Highly pixelated, untethered tactile interfaces for an on-skin telehaptic system

For highly immersive telehaptic applications, skin-integrated, untethered, and highly pixelated transducer devices that can record and generate tactile stimuli are required. Here, we propose a skin-conformable tactile sensor and actuator array with high spatial resolution of 1.8 mm for realising untethered tactile communication on human skin. The tactile sensors are designed to exhibit ultra-flexibility and bimodal sensitivity to static and dynamic pressure. The actuators are miniaturised to sub-millimetre scale to provide sophisticated, high spatiotemporal resolution tactile feedback over a centimetre square area of the fingertip with the capacity to generate vibrotactile feedback under an external load of up to 529 kPa. Short time Fourier transform analysis showed that our telehaptic system can transmit various types of tactile stimuli, such as the shape of objects and letters, textures of fabrics, and vibration patterns with high fidelity.

“Are You in Your Body?!”. The Study of Biopolitical Interface Design

The article considers biopolitical design of interfaces in terms of computer games: the player's body is constructed with the help of a variety of technical instances that support gameplay (for instance, gamepads, haptic controllers, virtual reality devices). Through the interaction with interfaces, the new patterns of sensuality are formed, namely, the new forms of tactile communication with media. The article demonstrates the distinction between the representation of biopolitical processes in games (for instance, in Plague. Inc. and Bio. Inc.) and the process of incorporating biopolitical procedures into technical gaming devices, and through them into our bodies and lifestyle. The setting and narratives of games often tend to rely on biopolitical images. However, the processes that take place in our body during the game are more important than those that are presented on the screen: the new controllers increasingly take into account the physical state of the player in order to regulate the level of difficulty, promising not only entertainment but also care. The article raises the question of what the body feels and does not feel when it is included into the game, since the existing interfaces and controllers allow us to simulate a complex perceptual experience which includes not only audiovisual elements, but also touch, smell and so forth. After all, the (self-) control practices embedded in game controllers allow us to view them as technical dispositives through which we master the bodies of the future. The author of the article proposes the concept of a “touch-image" which captures a new dimension of hi-tech sensibility.

The neural bases of tactile vitality forms and their modulation by social context

People communicate using speech, gestures, and, less frequently, touches. An example of tactile communication is represented by handshake. Customs surrounding handshake vary in different cultures. In Western societies is mostly used when meeting, parting, as a sign of congratulations or at the end of a successful business. Despite its importance in social life, the neural mechanism underlying the affective components conveyed by handshake (“tactile vitality forms”) is unknown. Here we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electromyography (EMG), to investigate the neural affective activations during handshakes. We demonstrated that handshake conveying gentle or aggressive tactile vitality forms produces a stronger activation of the dorso-central insula. The simultaneous presence of emotional facial expressions modulates the activation of this insular sector. Finally, we provide evidence that the cingulate cortex is involved in the processing of facial expressions conveying different vitality forms.

Coaches’ Use of Positive Tactile Communication in Collegiate Basketball

There is a growing body of research on positive tactile communication and its impact on athlete performance and team dynamics. The purpose of the present study was to examine the profile and perceived impact of positive tactile communication as a coaching strategy in a high-performance team sport setting. Participants were members of a successful American collegiate women’s basketball team comprising the head coach, associate head coach, and 16 student-athletes. Methods of data collection included systematic observation and focus groups. Positive tactile communication was perceived to be an effective coaching strategy for enhancing relationships and athlete performance. To our knowledge, this is the first study to include both quantitative and qualitative data from multiple coaches on the same team, as well as athlete perceptions of coaches’ strategic use of positive tactile communication.

Structural organization and cohesiveness of foraging groups in Camponotus sericeus (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): locally regulated or self-organized?

Background In Camponotus sericeus (Fabricius), foraging ants are recruited mostly as individuals but occasionally as small groups that move in a single file. We studied the structure and organization of these small foraging groups and attempted to understand the process through which the cohesiveness of the moving file is maintained. Results The recruited group moves in a single file as if steered by a leader at the moving tip. Ants in the group were found to exhibit certain fidelity to their respective positions in the file, despite the occasional breakdown of the cohesiveness due to disturbance and or obstructions on their path. This fidelity decreases from both ends towards the middle part of the file. Accordingly, three segments could be recognized in the moving file: (a) the leading ant that almost always maintains its position and steers the group, (b) a short tail part with a few ants that always trail the file and, (c) the mid part that binds the group; ants in this segment always tend to follow the leader through a cascading chain of tactile communication. If the leader ant is removed, entire group loses its orientation and enters into a chaotic search state. But removing any other ant does not affect the cohesiveness; rather it’s position is occupied by the member preceding it and thus maintains the link in the group. Conclusions The cohesiveness of the moving group appeared to result from (a) regulation of the movement of the group by the leading ant, and, (b) an interactive process among the rest of the ants. Based on these two elements, a simple automated model of the group’s movement was developed that could effectively mimic the observed pattern. We also provide evidence to suggest that recruitment of groups occurs in the direction of, and in response to, the information received by the colony on, the resource rich patches.