Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
Hum Mov Sci. 2012 Dec;31(6):1571-84. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2012.05.006. Epub 2012 Aug 30.
This research considers a sensory substitution device that allows the exploration of the environment through normal walking, leaning and standing. The device includes an array of 24 coin motors placed vertically on the torso, with the intensity of vibration of each motor being a function of the distance to the first-encountered object. Thresholds were determined for the detection of ground-level obstacles (raised target platforms). On average, blindfolded participants were able to detect platforms with heights of 9 to 17 cm, but the thresholds differed for different experimental conditions. Experiment 1 showed that the detection threshold is lower for use with exploratory movements than for use without exploratory movements. Experiments 2 and 3 compared dynamic groups, who made exploratory movements and received vibrotactile flow contingent on their movements, with yoked groups, who received the same vibrotactile flow as the dynamic groups independently of their own movements. The detection thresholds were lower for the dynamic groups than for the yoked groups, meaning that the contingency of vibrotactile flow on exploratory movements is important beyond a higher-order vibrotactile flow by itself.
本研究考虑了一种通过正常行走、倾斜和站立来探索环境的感觉替代设备。该设备包括一个由 24 个硬币电机组成的阵列，这些电机垂直放置在躯干上，每个电机的振动强度是距离首次遇到的物体的函数。确定了地面障碍物（升高的目标平台）的检测阈值。平均而言，蒙住眼睛的参与者能够检测到高度为 9 至 17 厘米的平台，但不同实验条件下的阈值不同。实验 1 表明，与无探索运动相比，使用探索运动时检测阈值较低。实验 2 和 3 比较了动态组，他们在做出探索性动作时会根据动作收到振动触觉流，而与被试组，他们会独立于自己的动作收到与动态组相同的振动触觉流。动态组的检测阈值低于被试组，这意味着振动触觉流与探索性运动的关联除了本身更高阶的振动触觉流之外更为重要。
