IEEE Trans Haptics. 2021 Oct-Dec;14(4):804-815. doi: 10.1109/TOH.2021.3076847. Epub 2021 Dec 16.
Haptic search is a common everyday task, usually consisting of two processes: target search and target analysis. During target search we need to know where our fingers are in space, remember the already completed path and the outline of the remaining space. During target analysis we need to understand whether the detected potential target is the desired one. Here we characterized dynamics of exploratory movements in these two processes. In our experiments participants searched for a particular configuration of symbols on a rectangular tactile display. We observed that participants preferentially moved the hand parallel to the edges of the tactile display during target search, which possibly eased orientation within the search space. After a potential target was detected by any of the fingers, there was higher probability that subsequent exploration was performed by the index or the middle finger. At the same time, these fingers dramatically slowed down. Being in contact with the potential target, the index and the middle finger moved within a smaller area than the other fingers, which rather seemed to move away to leave them space. These results suggest that the middle and the index finger are specialized for fine analysis in haptic search.
触觉搜索是一种常见的日常任务，通常包括两个过程：目标搜索和目标分析。在目标搜索过程中，我们需要知道手指在空间中的位置，记住已完成的路径和剩余空间的轮廓。在目标分析过程中，我们需要理解检测到的潜在目标是否是我们想要的。在这里，我们描述了这两个过程中探索性运动的动力学。在我们的实验中，参与者在矩形触觉显示屏上搜索特定的符号组合。我们观察到，参与者在目标搜索过程中更倾向于沿触觉显示屏的边缘平行移动手部，这可能有助于在搜索空间内定位。在任何一个手指检测到潜在目标后，索引或中指随后进行探索的可能性更高。与此同时，这些手指的速度显著下降。当与潜在目标接触时，索引和中指的移动范围小于其他手指，其他手指似乎更倾向于移动以给它们腾出空间。这些结果表明，在触觉搜索中，食指和中指专门用于精细分析。
