SENS3: Multisensory Database of Finger-Surface Interactions and Corresponding Sensations

TL;DR

SENS3 is a comprehensive open-access multisensory database capturing visual, audio, haptic, and psychophysical data from finger-surface interactions across fifty surfaces, aimed at advancing digital touch experiences.

Contribution

This paper introduces SENS3, a novel extensive multisensory database of finger-surface interactions with detailed sensory and psychophysical data, supporting research in tactile rendering and robotics.

Findings

Provides high-fidelity multisensory recordings of interactions

Includes psychophysical sensation ratings from participants

Offers a scalable framework for expanding tactile datasets

Abstract

The growing demand for natural interactions with technology underscores the importance of achieving realistic touch sensations in digital environments. Realizing this goal highly depends on comprehensive databases of finger-surface interactions, which need further development. Here, we present SENS3 -- www.sens3.net -- an extensive open-access repository of multisensory data acquired from fifty surfaces when two participants explored them with their fingertips through static contact, pressing, tapping, and sliding. SENS3 encompasses high-fidelity visual, audio, and haptic information recorded during these interactions, including videos, sounds, contact forces, torques, positions, accelerations, skin temperature, heat flux, and surface photographs. Additionally, it incorporates thirteen participants' psychophysical sensation ratings (rough-smooth, flat-bumpy, sticky-slippery, hot-cold, regular-irregular, fine-coarse, hard-soft, and wet-dry) while exploring these surfaces freely. Designed with an open-ended framework, SENS3 has the potential to be expanded with additional textures and participants. We anticipate that SENS3 will be valuable for advancing multisensory texture rendering, user experience development, and touch sensing in robotics.