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Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 30, 2025

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback

Published on: May 23, 2019

Uneven Terrain Recognition Using Neuromorphic Haptic Feedback.

Sahana Prasanna^1,2, Jessica D'Abbraccio^1,2, Mariangela Filosa^1,2,3

¹The BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, 56127 Pisa, Italy.

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)

|May 13, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a vibrotactile feedback system to help lower-limb amputees sense terrain. Intact subjects accurately distinguished terrains using this feedback, paving the way for safer prosthetic use.

Keywords:

FPGA neuron model Izhikevich PSTH-based classification lower-limb impairments neuromorphic haptic feedback tactile augmentation terrain recognition wearable assistive robotics

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Published on: August 2, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 30, 2025

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback

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Published on: May 23, 2019

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A Method for Evaluating Timeliness and Accuracy of Volitional Motor Responses to Vibrotactile Stimuli

A Method for Evaluating Timeliness and Accuracy of Volitional Motor Responses to Vibrotactile Stimuli

Published on: August 2, 2016

Area of Science:

Biomedical Engineering
Neuroscience
Rehabilitation Technology

Background:

Technological advancements in prosthetics have improved quality of life for amputees.
Current lower limb prostheses lack sensory feedback regarding foot-ground interaction, especially terrain irregularities.
This deficit increases fall risk, particularly on uneven surfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and assess a biomimetic vibrotactile feedback system for conveying gait and terrain information to users.
To investigate the human ability to decode vibrotactile feedback for terrain discrimination.
To explore the temporal dynamics of human perception in processing this sensory information.

Main Methods:

A biomimetic vibrotactile feedback system was integrated with a sensor-equipped insole.
The system was tested on intact subjects who experienced even and uneven terrains.
A K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) classifier was employed to analyze the decoding of terrain features from the feedback.

Main Results:

Subjects could discriminate between even and uneven terrains with 87.5% accuracy, relying solely on vibrotactile feedback.
Analysis indicated that human subjects processed this feedback with a temporal dynamic of approximately 45 milliseconds.
The KNN classifier demonstrated the potential for recognizing terrain types based on the feedback patterns.

Conclusions:

The vibrotactile feedback system shows promise in providing crucial foot-sole information to lower-limb amputees.
This technology can help users perceive floor conditions, adapt their gait, and enhance confidence in using prosthetic limbs.
Further development could significantly reduce fall risks and improve mobility for individuals with lower limb amputations.