Identification of the optimum resolution specification for a haptic graphic display

• Published in: Interacting with computers 2010-03, Vol.22 (2), p.98-106
• Main Authors: Copeland, Damian, Finlay, Janet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Active pin arrays; Arrays; Education; Experiment; Feedback; Haptic graphic displays; Haptics; Interference; Optimization; Recognition; Resolution; Specifications; Touch interfaces
• ISSN: 0953-5438; 1873-7951
• DOI: 10.1016/j.intcom.2009.11.001

This research seeks to identify the most appropriate resolution for a haptic graphic display based on a pin array utilising active feedback. Initially, fourteen participants from varied social and educational backgrounds participated in a repeated measures experiment to compare the recognition of six simple patterns using three different resolutions. The results demonstrated that a significantly higher proportion of shapes could be identified using the second of the three resolutions when compared with the lowest, but that there was no statistically significant difference between the two higher resolutions. These results led to a second hypothesis: that there was an optimum resolution at which shapes could be identified and that increasing the resolution above this point would not increase the likelihood of recognition. There was, however, the possibility that interference between the pins on the highest resolution may have been affecting the participants’ ability to identify shapes at this resolution, so a second experiment was conducted using a resolution slightly lower than the highest. The results demonstrated that the initial findings were correct and supported the hypothesis that there is an optimum resolution that allows the greatest number of shapes to be determined without any significant benefit from increasing the resolution.