Adding thermal information to multisensory input in simulated environments
- Authors: Van Doorn, George , Richardson, Barry , Symmons, Mark , Wells, Jonathan
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Intelligent Defence Support Systems Vol. 2, no. 4 (2009 2009), p. 350-362
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- Description: Although simulated environments are improved by adding sensory information, temperature is one input that has rarely featured in them. Here we report findings from experiments that examine the efficacy of adding temperature information to the multimodal complex known to be of benefit in simulations. In the first experiment, Peltier tiles added thermal information to the kinesthetic feedback given by a hand-worn exoskeletal device and this increased ratings for 'presence' during interactions with simulated objects. In an experiment in which exploratory movements across surfaces of differing temperatures were either active or passive-guided, the degree of 'coldness' felt at the fingertip was reported as less intense when movement was active, suggesting that intentionality of movement plays a role in the attenuation of the thermal stimulus. Other work reported here suggests that the perception of temperature is not influenced by a simultaneously presented colour. For example, the perception of coldness is not enhanced when it is processed in conjunction with a blue colour. We discuss the potential value of thermal information within the context of the hypothesis that presence in simulated environments is enhanced by multisensory inputs that include redundant information.
Haptics can "lend a hand" to a bionic eye
- Authors: Richardson, Barry , Van Doorn, George
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Haptics: Generating and Perceiving Tangible Sensations p. 320-325
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- Description: Here we argue that haptics (touch and kinaesthesis) can play a key role in the development of a bionic eye. Tactile displays can supplement and complement the incomplete information that a visual prosthetic will offer the brain in early stages of the prosthetic’s development. Kinaesthetic inputs give the brain feedback about motor activities that correlate with both visual and tactile inputs, and are critical for perceptual competency. Haptic inputs can also help “teach” the new visual sense to respond to stimuli that are initially indiscriminable and enable cross-calibration of inputs to strengthen multimodal cortical connections. By using haptics to supplement and complement inputs from a visual prosthetic, a bionic eye can develop more quickly than did the Bionic Ear.
Capture of kinesthesis by a competing cutaneous input
- Authors: Van Doorn, George , Hohwy, Jakob , Symmons, Mark
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Attention, Perception & Psychophysics Vol. 74, no. 7 (2012), p. 1539-1551
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- Description: In four experiments, blindfolded participants were presented with pairs of stimuli simultaneously, one to each index finger. Participants moved one index finger, which was presented with cutaneous and/or kinesthetic stimuli, and this movement caused a raised line to move underneath the other, stationary index finger in a yoked manner. The stimuli were 180 masculine rotations of each other (e.g., < and >), and thus when a < was traced with the moving finger, it caused a > to be felt at the stationary finger. When asked to report the experience, participants predominantly reported the cutaneous stimulus, seemingly being ignorant of the kinesthetic stimulus. This appears to be an intrahaptic capture phenomenon, which is of interest because it suggests that conflict between intrahaptic sensory stimuli can go unnoticed; sometimes we are unaware of how we moved, and sometimes we do not know what we touched. The results are interpreted in light of optimal integration, perceptual suppression, reafference suppression, and inattentional blindness.
The inability of supraliminal tactile stimuli to influence illusory self-motion
- Authors: Van Doorn, George , Seno, Takeharu , Symmons, Mark
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: The Seventh International Workshop on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design p. 24-26
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- Description: The effect of supraliminal tactile stimuli on illusory self-motion (i.e., vection) was assessed. An experiment showed that forward vection was weaker than upward, downward and backward vection. However, tactile stimuli (e.g., the tip of a rod moved up the body) had no influence on perceived vection.
Using traditional horizontal-vertical illusion figures and single lines to directly compare haptics and vision
- Authors: Howell, Jacqui , Symmons, Mark , Van Doorn, George
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: World Haptics Conference (WHC), 2013 p. 673-676
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- Description: The horizontal-vertical illusion (HVI) is the tendency for a vertical line to be perceived as longer than a horizontal line of the same length. The HVI is commonly reported and investigated as a visual phenomenon. It has, however been found to occur haptically. The comparatively small number of haptic HVI papers paired with varied stimuli and measures make it problematic to directly compare visual and haptic forms of the illusion. The current paper reports a study in which the visual and haptic HVIs were directly compared. Three sets of stimuli were used in an attempt to resolve previous limitations: L-figures, inverted T-figures, and separated horizontal and vertical lines. These stimuli were presented in two lengths: 3 and 9 cm. The dependent variable was percentage error between the horizontal and vertical - no error represents an absence of illusion. As expected, inverted T-figures produced an illusion significantly stronger than both the L-figures and single lines, which did not differ from each other. Stimuli of 9 cm produced stronger illusions than those that measured 3 cm, and stimulus size interacted with modality. The consequences of these findings for earlier research are discussed and suggestions are offered as to what causes this and other illusions.
Supraliminal vibrotactile stimulation does not facilitate visual vection
- Authors: Van Doorn, George , Seno, Takeharu , Symmons, Mark
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: The Seventh International Workshop on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design p. 21-23
- Full Text: false
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- Description: The effect of supraliminal vibrotactile stimuli on the strength of vection (i.e., illusory self-motion) was assessed. An experiment showed that forward vection was weaker than backward vection, but vibrotactile stimuli (i.e., horizontal bar patterns simulating radial motion towards or away from the body) had no influence on vection. Others have examined illusory self-motion and vibrotactile stimuli, but not in a manner that pairs supraliminal vibrotactile stimuli with visual vection stimuli.