Abstract
Humans efficiently estimate the grip force necessary to lift a variety of objects, including slippery ones. The regulation of grip force starts with the initial contact and takes into account the surface properties, such as friction. This estimation of the frictional strength has been shown to depend critically on cutaneous information. However, the physical and perceptual mechanism that provides such early tactile information remains elusive. In this study, we developed a friction-modulation apparatus to elucidate the effects of the frictional properties of objects during initial contact. We found a correlation between participants' conscious perception of friction and radial strain patterns of skin deformation. The results provide insights into the tactile cues made available by contact mechanics to the sensorimotor regulation of grip, as well as to the conscious perception of the frictional properties of an object.
Highlights
Humans efficiently estimate the grip force necessary to lift a variety of objects, including slippery ones
Failure to properly assess the frictional strength of the surface at initial contact—due to the presence of gloves or anesthesia, for instance—is followed by larger-than-usual grip forces, increasing the real area of contact [7,8,9]
The apparatus combining a friction plate and an optical system is shown in Fig. 1A, and construction details are presented in Materials and Methods
Summary
Laurence Willemeta,b,1 , Khoubeib Kanzaria, Jocelyn Monnoyera, Ingvars Birznieksc,d , and Michaël Wiertlewskib aInstitut des Sciences du Mouvement, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, F-13288 Marseille, France; bCognitive Robotics Department, TU Delft, 2628 CD Delft, Netherlands; cNeuRA, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia; and dSchool of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. The regulation of grip force starts with the initial contact and takes into account the surface properties, such as friction. This estimation of the frictional strength has been shown to depend critically on cutaneous information. Roboticists have leveraged these findings to estimate friction on initial contact from the gradient of the lateral traction field This metric is used to control the force applied by robotic grippers to soft and fragile objects [19,20,21]. This study demonstrates that a radial tensile strain of the skin is involved in the perception of slipperiness during this initial contact These findings can inform the design of advanced tactile sensors for robotics or prosthetics and for improving haptic human–machine interactions.
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