The Effects of Vibratory Frequency and Temporal Interval on Tactile Apparent Motion

Vibrotactile stimuli can be used to generate the haptic sensation of a static object or the motion of a dynamic object. Here, in this article, we investigated the effects of vibratory frequency and temporal interval on tactile apparent motion. In the experiment, we examined the effect of vibratory frequency with different temporal intervals on tactile apparent motion that results from two successive tactile stimuli on the index fingerpad. Results indicated that tactile apparent motion was perceived not only when both stimuli were either “flutter” or “vibration” stimuli, but also when one of each type was used. Specifically, when the first stimulus was introduced at 40Hz, “continuous motion” was viewed at all combinations of stimulus frequency, and “continuous motion” was clearly noted at the high-frequency combination instead of the low-frequency combination. Also, tactile apparent motion was predominantly viewed in the SOA range of 105 ms to 125 ms. We anticipate that our findings and further research will be essential resources for the design of tactile devices to represent the motion of dynamic objects.