Determining the Feasibility of Forearm Mounted Vibrotactile Displays

At first glance, multi-element forearm mounted vibrotactile displays would appear to have considerable potential as an output device for mobile computing. The devices are small, robust and discrete, and the body site both easily accessible and socially acceptable for such a purpose. However, due to the absence of a thorough account of vibrotactile perception, it is hard to determine their feasibility, or even what might form an appropriate arrangement of vibrating elements or tactors. We describe two studies intended to shed light on these issues. The first extends the localization literature relating to the forearm, and its results indicate that different spatial arrangements of tactors can result in substantially different levels of performance. The second study examines the influence of adjusting the size of the area of the skin experiencing a vibration with its perceived intensity. The results indicate a positive relationship between increased size and increased perceived intensity. Finally, the implications of these studies for the design of vibrotactile arrays are discussed.