Experimental research on the tactile perception from fingertip skin friction

Abstract

Skin friction is a main perception channel for humankind to recognize object surface properties. However, the relationship between tactile perception and skin friction is a typical bio-tribology interdisciplinary problem, which is rarely studied both in biology and tribology fields. In order to study the brain stimulation response to the fingertips sliding friction, cognitive related fingertip friction testing was carried out, and the tactile perception evoked by the friction and vibration of various surface textures was investigated in this paper, human subjective tactile experiments was carried out through twenty volunteers testing for the tactile perception of surface properties, focused on three fabric samples (cotton, linen and silk) and three paper samples (photo paper, kraft paper and normal paper). The friction coefficient and frictional vibration signals were measured, and the brain response signals stimulated by the fingertip friction were simultaneously recorded and analyzed. The research works in this paper are beneficial for the deep understanding of tactile perception mechanism by fingertips, and building up a biomimetic model for smart robotic fingers.The research results indicate that the cerebral cortex responds sensitively to the variations in fingertips frictional force and vibration amplitudes. The human tactile perception is very sensitive to the fabric texture properties, which are described by the dimensions such as rough-smooth, coarse-fine and complex-uniform. The higher values of the fabric texture dimensions, the lower values in friction coefficient, and the more sensitive of tactile perception for the surface textures. Furthermore, it is noticed that the amplitude and distribution of brain signals response, i.e. ERPs (event related potentials) evoked by fingertip friction, is affected by the surface texture or friction coefficient. It is found that the response sensibility shown on the beginning peaks of ERP waveform has strong relation to the frictional stimulus on fingertip friction. The parameter of P3 latency (i.e. the third positive peak of ERP) is the distinct identifying information for the tactile perception of surface textures.