Tactual Perception
Learn how humans perceive tactual perception.
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Introduction
Tactual perception or touch is how humans perceive objects in the surrounding environment using sensations created by the physical contact of the human body with the objects. This perception can help us in acquiring loads of information about the object we touch. We can immediately find the object’s size, weight, temperature, material, and shape.
A well known use of touch in the world of communication is Braille, an alphabet reading system for people who are blind. It consists of patterns of raised dots indicating letters that can be read by moving fingers over them.
Tactual perception is an umbrella term referring to three forms of perception; tactile, kinesthetic, and haptic.
Tactile perception
Tactile perception is the ability to interpret the object being touched via receptors on our skin that are sensitive to temperature, pain, and pressure. This sensory information is sent to the brain and the brain can interpret what the object is, its features such as shape, texture, and size, and how it should be handled and used.
In human-computer interaction, we are concerned mainly with the receptors of pressure in the form of vibrations. Pressure can be felt on our whole body but with varying sensitivity. For example, our fingers and thumbs are most sensitive to pressure compared to any other body part.
The vibration function of mobile phones was the first large scale application of tactile perception in the field of HCI. In recent years, the interest and development in vibrotactile displays has increased rapidly. These displays convey messages by producing vibrations that can be felt on the user’s skin.
Kinesthetic perception
Kinesthetic perception is the ability to have awareness of body position and movements of body parts using sensory organs present in body muscles and joints, i.e. without the use of the five senses. We are using our kinesthetic perception whenever we are involved in physical activity.
Kinesthetic learning style refers to learning new things better by actually performing them rather than reading instructions or watching someone perform.
The same concept is used by mobile phones for a more intuitive interaction with the user. One well known functionality is rotation. By turning this function on, you can rotate the phone from portrait to landscape, the mobile device senses the changed direction of the gravitational force and then rotates the screen display automatically.
Haptic perception
Haptic perception is the ability to recognize objects through touch. It is the combination of both tactile perception and kinesthetic perception. For example, to check the quality of a sofa, you run your hands on its surface to check the upholstery’s quality and put pressure on it to check the cushion filling’s quality. Another widely used application of haptic perception is video games, especially arcade or racing games. For example, force feedback wheels used in arcade games provide a realistic resistance while rotating the wheel, giving users a feeling of a real steering system.
Laptops use haptic perception in the form of a touchpad. They sense the movement of fingers and pressure on the pad and the associated function is implemented.