Human shape recognition performance and pin-matrix density in a 3 dimensional tactile display

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide the relationship between the pin-matrix density of a tactile display and the recognition performance of displayed 3-dimensional shapes. Three kinds of pin-matrix tactile displays, that generate 3D shapes, were used for the experiment. The pitch of pin was 5mm, 3mm, 2mm for each. As we assumed that surfaces, edges and vertices were the primitive information of the 3D shapes, tested shapes were classified into these three categories. The results obtained revealed that performance has different relationships to pin pitch with different shape primitives. The results of this study should be effective as fundamental knowledge to be used in developing tactile presentation devices, which have been receiving attention in recent years in the study of human interfaces, especially in the area of virtual reality technology.