Impressions of Vibrotactile Signals in Older Adults With and Without History of Stroke

Vibrotactile feedback is mechanical stimulation produced using actuators in contact with the body. The stimulation parameters (frequency, amplitude, location, duration) can be adjusted to produce a variety of sensations. By characterizing how users respond to different settings, interaction designers can create more usable and enjoyable haptic interfaces. This form of haptic feedback is being used widely for alerts, gaming, and simulation; however, emerging technologies in the fields of brain health and physical therapy are introducing new users to this stimulation. For applications using vibrotactile stimulation to advance, researchers are studying perceived sensations and affective response. However, these studies often focus on healthy, younger users. It is well known that older adults and those with acquired brain injury have different physiology and different perception than young adults. Here we present a set of vibrotactile signals to adults over 40 years old with and without history of stroke and query affective impression and experienced sensations. Signals on the palm and those with a changing stimulus location were associated with higher valence ratings, while low-amplitude signals showed lowest arousal. Users preferred stimulation that they could perceive, and they could not perceive most signals applied to the forearm. Reported sensations include tickle, tingling, and numbness.