MOVeMENT: A framework for systematically mapping vibrotactile stimulations to fundamental body movements

Abstract

Traditional forms of motor learning, i.e., audio-visual instruction and/or guidance through physical contact, are limited depending on the situation such as instruction in a noisy or busy classroom setting, or across a large physical separation. Vibrotactile stimulation has recently emerged as a promising alternative or augmentation to traditional forms of motor training and learning, but has evolved mostly in an adhoc manner where trainers or researchers have resorted to application specific vibrotactile-movement mapping. In contrast, this paper proposes a novel framework, MOVeMENT (Mapping Of Vibrations to moveMENT), that provides systematic design guidelines for mapping vibrotactile stimulations to human body movements in motor skill training applications. We present a pilot test to validate the proposed framework. Results of the study are promising, and the subjects found the movement instructions intuitive and easy to recognize. ©2010 IEEE.