Head tactile communication: promising technology with the design of a head-mounted tactile display

Kimberly Myles an industrial engineer, and Joel Kalb, a research physicist, both employed by the army research laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA, describe their research to create a prototype, stand-alone, head-mounted tactile display (HMTD) to enhance the performance and alertness of soldiers. Myles and Kalb argue that the development of tactile signals was a major component in advancing their design goals, and explain how they integrated a head mounted tactile display with bone conduction communication technologies. Myles and Kalb claim that their research contradicts earlier findings by Brill and Gilson (2006), and by Hawes and Kumagai (2005), that the head and scalp should not be used for tactile stimulation, due to user discomfort. The feature concludes that further research is needed to reduce the weight of the HMTD, but points out that the project has added to existing knowledge in the field of tactile perception and display.