Recognition of Fine Textures Using Friction and EEG Methods

ABSTRACT Tactile perception is essential for humans to recognise objects. This study systematically investigated the tribological behaviour of the finger and physiological response of the brain related to the width recognition of tactile perception using subjective evaluation, friction and electroencephalography methods. The results show that the texture feeling, recognition accuracy of the texture and proportion of deformation friction increased with the texture width. The average width recognition threshold of the fine texture was 45.4 μm. The load index, maximum amplitude of the vibration signal, entropy, longest vertical line and P300 amplitude were positively correlated with the texture width. P300 latency was negatively correlated with the texture width. When the texture width exceeded the width recognition thresholds of tactile perception, the main frequency of the vibration signals increased to the optimal perceptual range of the Pacinian corpuscle. The nonlinear features of the vibration signal increased, and the vibration system transitioned from a homogenous state to a disrupted state. Moreover, the activation intensity and area of the brain and the speed of tactile recognition increased. The study demonstrated that the mechanical stimuli of friction and vibration generated in the touching of fine textures having various widths affected the subjective evaluation and brain response.