IEEE Trans Haptics. 2019 Jan-Mar;12(1):2-17. doi: 10.1109/TOH.2018.2861010. Epub 2018 Jul 30.
Despite a long history of research, the development of synthetic tactual aids to support the communication of speech has proven to be a difficult task. The current paper describes a new tactile speech device based on the presentation of phonemic-based tactile codes. The device consists of 24 tactors under independent control for stimulation at the forearm. Using properties that include frequency and waveform of stimulation, amplitude, spatial location, and movement characteristics, unique tactile codes were designed for 39 consonant and vowel phonemes of the English language. The strategy for mapping the phonemes to tactile symbols is described, and properties of the individual phonemic codes are provided. Results are reported for an exploratory study of the ability of 10 young adults to identify the tactile symbols. The participants were trained to identify sets of consonants and vowels, before being tested on the full set of 39 tactile codes. The results indicate a mean recognition rate of 86 percent correct within one to four hours of training across participants. Thus, these results support the viability of a phonemic-based approach for conveying speech information through the tactile sense.
尽管已经进行了长期的研究，但开发用于支持言语交流的合成触觉辅助工具仍然是一项艰巨的任务。本文介绍了一种基于呈现基于音素的触觉代码的新型触觉言语设备。该设备由 24 个独立控制的触觉器组成，用于在前臂进行刺激。使用刺激的频率和波形、幅度、空间位置和运动特征等特性，为英语的 39 个辅音和元音设计了独特的触觉代码。描述了将音素映射到触觉符号的策略，并提供了各个音素代码的特性。报告了对 10 名年轻人识别触觉符号能力的探索性研究的结果。参与者先接受了一组辅音和元音的识别训练，然后再对 39 个完整的触觉代码进行测试。结果表明，在 1 到 4 小时的培训中，参与者的平均识别率为 86%。因此，这些结果支持通过触觉传达言语信息的基于音素的方法的可行性。
