Material Roughness Modulation via Electrotactile Augmentation

Tactile exploration of a material´s texture using a bare finger pad is a daily human activity. However, modern tactile displays do not allow users to experience the natural sensations of a material when artificial sensations are presented. We propose an electrotactile augmentation technique capable of superimposing vibrotactile sensations in a finger pad, thereby allowing the texture modulation of real materials. Users attach two stimulus electrodes to the middle phalanx of a finger and a grounded electrode at the base of the finger in order to evoke nerve activity. This paper evaluates the proposed electrotactile augmentation for roughness modulation of real materials. First, we introduce the principle of the electrotactile display, which presents artificial sensations at the finger pad. We then confirm that the perceived frequency of mechanical vibration at the finger pad can be shifted using electrotactile augmentation. Finally, we discuss a user study, wherein participants rated the roughness of real materials explored using the proposed system. Experimental results indicate that fine- and macro-roughness perceptions of real materials can be altered using electrotactile augmentation.