Feeling Rough: Multimodal Perception of Virtual Roughness

Abstract

The texture of a real or virtual surface can both increase the sense of realism of an object as well as convey information about an object's identity, type, location, function, and so on. It is crucial therefore that interface designers know the range of textural information available to them through current interaction devices in virtual environments. We have examined roughness perception of a set of force feedback generated textures (conveyed via a PHANToM device) in order to better understand the range and resolution of textural information available through such interaction. We propose that the addition of audio stimuli will increase further the potential for conveying more varied and realistic texture percepts through force feedback interaction. We are currently examining roughness perception of a set of auditory stimuli and will use both sets of unimodal results to test the potential benefits of combining haptic and auditory textural stimuli.