Electrotactile feedback applications for hand and arm interactions: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and future directions

Haptic feedback is critical in a broad range of human-machine/computer-interaction applications. However, the high cost and low portability/wearability of haptic devices remain unresolved issues, severely limiting the adoption of this otherwise promising technology. Electrotactile interfaces have the advantage of being more portable and wearable due to their reduced actuators' size, as well as their lower power consumption and manufacturing cost. The applications of electrotactile feedback have been explored in human-computer interaction and human-machine-interaction for facilitating hand-based interactions in applications such as prosthetics, virtual reality, robotic teleoperation, surface haptics, portable devices, and rehabilitation. This paper presents a technological overview of electrotactile feedback, as well a systematic review and meta-analysis of its applications for hand-based interactions. We discuss the different electrotactile systems according to the type of application. We also discuss over a quantitative congregation of the findings, to offer a high-level overview into the state-of-art and suggest future directions. Electrotactile feedback systems showed increased portability/wearability, and they were successful in rendering and/or augmenting most tactile sensations, eliciting perceptual processes, and improving performance in many scenarios. However, knowledge gaps (e.g., embodiment), technical (e.g., recurrent calibration, electrodes' durability) and methodological (e.g., sample size) drawbacks were detected, which should be addressed in future studies.Comment: 18 pages, 1 table, 8 figures, under review in Transactions on Haptics. This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessible.Upon acceptance of the article by IEEE, the preprint article will be replaced with the accepted versio

Contributions à l'utilisation du retour électrotactile pour les interactions basées sur la main en réalité virtuelle

Although we are now capable of rendering realistic virtual environments in Virtual Reality (VR), our way of interacting with them has not caught up with the progress made in the visualization. Haptic feedback is usually overlooked even though they have been proven to increase the sense of presence and immersion in VR. Multiple haptic interfaces have been created to render haptic feedback but most of them are expensive, bulky or constrain the workspace. Electrotactile feedback is a promising, wearable, cheap, noiseless, lightweight technology capable of rendering rich tactile sensation, thus, improving the way a user can interact with VR applications.In this thesis, we focused on the use of electrotactile feedback as a mechanism to improve hand interactions in VR. Our main contributions are: the use of electrotactile feedback for improving precision and accuracy when touching virtual objects; the proposition of a 3D interaction technique to accelerate the calibration of the intensity of the feedback while in VR; the development of framework for authoring custom electrotactile sensations; and the comparison and evaluation of coherence of the feedback of different rendering techniques while performing common single finger interactions in VR.Bien que nous soyons désormais capables de rendre des environnements virtuels réalistes en RV (Réalité Virtuelle), notre façon d'interagir avec eux n'a pas rattrapé les progrès réalisés en matière de visualisation. Le retour haptique est généralement négligé alors qu'il a été prouvé qu'il augmente le sentiment de présence et d'immersion dans la RV. De nombreuses interfaces haptiques ont été créées afin de rendre de retour haptique, mais la plupart d'entre elles sont chères, encombrantes ou contraignantes pour l'espace de travail. Le retour électrotactile est une technologie prometteuse, portable, pas chère, silencieuse et légère, capable de rendre des sensations tactiles assez riches, ce qui améliore la façon dont un utilisateur peut interagir avec les applications de RV.Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes concentrés sur l'utilisation du retour électrotactile comme mécanisme pour améliorer les interactions avec la main en RV. Nos principales contributions sont: l'utilisation des retour électrotactile pour améliorer la précision et l'exactitude lors du toucher d'objets virtuels; la proposition d'une technique d'interaction 3D pour accélérer la calibration de l'intensité de retour tout en étant immersif dans la RV; le développement d'un système pour la création de sensations électrotactiles personnalisées ; et la comparaison et l'évaluation de la cohérence de le retour de différentes techniques de rendu lors de l'exécution d'interactions courantes avec un seul doigt dans la RV

