Measurement of the detection thresholds of hair on human hairy skin using direct vibrotactile stimulation

Abstract

This paper reports the detection threshold of human hairy skin with the use of a direct vibrotactile stimulus to the hair on human hairy skin. We designed an experimental method to quantify the psychological effect and developed a stimulation instrument to directly stimulate the hair. This vibrotactile stimulation was provided from the tip of tweezers which traveled horizontally against the human skin. The stimulation point was the approximate middle region of the hair on the middle finger. A psychological experiment was conducted based on the hypothesis that a frequency characteristic exists on hairy skin with direct stimulus to the hair. As a result, a significant difference between frequencies was not obtained with ANOVA. The dispersion in the range of low frequency range (25 to 80 Hz) indicates the distribution density of the mechanical receptor. The threshold curve indicates that the distribution density of the tactile meniscus cell can be attributed to the range of low-frequency, and hair follicle receptors (RA) can be attributed to the high-frequency portion.