A Cutaneous Haptic Cue Characterization Testbed

Abstract

Within the field of haptics there is a need for a standardized method of characterizing tactile stimuli and assessing human perception of tactile cues. Most haptic devices are characterized using methods that are often unique to a given experimental investigation, making direct comparisons across studies challenging. In addition, tests involving the comparison of simultaneous haptic cues add a further degree of complexity. To meet these needs, we have developed the AIMS (Adjustable Instrumented Multisensory Stimuli) Testbed, a modular and instrumented testbed that allows for flexible testing of and comparison between haptic cues. In this paper, we present the design of the testbed along with its existing haptic cue modules and sensor systems. Additionally, we examine data and observations taken from a psychophysical study performed using the testbed. Finally, we discuss the potential for this system to serve as a platform capable of reproducibly measuring the effects and interactions for a wide range of haptic devices and cue sets.