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Evaluation of Vibrotactile Output from a Rotating Motor Actuator
Specialized vibrotactile actuators are widely used to output haptic sensations due to their portability and robustness; some models are expensive and capable, while others are economical but weaker and less expressive. To increase the accessibility of high-quality haptics, we designed a cost-effective actuation approach called the rotating motor actuator (RMA): it uses a small DC motor to generate vibrotactile cues on a rigid stylus. We conducted a psychophysical experiment where eighteen volunteers matched the RMA's vibration amplitudes with those from a high-quality reference actuator (Haptuator Mark II) at twelve frequencies from 50 Hz to 450 Hz. The average error in matching acceleration magnitudes was 10.2\%. More current was required for the RMA than the reference actuator; a stronger DC motor would require less current. Participants also watched a video of a real tool-mediated interaction with playback of recorded vibrotactile cues from each actuator. 94.4\% of the participants agreed that the RMA delivered realistic vibrations and audio cues during this replay. 83.3\% reported that the RMA vibrations were pleasant, compared to 66.7\% for the reference. A possible cause for this significant difference may be that the reference actuator (which has a mechanical resonance) distorts low-frequency vibrations more than the RMA does.
@article{Gourishetti22-TH-Evaluation, title = {Evaluation of Vibrotactile Output from a Rotating Motor Actuator}, aword_paper = {Honorable Mention for the Best ToH Short Paper Award at the IEEE Haptics Symposium Conference 2022}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Haptics}, abstract = {Specialized vibrotactile actuators are widely used to output haptic sensations due to their portability and robustness; some models are expensive and capable, while others are economical but weaker and less expressive. To increase the accessibility of high-quality haptics, we designed a cost-effective actuation approach called the rotating motor actuator (RMA): it uses a small DC motor to generate vibrotactile cues on a rigid stylus. We conducted a psychophysical experiment where eighteen volunteers matched the RMA's vibration amplitudes with those from a high-quality reference actuator (Haptuator Mark II) at twelve frequencies from 50 Hz to 450 Hz. The average error in matching acceleration magnitudes was 10.2\%. More current was required for the RMA than the reference actuator; a stronger DC motor would require less current. Participants also watched a video of a real tool-mediated interaction with playback of recorded vibrotactile cues from each actuator. 94.4\% of the participants agreed that the RMA delivered realistic vibrations and audio cues during this replay. 83.3\% reported that the RMA vibrations were pleasant, compared to 66.7\% for the reference. A possible cause for this significant difference may be that the reference actuator (which has a mechanical resonance) distorts low-frequency vibrations more than the RMA does.}, volume = {15}, number = {1}, pages = {39--44}, month = jan, year = {2022}, note = {Presented at the IEEE Haptics Symposium}, slug = {gourishetti22-th-evaluation}, author = {Gourishetti, Ravali and Kuchenbecker, Katherine J.}, month_numeric = {1} }