Perceptual Alignment of Spatial Auditory and Tactile Stimuli for Effective Directional Cueing

Spatial audio and directional tactile cues are crucial for target localization and collision avoidance, especially when visual information is limited or cognitive load is high. As multisensory cues, spatially aligned auditory and tactile stimuli can perform better than misaligned ones, but achieving precise alignment is challenging. This study aims to (1) identify just noticeable differences (JNDs) of direction between auditory and tactile stimuli in the horizontal plane and (2) evaluate hazard avoidance performance with misaligned cues within the JNDs. The estimated JNDs increase from 26° to 84° as the stimuli shifted from the center to the side of the body. We also demonstrate that perceptual alignment of auditory and tactile cues within the JND ranges yielded comparable hazard avoidance performance and usability to exact physical alignment. Our study offers useful insights for more efficient and accurate spatial audio-tactile rendering systems for extended reality (XR).