Vibrotactile Thresholds on the Wrist for Vibrations Normal to the Skin

In order to facilitate the development of wrist-worn vibrotactile devices, detailed knowledge about how vibrations are perceived by the users is needed. In particular, perceptual thresholds in amplitude are really important. Thresholds have been measured in the literature for other areas of the body, but given the variability reported between areas (shape of the threshold curve, position of maximum sensitivity), thresholds on the wrist can not be inferred from previous measurements and must be measured. The amplitude thresholds for vibrations normal to the skin surface were evaluated on 28 participants, with a three interval forced choice method. They were measured for 7 frequencies that are classical in the literature about vibrotactile perception (25, 40, 80, 160, 250, 320, and 640 Hz). The classical U-shape of the amplitude-threshold curve is observed, with a maximum sensitivity at around 160 Hz, which differs from other body areas, but confirms recent results obtained for vibrations parallel to the skin surface of the same body area. The sensitivity thresholds of vibrotactile signals appear to be in the micrometer range.