Multimodal Effects

We perceive and make “sense” of our outer world only through five senses: hearing, vision, touch, smell, and taste. Any feedback we engineer for a particular sense constitutes a distinct modality. 

Vibrotactile haptics is one submodality of touch, where we utilize our sensitivity to vibrations under 1 kHz frequency. This is very similar to our sense of hearing, where we are also sensitive to a specific frequency band (20-20,000 Hz). Similarities between audio and touch are also evident from the fact that voice coil architecture is common in both vibrotactile actuators and speakers.

However, there are some stark differences between the two, beyond just the difference in frequency band. We devised an experimental and demonstration platform, in the form of a mixer board, to compare audio and haptics in terms of frequency discrimination.

Specifically, we wanted to compare the congruence between CFM and PFM and how it differs across the audio and touch modalities (click here for an introduction to CFM and PFM). 

Our preliminary evaluation suggests that the congruence is non-existent in audio but significant in touch, for a given frequency combination. Additionally, CFM audio combined with PFM haptics could further disseminate any minimal doubts about the continuity of vibration frequency change.

Learn more about the setup in our one-page demonstration summary.