The proposed research will investigate the skin's ability to perceive tactile patterns. Using a vibrotactile array of stimulators that fit against the subjects' fingertips, complex patterns varying in duration, mode of generation, intensity, size, temporal proximity to masking stimuli, and location will be presented to subjects who are required to identify the patterns. The role of pattern onset in generating vibrotactile contours and the limits of temporal integration of vibrotactile patterns will be investigated. Measurements will be made of temporal masking functions with patterned stimuli, and a two-factor model of masking will be tested. Spatial factors such as the locus of stimulation and the size of patterns as well as the interaction between these factors and temporal and intensive variables will be explored. The role of experience in tactile pattern recognition will be examined by testing individuals who have had extensive experience with the Optacon, a reading aid for the blind, with some of the pattern recognition tasks on which sighted subjects have been tested. The project will be concerned with drawing parallels between tactile and visual pattern perception. The project will also be concerned with the improvement of cutaneous communication systems and devices, particularly as these might be used by individuals with sensory handicaps.