Contributions à l'utilisation du retour électrotactile pour les interactions basées sur la main en réalité virtuelle

Although we are now capable of rendering realistic virtual environments in Virtual Reality (VR), our way of interacting with them has not caught up with the progress made in the visualization. Haptic feedback is usually overlooked even though they have been proven to increase the sense of presence and immersion in VR. Multiple haptic interfaces have been created to render haptic feedback but most of them are expensive, bulky or constrain the workspace. Electrotactile feedback is a promising, wearable, cheap, noiseless, lightweight technology capable of rendering rich tactile sensation, thus, improving the way a user can interact with VR applications.In this thesis, we focused on the use of electrotactile feedback as a mechanism to improve hand interactions in VR. Our main contributions are: the use of electrotactile feedback for improving precision and accuracy when touching virtual objects; the proposition of a 3D interaction technique to accelerate the calibration of the intensity of the feedback while in VR; the development of framework for authoring custom electrotactile sensations; and the comparison and evaluation of coherence of the feedback of different rendering techniques while performing common single finger interactions in VR.Bien que nous soyons désormais capables de rendre des environnements virtuels réalistes en RV (Réalité Virtuelle), notre façon d'interagir avec eux n'a pas rattrapé les progrès réalisés en matière de visualisation. Le retour haptique est généralement négligé alors qu'il a été prouvé qu'il augmente le sentiment de présence et d'immersion dans la RV. De nombreuses interfaces haptiques ont été créées afin de rendre de retour haptique, mais la plupart d'entre elles sont chères, encombrantes ou contraignantes pour l'espace de travail. Le retour électrotactile est une technologie prometteuse, portable, pas chère, silencieuse et légère, capable de rendre des sensations tactiles assez riches, ce qui améliore la façon dont un utilisateur peut interagir avec les applications de RV.Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes concentrés sur l'utilisation du retour électrotactile comme mécanisme pour améliorer les interactions avec la main en RV. Nos principales contributions sont: l'utilisation des retour électrotactile pour améliorer la précision et l'exactitude lors du toucher d'objets virtuels; la proposition d'une technique d'interaction 3D pour accélérer la calibration de l'intensité de retour tout en étant immersif dans la RV; le développement d'un système pour la création de sensations électrotactiles personnalisées ; et la comparaison et l'évaluation de la cohérence de le retour de différentes techniques de rendu lors de l'exécution d'interactions courantes avec un seul doigt dans la RV

Action-Specific Perception & Performance on a Fitts’s Law Task in Virtual Reality: The Role of Haptic Feedback

While user's perception and performance are predominantly examined independently in virtual reality, the Action-Specific Perception (ASP) theory postulates that the performance of an individual on a task modulates this individual's spatial and time perception pertinent to the task's components and procedures. This paper examines the association between performance and perception and the potential effects that tactile feedback modalities could generate. This paper reports a user study (N=24), in which participants performed a standardized Fitts's law target acquisition task by using three feedback modalities: visual, visuo-electrotactile, and visuo-vibrotactile. The users completed 3 Target Sizes X 2 Distances X 3 feedback modalities = 18 trials. The size perception, distance perception, and (movement) time perception were assessed at the end of each trial. Performance-wise, the results showed that electrotactile feedback facilitates a significantly better accuracy compared to vibrotactile and visual feedback, while vibrotactile provided the worst accuracy. Electrotactile and visual feedback enabled a comparable reaction time, while the vibrotactile offered a substantially slower reaction time than visual feedback. Although amongst feedback types the pattern of differences in perceptual aspects were comparable to performance differences, none of them was statistically significant. However, performance indeed modulated perception. Significant action-specific effects on spatial and time perception were detected. Changes in accuracy modulate both size perception and time perception, while changes in movement speed modulate distance perception. Also, the index of difficulty was found to modulate all three perceptual aspects. However, individual differences appear to affect the magnitude of action-specific effects. These outcomes highlighted the importance of haptic feedback on performance, and importantly the significance of action-specific effects on spatial and time perception in VR, which should be considered in future VR studies

