Fluid Machinery Center, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.
School of Mechatronic Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China.
Skin Res Technol. 2022 Mar;28(2):280-290. doi: 10.1111/srt.13127. Epub 2021 Dec 21.
Tactile perception is an essential function of skin. As this research involves many fields, such as skin friction, psychology, and neuroscience, the achievement tactile perception is scattered in various fields with different research methods. Therefore, it is necessary to study the whole tactile loop in a multimodal way, synchronizing all tactile information.
To measure information from touch to haptics, we developed a specially designed measuring platform connecting to an electroencephalogram (EEG) recording system. Sandpapers with different roughness were used as samples. First, the surface properties were measured in tribological experiments. Second, psychophysical experiments were conducted to assess the volunteers' cognition of samples' roughness. Third, the mechanical parameters and EEG were measured at the same time during fingertip sliding on samples. Then, the data of all four tactile elements were processed and analyzed separately. The characteristic features were extracted from those data in the time-frequency domain. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient was calculated in the pairwise comparison of each element to evaluate the feasibility of the multimodal method in the study of tactile perception.
The 600-mesh sandpaper has the largest Ra, Rz, Rsm, and particle size. The normal load, friction force, spectral centroid, and α- and β-wave energy ratios of EEG at chosen electrodes have significant differences and correlations between 3000- and 600-mesh sandpaper in general.
This multimodal method could be used in the study of tactile perception, which is a comprehensive way to observe the whole tactile loop from multiple perspectives.
触觉感知是皮肤的基本功能。由于这项研究涉及到皮肤摩擦、心理学和神经科学等多个领域，触觉感知的成果分散在具有不同研究方法的各个领域。因此，有必要以多模态的方式研究整个触觉回路，同步所有触觉信息。
为了从触觉测量到触觉感知的信息，我们开发了一个特殊的测量平台，连接到脑电图（EEG）记录系统。使用不同粗糙度的砂纸作为样品。首先，在摩擦学实验中测量表面特性。其次，进行心理物理实验以评估志愿者对样品粗糙度的认知。第三，在指尖滑过样品的同时，测量机械参数和 EEG。然后，分别处理和分析所有四个触觉元素的数据。从这些数据中提取时间-频率域的特征。此外，通过计算每个元素之间的相关系数，评估多模态方法在触觉感知研究中的可行性。
600 目砂纸的 Ra、Rz、Rsm 和粒径最大。在一般情况下，选择电极处的 EEG 的法向载荷、摩擦力、频谱质心以及α和β波能量比在 3000 目和 600 目砂纸之间存在显著差异和相关性。
这种多模态方法可用于触觉感知研究，这是一种从多个角度观察整个触觉回路的综合方法。
