Sensory saltation and phantom sensation for vibrotactile display of spatial and directional information

This study proposes a novel handheld vibrotactile display (T-hive) to provide a human operator with spatial and directional information. The proposed design is composed of a spherical knob with a vibrotactile surface and a moving base that allows 6-DOF motion. To isolate vibrotactile stimuli provided by multiple actuators, the spherical knob is divided into 13 vibrotactile modules. Each vibrotactile module consists of a vibration motor, a patch of spherical surface, and a vibration isolator. By coordinating the vibrotactile modules, the vibrotactile display delivers spatial and directional information based on phantom sensation and sensory saltation. Through experiments, we evaluated the effectiveness of the spatial and directional information perceived on the palm and fingers of the operator's hand. The experimental results confirm that vibrotactile feedback is useful for object control by providing intuitive information.