Basic Characteristics of Shear Tactile Stimulus Generated by Rotating Contactors

Abstract

This paper describes the characteristics of haptic sensation that is evoked at the finger skin by a shearing stimulus presented using rotational contactors. First, the relation among the contact area, the contact force and the diameter of contactors was investigated. The tactile sensation scaling of the tangential force was performed regarding the speed, the direction of rotation and the size of the contactor. In addition, the sensitivity difference was investigated in terms of the sites on a fingertip where the contact-shaft stimulation was added. Moreover, the interference between two tangential force stimulations provided by a pair of contactors with a 3-mm interval was investigated.