Haptic Shape Discrimination in Virtual Environments Using Force Direction

Abstract

Shape discrimination of objects relies on sensory and contextual cues. While existing studies explored cues for shape discrimination, an underexplored question remains what the minimal haptic cue (one kind of the sensory cues) is sufficient for such discrimination with contextual cues in virtual environments (VE). This study examined whether the changes of force direction – as a haptic cue – could serve this sufficiency. The results of the study confirmed the sufficiency for the discrimination under certain conditions. This confirmation implied a potential of applying force direction to simplify the design of haptic cues for VE applications.