Tactile presentation device and head-mounted display

Abstract

A tactile presentation device 1 is provided with: a vibrator 10 having a first frequency as a resonant frequency thereof and placed on a specific part of a user's skin that does not detect the first frequency; and a signal generation device 11 that applies, to the vibrator 10, a signal having a carrier wave of the first frequency amplitude-modulated with a second frequency that is detected by the specific part.

Description

Tactile presentation device and head-mounted display

[0001] The present invention relates to a tactile presentation device and a head-mounted display.

[0002] With the recent development of information devices, virtual reality (VR) experiences have become widespread. VR uses, for example, a head-mounted display, which is provided so as to cover the user's eyes, and plays video data that causes a character that reproduces the user's movements to move in a virtual space.

[0003] There is also a method for presenting to a user the tactile sensation that occurs when the user touches something in a virtual space such as VR. Non-Patent Documents 1-2 disclose a method for presenting a low-frequency sensation by modulating high-frequency vibrations. Non-Patent Documents 1-2 use amplitude modulation (AM) to present to the user a low-frequency signal with an envelope that changes the signal strength of a carrier wave at a desired frequency. Here, the frequency of the carrier wave is generally around 200 Hz, which is the drive frequency of a linear resonant actuator (LRA).

[0004] Weisenberger, JM, “Sensitivity to amplitude-modulated vibrotactile signals,” J Acoust Soc Am, vol. 80, no. 6, pp. 1707-1715, December 1986, doi: 10.1121 / 1.394283. Gunhyuk Park, Seungmoon Choi, “Perceptual space of amplitude-modulated vibrotactile stimuli | Semantic Scholar,” June 21, 2011, IEEE World Haptics Conference, [Retrieved April 25, 2024], Internet <URL:https: / / www.semanticscholar.org / paper / Perceptual-space-of-amplitude-modulated-stimuli-Park-Choi / 039f7ad2c4a060a51fb6e3e0678887a685a0f835>

[0005] However, in the methods described in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, the user perceives both the high-frequency signal of the carrier and the low-frequency signal of the envelope.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a technique that allows a user to clearly perceive a low frequency signal envelope in a high frequency signal carrier.

[0007] A tactile presentation device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a vibrator that is placed on a specific area of ​​a user's skin that does not detect a first frequency and has the first frequency as its resonant frequency, and a signal generator that supplies the vibrator with a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency that is detected at the specific area and is a carrier wave of the first frequency.

[0008] A head-mounted display according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a tactile presentation device that presents a tactile sensation to a user and a display device that displays video data to the user, wherein the tactile presentation device comprises a vibrator that is placed on a specific part of the user's skin that does not detect a first frequency and has a resonant frequency of the first frequency, and a signal generator that provides the vibrator with a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency that is detected at the specific part on a carrier wave of the first frequency.

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique that allows a user to clearly perceive a low-frequency signal envelope in a high-frequency signal carrier.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the system configuration of a tactile presentation system and the configuration of a tactile presentation device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2(a) is an example of a signal input from a signal generating device to a vibrator, and FIG. 2(b) is an envelope of the signal input from the signal generating device to the vibrator. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a tactile presentation device including a group of vibrators. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of a processing device. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing by the tactile presentation device. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the results of comparing the accelerations of LRAs provided on the finger pad, forearm, and forehead. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the results of measuring the perceived frequency using the adjustment method when an amplitude-modulated wave is presented to the index finger, forearm, and forehead of a dominant hand. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the results of evaluating the quality of sensation perceived for the index finger, forearm, and forehead of a dominant hand. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the position of a vibrator provided on the head in an additional experiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the position of a vibrator provided on the finger in an additional experiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the experimental results of the additional experiment. Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a plurality of vibrators are provided on the pad portion of a head-mounted display. Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a computer used in the processing device.

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are designated by the same or similar reference numerals.

[0012] (Tactile Presentation Device) A tactile presentation device 1 according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG.

[0013] The tactile presentation device 1 includes a vibrator 10, a signal generating device 11, and a processing device 30. The tactile presentation device 1 presents a tactile sensation to a user. The tactile presentation device 1 vibrates the vibrator 10 at a predetermined timing determined by the processing device 30, thereby presenting a tactile sensation to the user.

[0014] The vibrator 10 is, for example, a linear resonant actuator (LRA). The vibrator 10 uses a first frequency as a resonant frequency and utilizes a mechanical resonance phenomenon to achieve strong vibration. The vibration of the vibrator 10 provides a tactile sensation to the user through the user's skin. When the vibrator 10 is an LRA, the first frequency is the resonant frequency of the LRA, for example, 200 Hz.

[0015] The signal generator 11 supplies a signal that is amplitude modulated at a second frequency on a carrier wave of a first frequency to the vibrator 10. The second frequency is a frequency that can be detected by the skin of a user on whom the vibrator 10 is provided. The second frequency is lower than the first frequency, and is, for example, within a range of about 0.1 Hz to 60 Hz.

[0016] The signal generator 11 supplies the vibrator 10 with a signal shown in Fig. 2(a), for example. The signal generated by the signal generator 11 is a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a frequency lower than 200 Hz on a carrier wave with a frequency of 200 Hz, as shown in Fig. 2(a). The signal that is amplitude-modulated at a low frequency corresponds to an envelope.

[0017] In the present disclosure, the vibrator 10 is provided on a specific part of the user's skin that does not detect the first frequency but detects the second frequency. The user's skin is a surface portion of the user on which the vibrator 10 can be provided. The position at which the vibrator 10 is provided depends on the resonant frequency of the vibrator 10. The vibrator 10 may be provided directly on a part of the user's skin or the like, or may be provided by sandwiching an object that transmits vibrations to the specific part.

[0018] Generally, when the vibrator 10 is attached to the skin, which can detect both high-frequency (200 Hz) and low-frequency vibrations, the user will detect both high-frequency and low-frequency vibrations, as shown in Fig. 2(a). In this case, the mechanoreceptors responsible for perceiving high-frequency vibrations have a lower sensory threshold and are more sensitive than the mechanoreceptors responsible for perceiving low-frequency vibrations, so they perceive the high-frequency components more strongly, resulting in a decrease in the accuracy of detecting low-frequency vibrations. As a result, the user will perceive the high-frequency vibrations as noise in the low-frequency vibrations.

