Dtact: a tactile device which changes how a surface is perceived

Among human senses, touch is much less understood than hearing or sight. However, today, new emerging technologies are placing tactile interaction at the heart of the communication with smart devices (smartphones, tablets, …). Hence, studying the sense of touch is now very important, in order to better understand the mechanisms induced from the mechanical excitation of skin to the feeling experienced by a user. Also, being able to detect and measure tactile disabilities, and to propose rehabilitation is a challenge; otherwise, numerous people can drift away from these objects as they can't be used easily by them. In the paper, we present Dtact, a device which stimulates the finger pulp with a calibrated stimulation. It is designed to be used during experimental studies aiming at recording nerves and brain activity of a user touching its surface. It will be used to detect tactile disabilities, and perhaps some exercises could be programmed for the purpose of rehabilitation.