to identify tactons presented at different sites on the body has been measured. The results from this research indicate that tactons created by varying the spatial location, number, and temporal sequence of activation of motors in a tactile display can be accurately identified. They further demonstrate the potential of using two-dimensional tactile displays to present information, and the feasibility of creating tactile communication systems that are easily learned.
基于振动触觉信号的触觉通信系统已被开发为用于那些有视觉、听觉或前庭障碍的人的感觉替代设备，以及帮助用户在不熟悉的环境中进行空间定位和导航。使用触觉显示器来补偿其他感觉方式的损失或克服视觉和听觉信息过载的限制的主要挑战之一是确定可以通过触觉呈现哪种类型的信息，以及可以使用哪种刺激参数来有效地传达这些信息。振动触觉感知的心理物理学研究提供了一个框架，有助于确定可以使用哪些刺激维度和值范围来创建触觉模式，称为触突。已经进行了许多实验，其中测量了参与者识别身体不同部位呈现的触突的能力。这些研究的结果表明，可以准确识别通过改变触觉显示器中电机的空间位置、数量和激活时间序列来创建的触突。它们进一步展示了使用二维触觉显示器来呈现信息的潜力，以及创建易于学习的触觉通信系统的可行性。
