Haptic search for spheres and cubes

Abstract

If you have multiple objects in your pocket, some are easy to find among the other ones, for instance, when they differ much in material properties or shape. Information on which haptic features stand out among others is valuable for research into the haptic system in general, but also for haptic interface design. In this research we focussed on saliency of shape, by letting subjects search for cubes or spheres. Response times were measured as a function of the number of items. We found that search for a cube among spheres is more efficient than search for a sphere among cubes and that the dynamics of the sliding of the shapes along each other play an important role in haptic search.