Apparent Thermal Motion on the Forearm

Abstract

The concept of Apparent Tactile Motion (ATM) has been extensively studied in the field of haptics, allowing people to perceive a sense of dynamic motion through tactile stimuli such as vibrations, tapping or mid-air stimuli. However, there is a lack of research on whether a similar perception of motion can be achieved using thermal stimuli. As prior research suggests that particularly the stimuli onset asynchrony (SOA) of two stimuli is a significant contributor to the perception of motion, in this study, we examine different SOAs between two warm stimuli on the forearm in order to induce a sensation of motion. Our results indicate that the sensation of motion can be achieved on the forearm with SOAs close to the signal duration. We further found a negative correlation between SOAs and the perception of speed and report findings of participants’ perceptions of motion through drawings. With our study, we strengthen the understanding of dynamic thermal feedback through apparent thermal motion that may lead to the development of lighter and more sustainable wearable thermal devices.