Improving Tactile Codes for Increased Speech Communication Rates in a Phonemic-Based Tactile Display

Area of Science:

• Haptics and Human-Computer Interaction
• Speech Communication Technology
• Assistive Technology Research

Background:

• Previous tactile speech systems enabled learning hundreds of English words via phonemic patterns on a tactor array.
• Existing tactile codes required optimization to improve communication speed and efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To modify tactile codes for 39 English phonemes and 10 common phoneme pairs.
• To reduce code duration for frequent elements to increase tactile speech transmission rates.
• To evaluate the learning, identification, and retention of the modified tactile codes.

Main Methods:

• Redesigned tactile codes for phonemes and frequent phoneme pairs.
• Conducted code identification experiments with 10 participants over three weeks using a video game interface.
• Performed a retention test after more than 90 days with 7 participants.

Main Results:

• Achieved an average identification rate of 83.3% for the 49 modified codes (39 phonemes + 10 pairs) with an average learning time of 6.2 hours.
• Demonstrated a retention rate of 75.7% after over 90 days without exposure.
• Calculated a 58% increase in ideal transmission rate with the modified codes compared to original codes.

Conclusions:

• The modified tactile codes significantly improve the speed of tactile speech communication.
• The redesigned system is learnable and retains information effectively over extended periods.
• Enhanced tactile coding offers a promising avenue for faster and more efficient tactile speech interfaces.