Experiment and investigation of two types of vibrotactile devices

Tactile displays have a wide range of applications in assistive technology, prosthetics, and rehabilitation. Vibrotactile stimulation shows potential to be integrated into wearable devices because of its small size, low power consumption, and relative fast responding speed. In this paper, experiments investigating vibrotactile minimal detectable level, just noticeable difference, and two point discrimination distance using eccentric rotating mass (ERM) and linear resonant actuator (LRA) are described and the results were analyzed. LRAs have shown potential to transmit binary information, while ERMs are more suitable for conveying more complexed signals. For both LRAs and ERMs, it is difficult to for subjects to correctly distinguish two points within 45 mm.