A Coarse Desktop Method for Evaluating Transmission of Vibration through Textile Layers

This paper describes a cheap, readily-available method for assessment of and experimentation with the impact of multiple and varied textile layers on the propagation of vibratory stimulus for vibrotactile display, through the use of a common optical mouse. The method includes a calibration phase that uses a grid of known dimensions to map pointer movements on the screen to physical movements of the mouse. An example trial is described using five layers of cotton knit fabric, in which the impact of successive layers on the vibration transmitted through the set of layers is illustrated.