Effects of Haptic Feedback on the Wrist during Virtual Manipulation

TL;DR

This study introduces a wrist-based haptic feedback system for virtual manipulation, examining how feedback location and number affect stiffness perception, and finds no significant differences across various stimulation sites.

Contribution

It presents a novel wrist-haptic device delivering feedback at multiple points and evaluates its impact on stiffness perception during virtual tasks.

Findings

No significant difference in stiffness perception across stimulation locations.

Multiple stimulation points do not enhance perception accuracy.

Participants' qualitative feedback was consistent regardless of feedback site.

Abstract

We propose a haptic system for virtual manipulation to provide feedback on the user's forearm instead of the fingertips. In addition to visual rendering of the manipulation with virtual fingertips, we employ a device to deliver normal or shear skin-stretch at multiple points near the wrist. To understand how design parameters influence the experience, we investigated the effect of the number and location of sensory feedback on stiffness perception. Participants compared stiffness values of virtual objects, while the haptic bracelet provided interaction feedback on the dorsal, ventral, or both sides of the wrist. Stiffness discrimination judgments and duration, as well as qualitative results collected verbally, indicate no significant difference in stiffness perception with stimulation at different and multiple locations.