Cognitive Processes of Haptic Perception of Virtual Objects: Effect of Human and Machine Disruptions

Haptic perception of object shape is crucial for humans to interact with machines in human-machine systems (HMS). This perception is prone to disruptions arising from the human and/or machine sides of HMS. An unexplored topic is cognitive processes of the perception. Herein, this study examined the feasibility of measuring the cognitive processes within a virtual environment (i.e., an HMS). Non-invasive electroencephalography was employed to record brain activity of human participants during a task, which was perturbed by disruptions from the human and machine sides. The cognitive processes were measured by using an engagement ratio (ER) and an attention ratio (AR) as physiological metrics, besides behavioral metrics. The results of the study confirmed the feasibility of ER and AR to measure the processes and, in turn, opens an avenue towards elucidating the processes for improving HMS.

I. Introduction

Being crucial for interacting with machines, human shape perception of objects involves intricate interplays of sensory inputs including visual, haptic (pertinent to touch), and proprioceptive cues. Haptic cues (e.g., force feedback) augment this perception, especially when the visual cues of the objects are compromised. Accordingly, human haptic perception of object shape plays an important role in enabling effective human-machine systems (HMS) for various applications - e.g., minimally invasive surgeries [1], immersive gaming [2], and face recognition for visually impaired individuals [3].