[0019] In contrast, in the present disclosure, the vibrator 10 is provided on the skin that can detect low-frequency stimulation but cannot detect high-frequency vibrations that are the resonant frequency of the vibrator 10. Since the user cannot detect high-frequency vibrations that become noise, the user can clearly detect low-frequency vibrations.

[0020] It is generally known that two types of receptors, Meissner's corpuscles and Pacinian corpuscles, are involved in the perception of vibration in touch. Meissner's corpuscles detect vibrations in the low-frequency range of 15 to 120 Hz. Pacinian corpuscles detect vibrations in the high-frequency range of 45 to 800 Hz. It is also known that there are no Pacinian corpuscles in the forehead that detect vibrations in the high-frequency range, such as around 200 Hz.

[0021] If the vibrator 10 is an LRA with a resonant frequency of 200 Hz, the vibrator 10 is placed on the user's forehead, for example. The vibrator 10 may be placed on any part of the skin as long as the resonant frequency of the vibrator 10 cannot be detected and amplitude modulation at a frequency lower than the resonant frequency can be detected.

[0022] The vibrator 10 of the tactile presentation device 1 according to the present disclosure is placed against the forehead, and the signal generator 11 applies to the vibrator 10 a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency with a 200 Hz carrier wave, as shown in Fig. 2(a). Because the forehead does not contain Pacinian corpuscles that can detect 200 Hz vibrations, the user cannot detect the vibration caused by the 200 Hz carrier wave, but rather detects the amplitude modulation caused by the second frequency. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 2(b), the user cannot detect the frequency of the 200 Hz carrier wave, and can clearly detect only the stimulus caused by the lower frequency amplitude modulation, which forms the envelope.

[0023] The processing device 30 determines the timing for presenting a tactile sensation to the user. The processing device 30 inputs, to the signal generating device 11, an instruction to provide the vibrator 10 with a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency on a carrier wave at a first frequency at the timing for presenting a tactile sensation to the user.

[0024] The processing device 30 determines the timing to provide the user with a haptic sensation, for example, as part of the presentation of video data of a virtual space or the like displayed to the user, or as a real haptic experience experienced by the user's avatar active in the virtual space, etc. At the determined timing, the processing device 30 inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to provide a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency on a carrier wave of a first frequency.

[0025] (Tactile Presentation System) The tactile presentation system 5 includes, in addition to the tactile presentation device 1, a display device 40 that displays video data to the user, and a detection device 50 that detects movements instructed by the user. The tactile presentation device 1 may present a tactile sensation to the user in cooperation with the display device 40 and the detection device 50. For example, the display device 40 displays a virtual space such as a VR or game space to the user, and reflects movements instructed by the user detected by the detection device 50 in the virtual space. The movements instructed by the user are reflected as movements of an avatar or a character such as a game character that acts in response to the user's movements in the virtual space.

[0026] At this time, the tactile presentation device 1 presents the tactile sensations experienced by the character moving in the virtual space to the real user. This allows the user to experience the virtual space in real life. Furthermore, by sharing the tactile sensations of the character in the virtual space, the user can enhance the sense of realism and immersion in the VR experience.

[0027] The display device 40 displays to the user video data such as a virtual space, a movie, etc. The display device 40 displays the video data in accordance with instructions from the processing device 30.

[0028] The detection device 50, for example, detects the user's movements in the real space and inputs the detected user's movements to the processing device 30. The processing device 30 converts the user's movements in the real space into movements of the user in the virtual space and determines the movements of a character that moves in response to instructions from the user in the virtual space.

[0029] The detection device 50 is, for example, a motion capture device. The detection device 50 may be any device that can identify the movement of a character in a virtual space. For example, the detection device 50 may detect a character movement instruction input by a user to an input device such as a controller.

[0030] The tactile presentation system 5 may further include a computer connected to the processing device 30 in addition to the processing device 30 included in the tactile presentation device 1. The processing in the processing device 30 described in the present disclosure may be executed by the processing device 30 in the tactile presentation device 1, or may be shared and executed by the processing device 30 in the tactile presentation device 1 and a computer connected outside the tactile presentation device 1.

[0031] (Example with Multiple Vibrators) With reference to Fig. 1, a case has been described in which the tactile presentation device 1 includes one vibrator 10. However, the tactile presentation device 1a shown in Fig. 3 includes a vibrator group 10a having multiple vibrators. A signal generator 11a supplies each vibrator of the vibrator group 10a with a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency on a carrier wave of a first frequency. Although not shown in Fig. 3, the signal generator 11a is connected to each vibrator of the vibrator group 10a. Furthermore, the signal generator 11a can supply a signal to a specific vibrator among the multiple vibrators of the vibrator group 10a, and not supply a signal to the other vibrators.

[0032] In the tactile presentation device 1a, the processing device 30a identifies the vibrators to be vibrated from among the plurality of vibrators included in the vibrator group 10a. The vibrators to be vibrated may be all of the vibrators in the vibrator group 10a or only some of the vibrators.

[0033] The processing device 30a specifies the identifier of the identified transducer and inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11. This instruction is for providing a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency on a carrier wave of a first frequency to a transducer to be vibrated among the plurality of transducers in the transducer group 10a. In accordance with this instruction, the signal generating device 11a provides a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency on a carrier wave of the first frequency to the transducer specified by the processing device 30a.

[0034] This allows the tactile presentation device 1a to provide the user with information not only based on the presence or absence of vibration, but also based on the position of the vibrator that is vibrating. For example, if each of the vibrators corresponds to a character's finger, by vibrating the vibrator that corresponds to the character's finger that touched an object in the virtual space, the user can intuitively grasp which finger has touched the object.

[0035] Furthermore, when displaying a movie to a user, the processing device 30a may specify which vibrators to vibrate depending on the situation of the character in the movie. For example, in a scene in the movie where raindrops fall on the forehead of a character, the processing device 30a may vibrate some randomly selected vibrators at random timing. In a scene where a character jumps into water, the processing device 30a may vibrate all vibrators simultaneously.

