Haptic perception
Encyclopedia
Haptic perception is the process of recognizing objects through touch. It involves a combination of somatosensory perception of patterns on the skin surface (e.g., edges, curvature, and texture) and proprioception
Proprioception
Proprioception , from Latin proprius, meaning "one's own" and perception, is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement...

 of hand position and conformation.

People can rapidly and accurately identify three-dimensional objects by touch. They do so through the use of exploratory procedures, such as moving the fingers over the outer surface of the object or holding the entire object in the hand.

Gibson defined the haptic system as "The sensibility of the individual to the world adjacent to his body by use of his body". Gibson and others emphasized the close link between haptic perception and body movement: haptic perception is active exploration. The concept of haptic perception is related to the concept of extended physiological proprioception
Extended physiological proprioception
Extended physiological proprioception is a concept pioneered by D.C. Simpson to describe the ability to perceive at the tip of the tool, in this case a prosthetic limb. The work was based on pneumatic prosthesis developed in response to disabilities incurred by infants as the result of use of...

 according to which, when using a tool such as a stick, perceptual experience is transparently transferred to the end of the tool.

Haptic perception relies on the forces experienced during touch. This research allows the creation of "virtual", illusory haptic shapes with different perceived qualities which has clear application in haptic technology.

Loss of the sense of touch is a catastrophic deficit that can impair walking and other skilled actions such as holding objects or using tools.
Haptic Perception in Infancy=
When four month old infants were givin two rings that were connected, it was discovered that they acknowledged the boundaries of the two rings, because of the connection.

Further reading

Lederman, S. J., & Klatzky, R. L. (1990). Haptic classification of common objects: Knowledge-driven exploration. Cognitive Psychology, 22, 421-459.

Grunwald, M. (Ed.) 2008. Human Haptic Perception - Basics and Applications. Basel/Boston/Berlin: Birkhaeuser
Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7643-7611-6
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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