A MEMS-based tactile sensor to study human digital touch: mechanical transduction of the tactile information and role of fingerprints
We present recent results showing that human epidermal ridges (fingerprints) could play a central role in fine texture discrimination tasks by spatially modulating the contact stress field between the fingertip and the substrate. Using an original biomimetic finger whose surface is patterned with para...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
EDP Sciences
2010-06-01
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| Series: | EPJ Web of Conferences |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20100621006 |
| _version_ | 1818385439986286592 |
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| author | Scheibert J. Debregeas G. Prevost A. |
| author_facet | Scheibert J. Debregeas G. Prevost A. |
| author_sort | Scheibert J. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present recent results showing that human epidermal ridges (fingerprints) could play a central role in fine texture discrimination tasks by spatially modulating the contact stress field between the fingertip and the substrate. Using an original biomimetic finger whose surface is patterned with parallel ridges, we demonstrate that the subsurface stress signals elicited by continuous rubbing of randomly textured substrates is dominated by fluctuations at a frequency defined by the inter-ridge distance divided by the rubbing velocity. In natural exploratory conditions, this frequency matches the best frequency of one type of mechanoreceptors, namely the Pacinian corpuscles, which are specifically involved in the tactile coding of fine textures. The use of white-noise patterned stimuli has alloowed us to extract, using a reverse-correlation analysis, the stimulus-signal response function associated with roughness modality. Its shape could provides spectral, spatial and directional selectivity to the digital tactile system. It offers a physiological basis for the recently proposed hypothesis of a dual-coding (spatio-temporal and vibratory) of tactile information. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T03:38:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ce1bab97527b4a19ae54f1746bd2e1f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2100-014X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T03:38:11Z |
| publishDate | 2010-06-01 |
| publisher | EDP Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | EPJ Web of Conferences |
| spelling | doaj.art-ce1bab97527b4a19ae54f1746bd2e1f82022-12-21T23:18:34ZengEDP SciencesEPJ Web of Conferences2100-014X2010-06-0162100610.1051/epjconf/20100621006A MEMS-based tactile sensor to study human digital touch: mechanical transduction of the tactile information and role of fingerprintsScheibert J.Debregeas G.Prevost A.We present recent results showing that human epidermal ridges (fingerprints) could play a central role in fine texture discrimination tasks by spatially modulating the contact stress field between the fingertip and the substrate. Using an original biomimetic finger whose surface is patterned with parallel ridges, we demonstrate that the subsurface stress signals elicited by continuous rubbing of randomly textured substrates is dominated by fluctuations at a frequency defined by the inter-ridge distance divided by the rubbing velocity. In natural exploratory conditions, this frequency matches the best frequency of one type of mechanoreceptors, namely the Pacinian corpuscles, which are specifically involved in the tactile coding of fine textures. The use of white-noise patterned stimuli has alloowed us to extract, using a reverse-correlation analysis, the stimulus-signal response function associated with roughness modality. Its shape could provides spectral, spatial and directional selectivity to the digital tactile system. It offers a physiological basis for the recently proposed hypothesis of a dual-coding (spatio-temporal and vibratory) of tactile information.http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20100621006 |
| spellingShingle | Scheibert J. Debregeas G. Prevost A. A MEMS-based tactile sensor to study human digital touch: mechanical transduction of the tactile information and role of fingerprints EPJ Web of Conferences |
| title | A MEMS-based tactile sensor to study human digital touch: mechanical transduction of the tactile information and role of fingerprints |
| title_full | A MEMS-based tactile sensor to study human digital touch: mechanical transduction of the tactile information and role of fingerprints |
| title_fullStr | A MEMS-based tactile sensor to study human digital touch: mechanical transduction of the tactile information and role of fingerprints |
| title_full_unstemmed | A MEMS-based tactile sensor to study human digital touch: mechanical transduction of the tactile information and role of fingerprints |
| title_short | A MEMS-based tactile sensor to study human digital touch: mechanical transduction of the tactile information and role of fingerprints |
| title_sort | mems based tactile sensor to study human digital touch mechanical transduction of the tactile information and role of fingerprints |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20100621006 |
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