[0036] 3, the tactile presentation device 1a will be described with the multiple vibrators arranged two-dimensionally, but this is not limiting. The multiple vibrators may be arranged one-dimensionally or randomly. For example, the multiple vibrators may be arranged in the shape of a hand, and the vibrators corresponding to the fingers of a character waving at an object in the virtual space may vibrate.

[0037] (Processing Device) The processing device 30 according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The processing device 30 includes virtual space data 31, correspondence data 32, and position data 33, as well as functions of a rendering unit 36, a conversion unit 37, and a control unit 38. Each piece of data is stored in a storage device such as a memory 902 or a storage 903. Each function is implemented in a CPU 901.

[0038] The virtual space data 31 is data that specifies the virtual space presented to the user. The virtual space data 31 includes data that allows for determining contact between a character and an object in the virtual space. The virtual space data 31 includes, for example, data that specifies the shape, coordinates where the object is located, surface texture of the object, etc., for each object placed in the virtual space.

[0039] The correspondence data 32 is data that is referenced when the tactile presentation device 1a includes a group of vibrators 10a. The correspondence data 32 associates identifiers of multiple vibrators with positions on the user's skin where the vibrators are provided. The correspondence data 32 is used, for example, when the control unit 38 determines the position of the portion of the user's skin to be vibrated, to identify the identifier of the vibrator to be placed at the determined position. The correspondence data 32 may further associate identifiers of multiple vibrators with positions on the right hand, left hand, palm, and each finger that the character in the virtual space will experience tactile sensations.

[0040] Position data 33 is data that specifies the position of a character's movement when a user-instructed movement detected by detection device 50 is converted into a character's movement in virtual space. In accordance with position data 33, the character's movement in virtual space, or the virtual space seen from the character's viewpoint during movement, is displayed on display device 40. Position data 33 specifies the character's movement in virtual space, for example, by associating time with the shape and position (coordinates) of the character at that time.

[0041] The drawing unit 36 ​​displays the virtual space as seen from a predetermined viewpoint on the display device 40 in accordance with the virtual space data 31. The user recognizes the virtual space from the display on the display device 40. Each object is drawn in the virtual space according to the shape, coordinates, etc. of each object specified by the virtual space data 31. The drawing unit 36 ​​may also refer to the position of the character specified by the position data 33 to draw the virtual space including the character.

[0042] The conversion unit 37 converts an action instruction input by the user into a character action in virtual space coordinates presented to the user. When the detection device 50 detects an action instruction input by the user, the conversion unit 37 converts the detected action instruction into a character action in the virtual space. The conversion unit 37 identifies the character action in the virtual space by associating time with the character's position, coordinates, etc. at that time. The conversion unit 37 outputs the character action in the virtual space as position data 33.

[0043] The control unit 38 inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator 10 at the timing when a tactile sensation is to be presented to the user. Here, the "instruction to vibrate the vibrator 10" is an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to provide the vibrator 10 with a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency on a carrier wave at a first frequency.

[0044] The control unit 38 determines the timing to present a tactile sensation to the user based on the video data of the virtual space or the like to be displayed to the user and the operation instructions detected by the detection device 50. The control unit 38 controls the vibrator 10 to vibrate at the determined timing.

[0045] Here, the timing for presenting a haptic sensation to the user is typically when a character comes into contact with an object. Contact with an object includes any contact between a character and an object, such as an accidental collision due to the movement of the object or character, or when the character actively touches the object. The object is not limited to static objects such as furniture placed in the virtual space, but may also be living things such as dogs, insects, or objects that appear or move over time, such as rain or hail.

[0046] The control unit 38 may, for example, acquire a user's motion from a detection device 50 that detects the user's motion, and if coordinates based on the user's motion overlap with coordinates of an object in a video presented to the user, input an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator 10. Here, the coordinates based on the user's motion refer to positions in a video coordinate system identified from the user's motion. Here, the video coordinate system is a coordinate system in a video presented to the user. Specifically, the video coordinate system may be coordinates in a virtual space presented to the user in VR, or a coordinate system in a video projected into a space actually viewed by the user in AR (Augmented Reality). Furthermore, the coordinates based on the user's motion may be the user's motion itself detected by motion capture or the like, or may be a motion specified by the user through the user's operation of a controller or the like.

[0047] Specifically, when the coordinates where a character moves in the virtual space overlap with the coordinates of an object in the virtual space, the control unit 38 inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator 10. When the coordinates where a character moves in the virtual space overlap with the coordinates of an object in the virtual space, for example, the character and the object come into contact with each other.

[0048] The coordinates of the character's actions in the virtual space are specified by the position data 33. The coordinates of the object in the virtual space are specified by the virtual space data 31. The control unit 38 refers to the virtual space data 31 and the position data 33 to determine whether or not the character and the object are in contact with each other, and vibrates the vibrator 10 if there is contact.

[0049] Here, the control unit 38 may specify the amplitude of the vibrator 10 based on the contact status between the character and the object in the virtual space. For example, the control unit 38 may specify an amplitude that has a positive correlation with the size of an area where coordinates based on the user's movement and the coordinates of the object in the video overlap, and input an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator 10.

[0050] Specifically, the control unit 38 may specify an amplitude that has a positive correlation with the size of an area where the coordinates of the character's action in the virtual space overlap with the coordinates of the object in the virtual space, and input an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator 10. The "size of the overlapping area" corresponds, for example, to the "degree of penetration" of the character specified by the user's action instruction into the object. The "size of the overlapping area" is the volume of the part where the character's position specified by the user's action instruction overlaps with the object. In a situation where a situation in which the character comes into contact with the object can be depicted, the "size of the overlapping area" may be, for example, the size of the contact surface between the character and the object.

[0051] When a wide portion of the character comes into contact with an object, the control unit 38 specifies a large amplitude to cause the vibrator 10 to vibrate strongly. When a narrow portion of the character comes into contact with an object, the control unit 38 specifies a small amplitude to cause the vibrator 10 to vibrate weakly. This allows the user to share the tactile sensation that the character feels in the virtual space as a real experience.

