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Tactile roughness perception with a rigid link interposed between skin and surface

Perception & Psychophysics volume 61, pages 591–607 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Subjects made roughness judgments of textured surfaces made of raised elements, while holding stick-like probes or through a rigid sheath mounted on the fingertip. These rigid links, which impose vibratory coding of roughness, were compared with the finger (bare or covered with a compliant glove), using magnitude-estimation and roughness differentiation tasks. All end effectors led to an increasing function relating subjective roughness magnitude to surface interelement spacing, and all produced above-chance roughness discrimination. Although discrimination was best with the finger, rigid links produced greater perceived roughness for the smoothest stimuli. A peak in the magnitude-estimation functions for the small probe and a transition from calling more sparsely spaced surfaces rougher to calling them smoother were predictable from the size of the contact area. The results indicate the potential viability of vibratory coding of roughness through a rigid link and have implications for teleoperation and virtual-reality systems.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., 15213-3890, Pittsburgh, PA

    Roberta L. Klatzky

  2. Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, K7L 3N6, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Susan J. Lederman

Authors
  1. Roberta L. Klatzky
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  2. Susan J. Lederman
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Roberta L. Klatzky or Susan J. Lederman.

Additional information

This research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

—Accepted by previous editor, Myron L. Braunstein

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Klatzky, R.L., Lederman, S.J. Tactile roughness perception with a rigid link interposed between skin and surface. Perception & Psychophysics 61, 591–607 (1999). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205532

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205532

Keywords

  • Small Probe
  • Vibratory Signal
  • Rigid Link
  • Latex Glove
  • Interelement Spacing