Vibrotactile Discrimination of Pure and Complex Wave- forms

Here we present experimental results that investigate the application of vibrotactile stimulus of pure and complex waveforms. Our experiment measured a subject’s ability to discriminate between pure and complex waveforms based upon vibrotactile stimulus alone. Subjective same/different awareness was captured for paired combinations of sine, saw, and square waveforms at a fixed fundamental frequency of 160 Hz (f0). Each arrangement was presented non-sequentially via a gloved vibrotactile device. Audio and bone conduction stimulus were removed via headphone and tactile noise masking respectively. The results from our experiments indicate that humans possess the ability to distinguish between different waveforms via vibrotactile stimulation when presented asynchronously at f0 and that this form of interaction may be developed further to advance digital musical instrument (DMI) extra-auditory interactions in computer music.