[0052] The control unit 38 may change the second frequency of the vibrator 10 depending on the texture of the object that the character comes into contact with. For example, the control unit 38 may determine the second frequency from the texture of the object that overlaps with the coordinates based on the user's action, and input an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator by specifying the determined second frequency.

[0053] Specifically, the control unit 38 determines the second frequency from the texture of an object that overlaps the coordinates where the character's movement is performed in the virtual space, specifies the determined second frequency, and inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator.

[0054] For example, the control unit 38 changes the frequency of the amplitude modulation depending on whether the tactile sensation is felt on a rough surface or a smooth surface. The control unit 38 can specify a higher frequency of the amplitude modulation when the tactile sensation is felt on a rough surface compared to when the tactile sensation is felt on a smooth surface. For example, the control unit 38 can specify a higher frequency of the amplitude modulation as the smoothness of the contact surface decreases (as the frictional force increases). This allows the tactile presentation device 1 to convey an image of the texture of the contact surface to the user.

[0055] If the vibrator 10 is a vibrator group 10a, the control unit 38 refers to the correspondence data 32 and, from the coordinates based on the user's movement and the coordinates that overlap with the coordinates of the object in the image presented to the user, identifies the identifier of the vibrator among the multiple vibrators included in the vibrator group 10a that corresponds to the overlapping coordinates.

[0056] Specifically, the control unit 38 refers to the correspondence data 32 and, based on the coordinates where the character's action is performed in the virtual space and the coordinates that overlap with the coordinates of the object in the virtual space, identifies an identifier of a vibrator, among the multiple vibrators included in the vibrator group 10a, that corresponds to the overlapping coordinates. The control unit 38 inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11a to provide a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency on a carrier wave of a first frequency to the vibrator having the identified identifier. Note that the coordinates in the virtual space and the arrangement position of the vibrator group 10a are associated in advance. The area where the vibrator group 10a is provided may be associated with the user's field of view or with a part of the character that comes into contact with an object, such as a finger.

[0057] The control unit 38 determines which of the multiple vibrators to vibrate based on the contact status between the character and the object. For example, the control unit 38 may input an instruction to the signal generating device 11 a so that when the object is touched with the right hand or finger, the vibrator on the right side as seen from the user is vibrated, and when the object is touched with the left hand or finger, the vibrator on the left side as seen from the user is vibrated.

[0058] Furthermore, the correspondence data 32 associates the identifiers of multiple vibrators with the identifiers of each finger of the character, and when the character touches an object with the index finger, the control unit 38 identifies the identifier of the vibrator corresponding to the index finger. The control unit 38 inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11a to cause vibration to the vibrator with the identified identifier. On the other hand, when the character grasps an object with all of the fingers, the control unit 38 identifies the identifiers of the vibrators corresponding to all of the fingers. The control unit 38 inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11a to cause vibration to the vibrator with the identified identifier.

[0059] An example of processing performed by the tactile presentation device 1 according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG.

[0060] In step S1, the processing device 30 displays a virtual space on the display device 40. In step S2, the processing device 30 converts an action instruction input by the user into an action of a character in the virtual space, and draws the character in the virtual space.

[0061] When contact between an object in the virtual space and the character is detected in step S3, the processing device 30 renders in the virtual space a state in which the object and the character are in contact with each other in step S4.

[0062] In step S5, the processing device 30 determines the frequency and amplitude to be presented to the user. The processing device 30 specifies, as the frequency of the envelope to be presented to the user, a frequency that is lower than the frequency of the carrier wave and that the user can recognize, or a frequency that corresponds to the texture of the contacted object. The processing device 30 specifies the amplitude of the envelope depending on the degree of contact between the object and the character, etc.

[0063] In step S6, the processing device 30 specifies the resonant frequency of the vibrator 10 as the frequency of the carrier wave, and inputs the frequency and amplitude determined in step S5 to the signal generating device 11. In step S7, the signal generating device 11 generates a signal in accordance with the frequency of the carrier wave and the frequency and amplitude of the envelope wave input from the processing device 30, and inputs the generated signal to the vibrator 10.

[0064] In step S8, the vibrator 10 vibrates in accordance with the input signal. If the vibrator 10 is attached to the skin of a user who is capable of detecting the frequency of an envelope wave but not the frequency of a carrier wave, the user can detect the frequency and amplitude of the envelope wave.

[0065] In the present embodiment described above, when the coordinates of a character's action in a virtual space overlap with the coordinates of an object in the virtual space in VR, the control unit 38 inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator 10. However, the control unit 38 is not limited to inputting an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator 10 when the coordinates based on the user's action overlap with the coordinates of an object in a video presented to the user.

[0066] For example, the tactile presentation system 5 may further include a projection device that projects an image including a predetermined object in real space as AR. When the coordinates of the user's tactile sensation, such as a finger, detected by the detection device 50 overlap with the coordinates of an object in the image projected by the projection device, the control unit 38 inputs an instruction to the signal generating device 11 to vibrate the vibrator 10.

[0067] (Application Example) The tactile presentation device 1 according to the present disclosure may be provided in a so-called head-mounted display. In that case, the vibrator 10 of the tactile presentation device 1 abuts against the forehead of the user. Because a head-mounted display is formed to cover the eyes, it can be easily formed so that the vibrator 10 for the tactile presentation device 1 is provided on the forehead.

[0068] The head-mounted display includes a tactile presentation device 1 and a display device 40. Some or all of the functions realized by the processing device 30 of the tactile presentation device 1 may be realized by a computer external to the tactile presentation device 1 for controlling the head-mounted display.

[0069] As another application example, the tactile presentation device 1 according to the present disclosure may be used as a visual-tactile conversion device for visually impaired people. Conventionally, attempts have been made to help visually impaired people grasp the external environment through their sense of touch by presenting tactile information based on images captured by a camera mounted on the user's head or eyeglasses. One such example involves arranging hundreds of electrodes on the forehead and presenting image information obtained from the camera to the forehead (https: / / www.tachilab.org / content / files / publication / ic / kajimoto2006EuroHaptics.pdf).

