Technique for Modulating the Tactile Sensation of Objects Using an Illusion

Abstract

The human ability to determine the tactile textures of objects seems to be very stable: When someone rubs, holds, hits, or touches a stone, for example, she/he never confuses its tactile texture with that of fur or a sponge. However, the phenomenon known as the velvet hand illusion indicates that human perception of tactile texture can be easily distorted. This article describes a psychological study that examined the nature of this tactile illusion and presents a technique with which the perception of texture can be modulated using this phenomenon.