Bionics & Cognitive Science Haptics Research
Tactile
Display System Research
Phantom
Research
Exograsp
Research
Haptics-Vision
Intersensory Research
Other
BCSC research
Publications
The Tactile Display System
The Tactile Display System (TDS) was specifically built to systematically compare active and passive tactile perception. It accurately records an active explorer's finger movements as they investigate a raised line drawing with their fingertip. A passive participant can then be guided over the same path, matching for position and speed so that the passive participant is essentially yoked to the active participant. The device has also been used to separate the components of haptic exploration in two dimensions.Click on the thumbnails on thr right for larger photos of the device.
There are also two short movies available showing the TDS operating in its two primary passive-guidance modes (click on the picture for the movie):
1. Where the passive subject is guided over the exploratory pathway taken by the active subject, matching for speed and location
2. Where the device holds the passive subject's finger still and moves the pattern underneath their fingertip, again matching the movement to that created by an active explorer
The TDS has also been used in studies comparing vision and touch. Subjects haptically explore a two-dimensional raised line drawing using the TDS (or a Phantom). In another condition subjects watch these exploratory movements plotted out on a monitor using our Haptics to Vision Translation Program (HVTP). We have found touch and vision to be comparable for these tasks.