[0070] The vibrators used in this disclosure are arranged two-dimensionally on the forehead, as in the conventional case, with a total of 32 vibrators, for example, arranged 8 horizontally and 4 vertically. One possible application of this tactile presentation device 1 is to present visual information to visually impaired people. Compared to previous research using electrical stimulation, the tactile presentation device 1 using vibrators has the advantage of not requiring a high-voltage unit and achieving stable sensory presentation.

[0071] (Effect) The tactile presentation device 1 according to the present disclosure provides the vibrator 10 to the skin, which does not detect the resonant frequency of the vibrator 10 but can detect the low frequency formed by the envelope, and provides the vibrator 10 with a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency in a carrier wave having the resonant frequency. Because the user does not detect vibrations at the resonant frequency of the vibrator 10 but detects the low frequency vibrations formed by the envelope, the tactile presentation device 1 allows the user to clearly perceive the low frequency signal of the envelope in the high frequency signal of the carrier wave.

[0072] 6-8, the effect of the tactile sensation providing means will be described when an LRA used as the vibrator 10 according to the present disclosure is attached to the forehead and a desired frequency is realized as an envelope wave by amplitude modulation in a carrier wave of the resonant frequency of the LRA. The LRA used here has a diameter of about 6 mm.

[0073] To evaluate the effect on the forehead, LRAs were attached to the forehead, finger pads, and forearms. The finger pads were selected because they are home to Pacinian corpuscles, have very high tactile spatial resolution, and are a typical site for tactile presentation. The forearm was selected because it has a lower tactile spatial resolution but is home to Pacinian corpuscles. That is, the finger pads and forearms, where Pacinian corpuscles are present, were selected to examine whether the experimental results of the LRA attached to the forehead were due to a low tactile receptor density or the absence of Pacinian corpuscles. The amplitude of the signal output by the signal generator 11 was adjusted so that it was clearly felt on the finger pads, forearms, and forehead, respectively.

[0074] 6 shows the acceleration measurement results when amplitude-modulated vibrations are applied to LRAs attached to the finger pad, forearm, and forehead, and when a wideband vibration presentation element (e.g., Haptuator) is held at the fingertips and sinusoidal vibrations are applied. In FIG. 6, the symbols AM_index, AM_forearm, and AM_forehead represent the acceleration results from the LRAs attached to the index finger pad, forearm, and forehead, respectively, and the Haptuator symbol represents the acceleration results from the Haptuator.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 6, it can be seen that the acceleration is almost constant at the finger pad, forearm, and forehead regardless of the frequency.

[0076] Figure 7 shows the results of measurements of perceived frequency using the adjustment method when amplitude-modulated waves were presented to the index finger, forearm, and forehead of the dominant hand. The subjects were 11 people (aged 22-24 years).

[0077] The non-dominant hand was presented with an unmodulated sinusoidal vibration, and the subjects were asked to adjust the presented vibration frequency to match the perceived frequency of the amplitude-modulated wave. The experiment was conducted under four conditions: C1-C4.

[0078] C1: The Haptuator was held between the index finger and thumb of the non-dominant hand, and a sine wave vibration of x [Hz] was applied. The LRA was attached to the index finger of the dominant hand, and a sine wave of y [Hz] was applied, amplitude-modulated at 210 Hz, the resonant frequency of the LRA. The frequency of x was adjusted so that the perception of y and x matched as closely as possible.

[0079] C2: The Haptuator was held between the index finger and thumb of the non-dominant hand, and a sine wave vibration of x [Hz] was applied. The LRA was attached to the forearm of the dominant hand, and a sine wave of y [Hz] was applied, amplitude-modulated at 210 Hz, the resonant frequency of the LRA. The frequency of x was adjusted so that the perception of y and x matched as closely as possible.

[0080] C3: The Haptuator was held between the index finger and thumb of the non-dominant hand, and a sine wave vibration of x [Hz] was applied. The LRA was attached to the forehead, and a sine wave of y [Hz] was applied, amplitude-modulated at 210 Hz, the resonant frequency of the LRA. The frequency of x was adjusted so that the perception of y and x matched as closely as possible.

[0081] C4: The Haptuator was held between the index finger and thumb of the non-dominant hand and subjected to a sine wave vibration of x [Hz]. The Haptuator was also held between the index finger and thumb of the dominant hand and subjected to a sine wave vibration of y [Hz]. The frequency of x was adjusted so that the perception of y and the perception of x matched as closely as possible. This condition was used to confirm that the adjustment between sine waves could be performed accurately.

[0082] Table 1 summarizes the experimental conditions for C1-C4.

[0083]

[0084] Here, y was one of five conditions: 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 Hz. x started from 1 Hz or 300 Hz. Two trials were conducted for each subject, starting from the initial value of 1 Hz and 300 Hz, and the average frequency after adjustment in the latter trial was used as the subject's adjustment result. The vibration was presented until the subject finished adjusting. The order of the starting frequencies was random. The subjects wore headphones and listened to white noise to mask auditory cues.

[0085] The results of the perceived frequency for each set frequency and each part are shown in Figure 7. In Figure 7, the vibration frequency x in (a) is 2 Hz, the vibration frequency x in (b) is 4 Hz, the vibration frequency x in (c) is 8 Hz, the vibration frequency x in (d) is 16 Hz, and the vibration frequency x in (e) is 32 Hz. Here, *: p < 0.05, which means that when statistical processing is performed to determine whether there is a difference between the conditions, the probability of there being no difference is less than 5%.

[0086] A Friedman test was performed on each combination of amplitude modulation frequency conditions (2, 4, 8, 16, 32 Hz) and conditions C1 to C4. A main effect was observed for the 4 Hz (p < 0.001), 8 Hz (p < 0.01), and 16 Hz (p < 0.001) conditions. Multiple comparisons using Bonferroni correction revealed significant differences between C2 and C3 at 4 Hz (p < 0.05), between C2 and C3 at 16 Hz (p < 0.05), and between C2 and C4 (p < 0.05).

