Perceptual dimensions of vibrotactile actuators

Abstract

The objective of the present research was to determine how variations in the signals generated by different vibrotactile actuators are perceived and which features are judged as being distinctive. For this purpose, three different types of actuator were used to generate signals that varied in amplitude, waveform and frequency. Participants were required to judge the degree of similarity-dissimilarity between pairs of stimuli. Multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) techniques were then used as an exploratory data analysis technique to create a spatial map that depicted the relations among the various vibrotactile signals. The first dimension that emerged from the MDS represented a continuum associated with transitions in the amplitudes of the signals, with a smooth sine wave pattern contrasting with the more abrupt transitions in square waves. This may be considered a smooth-rough dimension. The second dimension extracted from the data was more difficult to characterize in that each of the two clusters along this dimension involved signals of varying waveform and frequency. Further work will aim at defining the perceptual qualities of this dimension.