The effects of incongruent feedback on bimanual task performance

Abstract

Previous studies analyzing the effects of incongruent visual and haptic feedback have found differences in the perceived stiffness of an object depending on what modality was delayed. These studies required only unilateral performance of the individual and did not measure functional task completion. Our study evaluated the effects of incongruent visual and haptic feedback during a bimanual pick and place task within a virtual environment using two Phantom Omnis. Subjects were asked to place three different colored spheres into matching colored baskets under various testing conditions. The testing conditions included various temporal delays in either the haptic feedback, visual feedback or both feedback modalities simultaneously. The amount of time required to complete the task as well as the number of spheres broken were recorded for each trial. The results show that delays in either or both of the feedback modalities had a negative effect on the subject's ability to complete the task. The most detrimental effects on task performance were observed when both feedback modalities were simultaneously delayed 133 ms for both the completion time and number of broken spheres.

Multisensory Softness

“…Interestingly, while not providing an explanation for the underlying mechanisms that are causing this inconsistency, its experimental evaluation was successfully used for improving transparency of a simple virtual teleoperation channel (Nisky et al 2011), as will be discussed in more details below. More generally, the effect of delay on motor performance was mostly studied in the context of teleoperation, such as a virtual bimanual pick and place task (Cooper et al 2012), or a peg in a hole task (Yip et al 2011). In these studies, however, the focus is on task performance rather than on trying to pinpoint the specific contribution of the mechanical properties of objects, and in most cases, the objects are rigid.…”