[0087] After the experiment, participants made comments such as, "Low frequencies were easier to understand," "It was easier to tune the frequency on the forehead than on the forearm," "The pattern of tuning the frequency using the Haptuator was the easiest to tune," "The task of adjusting the frequency itself was difficult," and "It was more difficult to tune when the trial starting frequency was high than when the starting frequency was low."

[0088] Figure 8 shows the results of the evaluation of the quality of sensation perceived in the index finger of the dominant hand, the forearm of the dominant hand, and the forehead. Ten subjects (aged 22-24 years) were included.

[0089] The LRA was attached to the index finger of the dominant hand, the forearm of the dominant hand, and the forehead with surgical tape. The LRA's resonant frequency of 210 Hz was used as the carrier wave, and the original signal was amplitude-modulated under five conditions: 2 Hz, 4 Hz, 8 Hz, 16 Hz, and 32 Hz. The participants were asked to rate the quality of the tactile sensation they perceived.

[0090] Participants were asked to respond to seven adjectives (A) through (G) on a nine-point Likert scale, indicating whether or not they matched the seven adjectives: (A) sense of speed (slow-fast), (B) smoothness (bumpy-smooth), (C) hardness (soft-hard), (D) intensity (weak-strong), (E) clarity (vague-distinct), (F) weight (light-heavy), and (G) clarity (dull-clear). Finally, participants were asked to indicate their preference (H) for the vibration. Stimuli were presented for 10 seconds per condition. Subjects wore headphones and listened to white noise to mask auditory cues.

[0091] The results of the responses for each area and (A)-(H) are shown in Figure 8. In Figure 8, the vibration frequency x for (a) is 2 Hz, the vibration frequency x for (b) is 4 Hz, the vibration frequency x for (c) is 8 Hz, the vibration frequency x for (d) is 16 Hz, and the vibration frequency x for (e) is 32 Hz. Here, *: p < 0.05, which means that when statistical processing is performed to determine whether there is a difference between the conditions, the probability of there being no difference is less than 5%.

[0092] A Friedman test was performed on each evaluation result, and main effects were observed for 2 Hz E (p < 0.05) and G (p < 0.01), 4 Hz E (p < 0.05) and G (p < 0.05), 8 Hz E (p < 0.001) and G (p < 0.001), and 16 Hz B (p < 0.01), E (p < 0.01), and G (p < 0.001). Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons showed no significant differences between the following: 2 Hz E between forearm and forehead (p < 0.05), 2 Hz G between forearm and forehead (p < 0.05), 4 Hz E between forearm and forehead (p < 0.05), 4 Hz G between fingerpad and forehead (p < 0.05), forearm and forehead (p < 0.05), 8 Hz E between fingerpad and forehead (p < 0.05), forearm and forehead (p < 0.05), 8 Hz G between fingerpad and forehead (p < 0.05), forearm and forehead (p < 0.05), 16 Hz B between forearm and forehead (p < 0.05), 16 Hz E between fingerpad and forehead (p < 0.05), forearm and forehead (p < 0.05), 16 Hz G between fingerpad and forehead (p < 0.05), forearm and forehead (p < 0.05). A significant difference was observed at 0.05).

[0093] After the experiment, participants gave comments such as, "The tactile sensation felt on the forehead felt completely different from that felt on the forearm or finger pads," "The tactile sensation felt on the forehead felt more comfortable than that felt on the forearm or finger pads," "On the forehead, it felt soft and smooth," "The higher the frequency, the faster the sensation of speed," and "The vibration sensation felt similar on the finger pads and forearm."

[0094] The frequency adjustment experiment in Figure 7 suggests that the finger pad and forehead can be perceived with the same degree of accuracy. In other words, regardless of the presence or absence of Pacinian corpuscles (finger pad: present, forehead: absent), it was found that the frequency of the original signal can be perceived when a signal of 32 Hz or less is amplitude-modulated with a carrier wave around 200 Hz.

[0095] The accuracy of frequency perception was lower in the forearm than in other areas. The reason that accuracy was higher in the finger pad than in the forearm is thought to be because the receptor density in the forearm is lower than in the finger pad, and fewer receptors were involved.

[0096] On the other hand, we consider why the accuracy of frequency perception is higher on the forehead than on the forearm. There are no Pacinian corpuscles on the forehead, but there are Pacinian corpuscles on the forearm. For this reason, it is thought that a vibration signal amplitude-modulated with a carrier wave around 200 Hz is perceived in the forearm as the carrier wave itself is perceived, making it noisy. On the other hand, because there are no Pacinian corpuscles on the forehead that perceive vibrations around 200 Hz, the proportion of people perceiving the original signal is higher than in the forearm, resulting in higher frequency perception accuracy.

[0097] However, the spatial resolution of touch in each body part is about 3 mm for the fingertips, about 40 mm for the forearm, and about 20 mm for the forehead. At this point, we cannot dismiss the possibility that the density of tactile receptors in the forearm is simply lower than that of the forehead, which resulted in a higher frequency perception ability in the forehead than in the forearm.

[0098] It was observed that the forehead was no longer able to accurately tune in to frequencies up to 32 Hz. This is thought to be because the absence of Pacinian corpuscles in the forehead makes frequency perception difficult, given the well-known fact that at frequencies higher than a certain level, frequency perception depends on the ratio of activity between Pacinian corpuscles and Meissner corpuscles (hair follicle receptors in hairy areas).

[0099] In the vibration texture evaluation experiment shown in Figure 8, the forehead received higher scores overall in B, E, and G than the finger pads and forearms. The respective question items were B: smoothness, E: clarity, and G: distinctness, and it is thought that this is because the noisy vibration caused by the carrier wave of the amplitude modulated wave was less noticeable on the forehead, and a vibration closer to the original vibration was felt. Comments from participants such as "Compared to the forearm and finger pads, the vibration on the forehead was clearer and felt smoother," and "The forehead felt like a completely different tactile sensation from other parts of the body," suggest that the tactile sensation felt on the forehead was unique.

