Surround-Inhibitory Fabric Electrode-Based Electrotactile Interactive System for Tactile Perception Evaluation in VR

Virtual reality presents higher demands for the precision and flexibility of tactile feedback. However, existing electrotactile devices generally suffer from insufficient spatial resolution and obvious inter-electrode interference, make it difficult to provide accurate tactile experience. To this end, we designed a fabric-based ultra-thin flexible microelectrode array, which innovatively introduces a surround-inhibitory structure to effectively inhibit current diffusion between neighbouring electrodes, dramatically improving the spatial resolution and tactile perception accuracy of electrotactile stimulation. On this basis, we further developed an evaluation system for electrotactile interaction. The quantitative evaluation of tactile recognition accuracy and reaction time of 30 participants was carried out by designing an experimental paradigm, which verified the effectiveness of the proposed electrode structure and the practicality of the system. The experimental results show that the electrode structure and the system can significantly improve users' tactile perception in virtual environments, providing a new technological solution for tactile feedback in virtual reality and human-computer interaction with high precision and personalisation.