Action-Specific Perception & Performance on a Fitts's Law Task in Virtual Reality: The Role of Haptic Feedback

International audienceWhile user's perception and performance are predominantly examined independently in virtual reality, the Action-Specific Perception (ASP) theory postulates that the performance of an individual on a task modulates this individual's spatial and time perception pertinent to the task's components and procedures. This paper examines the association between performance and perception and the potential effects that tactile feedback modalities could generate. This paper reports a user study (N=24), in which participants performed a standardized Fitts's law target acquisition task by using three feedback modalities: visual, visuo-electrotactile, and visuo-vibrotactile. The users completed 3 Target Sizes × 2 Distances × 3 feedback modalities = 18 trials. The size perception, distance perception, and (movement) time perception were assessed at the end of each trial. Performance-wise, the results showed that electrotactile feedback facilitates a significantly better accuracy compared to vibrotactile and visual feedback, while vibrotactile provided the worst accuracy. Electrotactile and visual feedback enabled a comparable reaction time, while the vibrotactile offered a substantially slower reaction time than visual feedback. Although amongst feedback types the pattern of differences in perceptual aspects were comparable to performance differences, none of them was statistically significant. However, performance indeed modulated perception. Significant action-specific effects on spatial and time perception were detected. Changes in accuracy modulate both size perception and time perception, while changes in movement speed modulate distance perception. Also, the index of difficulty was found to modulate all three perceptual aspects. However, individual differences appear to affect the magnitude of action-specific effects. These outcomes highlighted the importance of haptic feedback on performance, and importantly the significance of action-specific effects on spatial and time perception in VR, which should be considered in future VR studies

Electrotactile feedback applications for hand and arm interactions: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and future directions

International audienceHaptic feedback is critical in a broad range of human-machine/computer-interaction applications. However, the high cost and low portability/wearability of haptic devices remain unresolved issues, severely limiting the adoption of this otherwise promising technology. Electrotactile interfaces have the advantage of being more portable and wearable due to their reduced actuators' size, as well as their lower power consumption and manufacturing cost. The applications of electrotactile feedback have been explored in human-computer interaction and human-machine-interaction for facilitating hand-based interactions in applications such as prosthetics, virtual reality, robotic teleoperation, surface haptics, portable devices, and rehabilitation. This paper presents a technological overview of electrotactile feedback, as well a systematic review and meta-analysis of its applications for hand-based interactions. We discuss the different electrotactile systems according to the type of application. We also discuss over a quantitative congregation of the findings, to offer a high-level overview into the state-of-art and suggest future directions. Electrotactile feedback systems showed increased portability/wearability, and they were successful in rendering and/or augmenting most tactile sensations, eliciting perceptual processes, and improving performance in many scenarios. However, knowledge gaps (e.g., embodiment), technical (e.g., recurrent calibration, electrodes' durability) and methodological (e.g., sample size) drawbacks were detected, which should be addressed in future studies

Design, evaluation and calibration of wearable electrotacile interfaces for enhancing contact information in virtual reality

International audienceElectrotactile feedback is a convenient tactile rendering method thanks to reduced form factor and power consumption. Yet, its usage in immersive virtual reality has been scarcely addressed. This paper explores how electrotactile feedback could be used to enhance contact information for mid-air interactions in virtual reality. We propose an electrotactile rendering method which modulates the perceived intensity of the electrotactile stimuli according to the interpenetration distance between the user's finger and the virtual surface. In a first user study (N=21), we assessed the performance of our method against visual interpenetration feedback and no-feedback. Contact precision and accuracy were significantly improved when using interpenetration feedback. The results also showed that the calibration of the electrotactile stimuli was key, which motivated a second study exploring how the calibration procedure could be improved. In a second study (N=16), we compared two calibration techniques: a non-VR keyboard and a VR direct interaction method. While the two methods provided comparable usability and calibration accuracy, the VR method was significantly faster. These results pave the way for the usage of electrotactile feedback as an efficient alternative to visual feedback for enhancing contact information in virtual reality