[0100] The results shown in Figures 7 and 8 reveal that when low frequencies are presented to the forehead by amplitude modulation using a carrier wave around 200 Hz, the absence of Pacinian corpuscles results in a clearer low-frequency perception than when presented to the fingers or upper arm. This demonstrates that it is possible to present low frequencies to the forehead using the LRA, a relatively small vibrator, by amplitude modulation.

[0101] (Additional Experiment) The inventors conducted additional experiments to explore the range in which the vibrator 10 can be provided in the present disclosure. In the additional experiments, they investigated whether each of the positions p1-p22 shown in Figures 9 and 10 could be a specific body part. When the vibrator 10 is provided at each of the positions p1-p22 using the tactile presentation device 1 of the present disclosure and the tactile sensation is similar to the tactile sensation obtained on the forehead by the tactile presentation device 1, the position is determined to be a specific body part.

[0102] 9 and 10 are as follows: In the following description, "distance" refers to the shortest distance on the skin.

[0103] pb: 1 cm above the eyebrow and directly above the nose; p1 and p2: "Distance from top of ear to top of ear": "Distance from top of ear to p1, p2" = 5 : 2; p3 and p4: "Distance from ear to eye": "Distance from eye to p3, p4" = 9 : 1; p5 and p6: Directly below the eye and "Distance from eye to chin": "Distance from eye to p5, p6" = 11 : 1; p7 and p8: Directly below the eye and "Distance from eye to chin": "Distance from eye to p7, p8" = 11 : 4; p9 and p10: "Distance from bottom of ear to mouth": "Distance from mouth to p9, p10" = 13 : 2; p11 and p12: Midpoint between the edge of the lip and the center of the lip; p13: Center of the philtrum; p14: Center of the nose; p15: midway between the mouth and chin; p16: at the tip of the chin; p17: at the top of the head; p18 and p19: 1 cm above the ear; p20: at the back of the head; p21: on the palm side of the forearm; p22: at the pad of the index finger.

[0104] In the experiment, the carrier wave was 210 Hz, the resonant frequency of the LRA, and the original signal was 5 Hz, and the amplitude-modulated signal was sent via an audio interface, amplified by a stereo power amplifier, and input to the vibrator. The acceleration of the vibrator was set to 40 m / s2.

[0105] The subjects were then asked to rate the quality of the tactile sensation they perceived. The evaluation method consisted of a 10-second vibration presentation on the forehead (position pb). After a one-second pause, a 10-second amplitude-modulated vibration presentation was then presented at one of the 22 points mentioned above. The subjects were then asked to rate the degree to which the tactile sensation felt similar to that on the forehead using a 9-point Likert scale (1: dissimilar, 9: similar). Three trials were conducted per site, in random order. During the experiment, participants wore headphones, and auditory cues were masked by white noise.

[0106] The results are shown in Figure 11. The measurement positions p1-p22 this time can be divided into the following: around the eyes p1-p4, around the cheeks p5-p10, around the nose p11-p14, around the chin p15-p16, around the back of the head p17-p20, and around the arms and fingers p21-p22.

[0107] Significant differences were observed in the areas around the eyes (p1-p4), the cheeks (p5-p10), and the chin (p15-p16) compared to the arms and fingers (p21-p22). These areas were suggested to be areas where pure low-frequency sensations were generated. Here, the areas around the eyes (p1-p4) correspond to the pads where the head-mounted display is attached. Thus, it was found that many parts of the face generated pure low-frequency sensations similar to those of the forehead. This is thought to be related to the fact that there are no Pacinian corpuscles on the entire face.

[0108] In contrast, the differences in the p11-p14 region around the nose and the p17-p20 region around the occipital region were smaller than those in the p21-p22 region on the fingers and arms, suggesting that the vibrations were noisy. We consider the possible reasons for this. First, the distance between the bone and the vibrator at p14 on the nose is short, suggesting that the vibrations were transmitted via bone conduction, resulting in the perception of high-frequency components. For p11-p13 on the upper lip, the vibrations may have been transmitted to the teeth. Generally, it has been suggested that tooth and cutaneous mechanoreceptors have similar functional mechanisms (having both SA and FA fibers). Therefore, when vibrations were transmitted to the teeth, high frequencies were detected, leading to the perception of a noisy vibration. Furthermore, for p17-p20 around the occipital region, the vibrations may have been transmitted to the skull, resulting in the perception of high-frequency components. Furthermore, considering the absence of Pacinian corpuscles throughout the face, the presence of Pacinian corpuscles in the parietal and temporal regions may have led to the perception of high-frequency components, resulting in the perception of a noisy vibration.

[0109] These experimental results showed that vibrators placed over a large portion of the face can produce low-frequency vibrations that cannot be produced by small vibrators, demonstrating the feasibility of vibrating the human body by placing small vibrators in head-mounted displays, mask-type interfaces, or smart glasses.

[0110] It is believed that this technology will have two main applications. The first is to attach multiple vibrators to the pads of a head-mounted display and use it in applications that require a pure low-frequency sensation. For example, the sensation of bubbles when diving into water is thought to be better matched with pure sinusoidal low-frequency vibrations rather than amplitude-modulated noisy vibrations. It is believed that this technology can be used in applications that further enhance the sense of immersion.

[0111] Second, by incorporating small vibrators into smart glasses or mask-type interfaces and applying this method, navigation without relying on visual or auditory senses becomes possible. This allows for unobtrusive tactile presentation. Conventional methods can only present high-frequency vibrations, so even if they are presented to a face without Pacinian corpuscles, it is thought that users will have difficulty detecting the vibrations. On the other hand, this method can clearly sense low-frequency vibrations, which may enable directional perception.

[0112] Furthermore, it is also conceivable to provide five vibrators on each side of the pad portion of the head-mounted display, as shown in Figure 12. The head-mounted display shown in Figure 12 has a vibrator FR1 below the user's right eye that reproduces the movement of the right thumb, and vibrators FR2-FR5 above the right eye that reproduce the movement of the right hand other than the thumb. The head-mounted display has a vibrator FL1 below the user's left eye that reproduces the movement of the left thumb, and vibrators FL2-FL5 above the left eye that reproduce the movement of the left hand other than the thumb. This allows the user to perceive the movement of their fingers by having each vibrator vibrate in response to pressure caused by grasping with their hand around the user's eyes.

