Research on electrotactile representation technology based on spatiotemporal dual-channel

Abstract

An electro-tactile representation technology based on spatio-temporal dual-channel is presented and discussed. Both the stimuli current on temporal channel and the signal for tactile element selection on spatial channel are provided by sound waves. Signals on two channels are composed into a file in WAV format by a special wave editor. This WAV format file can be converted to a dimensional wave by the sound card of a computer. When the output of the sound card is connected to the current stimulator, it provides the control signal for tactile stimuli current on temporal channel and tactile element selection signal on spatial channel. The analysis on the model of electrotactile representation shows that the whole tactile perception can be divided into the base volume and the fluctuant amount. To obtain a comfortable electrotactile sensation, a limit to the fluctuant amount is needed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.