Abstract
Q’Hand is an electromechanical system that permits fully automated preparation and presentation of spatially distributed stimulus displays, as well as on-line data acquisition, all under software control. Selected inputs may be presented to any one or combination of the middle three fingertips of both hands. Both accuracy and reaction times are collected on line. Q’Hand was specifically designed to investigate tactile/haptic preattentive and attentive processing of single and multidimensional stimuli. However, it may also be used to study a variety of other research topics, such as pattern recognition, psychophysical issues, and lateralization of somatosensory function. Further, it may be adapted relatively easily for use in clinical settings. For example, with this apparatus, automated psychophysical tests may be designed for the evaluation of the extent of sensory impairment due to peripheral nerve damage otheihander to cortical dysfunction.
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The authors wish to express their appreciation for considerable assistance from Cheryl Wilson. They would also like to thank a number of other students and staff for their additional contributions: Sanjay Agrawal, John Glew, Bill Hillhorst, Monica Hurt, Bob Johnston, Allan McPhail, and Scott Young. The project was supported by NSERC Equipment and Operating Grants E0266 and A9854, respectively, and a contract from the Information Technology Research Centre of Excellence (Ontario) to S. J. Lederman. The paper was written with the additional assistance of a grant from the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems Centre of Excellence (Federal). Copies of the copyrighted software and hardware specifications may also be obtained at cost on request.
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Moore, T., Broekhoven, M., Lederman, S. et al. Q’Hand: A fully automated apparatus for studying haptic processing of spatially distributed inputs. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 23, 27–35 (1991). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203332
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203332