Simon effect for the design of tactile stimulation

Abstract

Tactile stimulation appears to be useful in a noisy or demanding environment to alert or notify the user as it provides a direct and private communication channel. In such cases, the user has to respond fast and accurately to the stimulation. This requires an optimal detection and response to the signal. The current study focused on the layout of tactile stimulation interfaces to be used for alert or notification with regard to the user’s position in space. We investigated the well-known Simon Effect in a tactile modality. The Simon Effect refers to a cognitive interference due to the spatial incongruence induced by a signal when it originates from the side opposite to the user’s response. In addition, we studied the influence of the amplitude of the signal and explored the effect of the location and amplitude of the previous signal. Results showed that the Simon Effect was observed with Linear Resonant Actuators, over user fingertips and user’s response delivered on push button pedals. Besides, the findings show that participants responded faster when two consecutives signals were congruent and with equal intensity. These results are discussed to provide guidelines for designing tactile stimulation systems for alert or notification.