Electrotactile Improves Thermal Referral

2026-04-30

AI Summary

This work proposes a novel approach to thermal illusion in virtual reality by integrating electrotactile stimulation into thermal perception modeling, addressing the limitations of conventional vibrotactile feedback which struggles to convey cold sensations effectively and introduces intrusive tactile cues unsuitable for simulating non-contact thermal events. Through psychophysical experiments integrated with a VR system, the study establishes an electrotactile-based thermal perception model. Results demonstrate that this method significantly enhances the fidelity of cold sensation delivery, improves the realism of thermal experiences, and effectively minimizes unwanted tactile interference. Furthermore, it successfully differentiates between contact and non-contact thermal interactions, thereby substantially increasing immersion and perceptual authenticity across diverse VR thermal scenarios.

Abstract

Thermal referral enables thermal sensations in locations lacking thermal actuators--this is achieved using vibrotactile actuators to redirect a nearby thermal sensation to where a tactile sensation is applied. However, we found that its reliance on vibration introduces critical limitations: it struggles to produce cold referral, and the inherent strong tactile "buzz" makes it unsuitable for simulating non-contact thermal events, such as the chill of an open freezer in VR (in contrast to contact-based thermal events like touching the freezer's cold handle). To improve this, we propose a shift from vibrotactile to electrotactile-based thermal referral. We evaluated in two user studies--a psychophysics experiment (N=22) and a VR deployment (N=20)--where we contrasted electrotactile with vibrotactile-based thermal referral. Our results reveal key advantages of the electrotactile based thermal referral: (1) increases the referral rate for cold sensations; (2) increases thermal perception while minimizing tactile; and (3) improves realism across a range of VR thermal scenarios, specifically distinguishing between contact-based and non-contact thermal events. Finally, we provide design guidelines for choosing tactile cues to create immersive multimodal thermal experiences in VR.

Problem

• thermal referral
• vibrotactile
• electrotactile
• virtual reality
• non-contact thermal events

Innovation

• electrotactile
• thermal referral
• virtual reality
• multimodal interaction
• non-contact thermal sensation