Psychophysical experiment on roughness perception considering bidirectionality in active touch

Abstract

In active touch, tactile perception is bidirectionally related to the exploratory movements. This means that exploration influences perception, but also perception influences exploration. We can optimize/change the exploratory movements according to the perception and/or the task, consciously or unconsciously. In this paper, a psychophysical experiment on roughness perception is presented. Exerted normal force and velocity in different perceptual tasks (discrimination task and scaling task) using rough and smooth stimuli are collected. The results support that humans might adjust their way of touching (force, velocity, etc.) according to the task and their perception.