Seeing Through Touch: The Role of Haptic Information in Visualization

This chapter presents evidence for the development of visualizationbreak through touch when in circumstances where no visual information is provided. Results reported here show that local touch is translated into gestalt whole visualized patterns. It further shows that haptics, perception through touch, has semantics and that specific force patterns that constitute haptic interactions act as elements of information that are translated into visual images. It is shown that regions in the occipital brain, especially the Lateral Occipital Tactile-Visual Area, are activated when subjects attempt to recognize a shape haptically. Visualization of haptic patterns provides holistic gestalt views based on local haptic sensory cues. Haptic information contributes the micro details to visualization while the macro details are contributed by the human-visual system. It is further concluded that these findings about the processes of touch – visualization have major implications for design of cognitive technology with the intention of improving learning. A combination of touch and visual cues is advantageous to learning, providing more than each for the construction of a meaningful image of the world.