Electrotactile feedback applications for hand and arm interactions: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and future directions

International audienceHaptic feedback is critical in a broad range of human-machine/computer-interaction applications. However, the high cost and low portability/wearability of haptic devices remain unresolved issues, severely limiting the adoption of this otherwise promising technology. Electrotactile interfaces have the advantage of being more portable and wearable due to their reduced actuators' size, as well as their lower power consumption and manufacturing cost. The applications of electrotactile feedback have been explored in human-computer interaction and human-machine-interaction for facilitating hand-based interactions in applications such as prosthetics, virtual reality, robotic teleoperation, surface haptics, portable devices, and rehabilitation. This paper presents a technological overview of electrotactile feedback, as well a systematic review and meta-analysis of its applications for hand-based interactions. We discuss the different electrotactile systems according to the type of application. We also discuss over a quantitative congregation of the findings, to offer a high-level overview into the state-of-art and suggest future directions. Electrotactile feedback systems showed increased portability/wearability, and they were successful in rendering and/or augmenting most tactile sensations, eliciting perceptual processes, and improving performance in many scenarios. However, knowledge gaps (e.g., embodiment), technical (e.g., recurrent calibration, electrodes' durability) and methodological (e.g., sample size) drawbacks were detected, which should be addressed in future studies

Electrotactile feedback applications for hand and arm interactions: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and future directions

International audienceHaptic feedback is critical in a broad range of human-machine/computer-interaction applications. However, the high cost and low portability/wearability of haptic devices remain unresolved issues, severely limiting the adoption of this otherwise promising technology. Electrotactile interfaces have the advantage of being more portable and wearable due to their reduced actuators' size, as well as their lower power consumption and manufacturing cost. The applications of electrotactile feedback have been explored in human-computer interaction and human-machine-interaction for facilitating hand-based interactions in applications such as prosthetics, virtual reality, robotic teleoperation, surface haptics, portable devices, and rehabilitation. This paper presents a technological overview of electrotactile feedback, as well a systematic review and meta-analysis of its applications for hand-based interactions. We discuss the different electrotactile systems according to the type of application. We also discuss over a quantitative congregation of the findings, to offer a high-level overview into the state-of-art and suggest future directions. Electrotactile feedback systems showed increased portability/wearability, and they were successful in rendering and/or augmenting most tactile sensations, eliciting perceptual processes, and improving performance in many scenarios. However, knowledge gaps (e.g., embodiment), technical (e.g., recurrent calibration, electrodes' durability) and methodological (e.g., sample size) drawbacks were detected, which should be addressed in future studies

Design and Evaluation of Electrotactile Rendering Effects for Finger-Based Interactions in Virtual Reality

International audienceThe use of electrotactile feedback in Virtual Reality (VR) has shown promising results for providing tactile information and sensations. While progress has been made to provide custom electrotactile feedback for specific interaction tasks, it remains unclear which modulations and rendering algorithms are preferred in rich interaction scenarios. In this paper, we propose a unified tactile rendering architecture and explore the most promising modulations to render finger interactions in VR. Based on a literature review, we designed six electrotactile stimulation patterns/effects (EFXs) striving to render different tactile sensations. In a user study (N=18), we assessed the six EFXs in three diverse finger interactions: 1) tapping on a virtual object; 2) pressing down a virtual button; 3) sliding along a virtual surface. Results showed that the preference for certain EFXs depends on the task at hand. No significant preference was detected for tapping (short and quick contact); EFXs that render dynamic intensities or dynamic spatio-temporal patterns were preferred for pressing (continuous dynamic force); EFXs that render moving sensations were preferred for sliding (surface exploration). The results showed the importance of the coherence between the modulation an the interaction being performed and the study proved the versatility of electrotactile feedback and its efficiency in rendering different haptic information and sensations