A neurophysiological and behavioral investigation of tactile spatial exploration for sighted and non-sighted adults

In this work we report on preliminary results about a new method to evaluate the cues used for constructing mental maps of virtual objects, presented through interaction with a tactile device. Both behavioral and neurophysiological metrics are considered to evaluate the process of identifying virtual structures, in both sighted and non-sighted adults. The possible dependency on the kind of virtual object or on the sensory impairment is investigated. Results also show similarities between sighted and non-sighted subjects in the identification process. Our method may facilitate researchers in understanding and assessing human-system integration in the context of touch-based interfaces for non-sighted people.