Cognitive human-computer communication by means of haptic interfaces

The present work analyzes the effects on learning and cognitive processes when augmenting user feedback by means of the force feedback devices. Different haptic devices have been employed to test three different cognitive processes: feature and shape recognition, trajectory learning and co-writing. In order to assess the effectiveness of the haptic feedback we compared in the three test cases the force feedback with alternate methods of displaying feedback (acoustic and visual stimuli), as a result we found that information provided by haptic interfaces complements the one which is achieved by vision and audio and, if integrated helps to improve specific kind of performances. After reviewing the three different test cases and the achieved result we will try to provide some indications on how to exploit haptic feedback to improve gesture performance in skill training application.