[0113] In this case, the vibrators FR2-FR5 correspond to the order of the fingers on the right hand. Specifically, vibrator FR2 corresponds to the index finger, vibrator FR3 corresponds to the middle finger, vibrator FR4 corresponds to the ring finger, and vibrator FR5 corresponds to the little finger. By corresponding each of the vibrators FR2-FR5 to each finger on the right hand, the user can clearly perceive the movement of the fingers. Furthermore, vibrator FR1 is positioned opposite vibrator FR2, which corresponds to the index finger of the right hand. For example, by positioning vibrators FR1 and FR2 so that the eye is sandwiched between them, the user can more clearly perceive the movement of the thumb and index finger, such as when grasping.

[0114] Similarly, by arranging the vibrators FL2-FL5 in correspondence with the order of the fingers on the left hand, the user can clearly perceive the movements of the fingers. Also, by arranging the vibrator FL1 opposite the vibrator FL2 corresponding to the index finger of the left hand, the user can more clearly perceive the movements of the thumb and index finger, such as grasping.

[0115] In additional experiments, we investigated whether low-frequency vibration expression for the entire face could be achieved by amplitude-modulated vibration using a high-frequency carrier wave, with the aim of incorporating a small vibrotactile sensation into wearable devices such as head-mounted displays and smart glasses in mind. An investigation into the range of the entire face where pure low-frequency vibration similar to that of the forehead could be perceived suggested that a low-frequency sensation similar to that of the forehead (pb) was generated in the areas around the eyes (p1-p4), around the cheeks (p5-p10), and around the chin (p15-p16). This suggests that it is possible to present tactile sensations by incorporating vibrators into head-mounted displays, mask-type interfaces, smart glasses, etc.

[0116] Based on the additional experiment, the tactile presentation device 1 of the present disclosure will be described. In the present disclosure, a vibrator 10 is provided on the surface of a specific part of the user.

[0117] In additional experiments, significant differences were observed in the eye area p1-p4, cheek area p5-p10, and chin area p15-p16 compared to the fingers p21-p22. Although the differences were small in the nose area p11-p14 and the occipital area p17-p20 compared to the fingers p21-p22, it was found that better proximity could be achieved than the fingers p21-p22.

[0118] Therefore, the specific part where the vibrator is provided is the head. The head refers to the part above the face, including the face, head, ears, etc., but not the neck. The head-mounted display of the present disclosure may be formed to cover a wide area of ​​the head.

[0119] More preferably, the specific area where the vibrators are provided is the face. The face is the front portion of the head excluding the back of the head. Here, it is preferable that the vibrators are provided in the areas around the eyes p1-p4, around the cheeks p5-p10, and around the chin p15-p16 of the face. The areas around the eyes p1-p4, around the cheeks p5-p10, and around the chin p15-p16 can provide a better tactile sensation than the areas around the nose p11-p14 and around the back of the head p17-p20.

[0120] A signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency on a carrier wave of a first frequency is applied to the vibrator 10. Here, the first frequency is a frequency that is not detected at a specific site, for example, 100 Hz to 1 kHz. The first frequency is more preferably 120 Hz to 800 Hz. The first frequency is a frequency that is not detected by Meissner's corpuscles but is detectable by Pacinian corpuscles.

[0121] The first frequency is considered to be best, for example, 200 Hz. While 200 Hz is the frequency that humans can most easily perceive, there are regions, such as the head, where the frequency is not recognized. The region where 200 Hz is not recognized can be a specific part where the vibrator is provided.

[0122] The second frequency is a frequency of amplitude modulation, and is preferably about 0.1 Hz to 60 Hz.

[0123] Meissner's corpuscles detect frequencies between 15 and 120 Hz, and frequencies lower than those covered by Meissner's corpuscles are receptors for Merkel cells, which generate pressure sensations. Therefore, the minimum value of the second frequency is 0.1 Hz.

[0124] Because the present disclosure is a tactile presentation method for body parts where Pacinian corpuscles are not present, the upper limit of the second frequency can be 120 Hz, which is the upper limit of Meissner's corpuscles. However, humans perceive frequencies from around 60 Hz not as frequencies themselves, but as the ratio between the activity of Meissner's corpuscles and Pacinian corpuscles. For this reason, it is considered meaningless to present vibrations with frequencies higher than 60 Hz to parts of the body where Pacinian corpuscles are not present, such as the forehead. Therefore, the maximum value of the second frequency is 60 Hz.

[0125] The processing device 30 of the present embodiment described above is, for example, a general-purpose computer system including a CPU (Central Processing Unit, processor) 901, a memory 902, a storage 903 (HDD: Hard Disk Drive, SSD: Solid State Drive), a communication device 904, an input device 905, and an output device 906. In this computer system, the CPU 901 executes a program loaded on the memory 902, thereby realizing each function of the processing device 30.

[0126] The processing device 30 may be implemented by one computer or by multiple computers, or may be a virtual machine implemented in a computer.

[0127] The program of the processing device 30 can be stored on a computer-readable recording medium such as an HDD, SSD, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, CD (Compact Disc), or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or can be distributed via a network.

[0128] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[0129] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 tactile presentation device 5 tactile presentation system 10 vibrator 10a vibrator group 11 signal generator 30 processing device 31 virtual space data 32 correspondence data 33 position data 36 rendering unit 37 conversion unit 38 control unit 40 display device 50 detection device 901 CPU 902 memory 903 storage 904 communication device 905 input device 906 output device

Claims

1. A tactile presentation device comprising: a vibrator that is placed on a specific part of the user's skin that does not detect a first frequency and has a resonant frequency of the first frequency; and a signal generator that supplies to the vibrator a signal that is amplitude-modulated by a second frequency that is detected at the specific part on a carrier wave of the first frequency.

2. The tactile presentation device according to claim 1, further comprising a processing device having a control unit that inputs an instruction to the signal generating device to vibrate the vibrator at the timing when the tactile sensation is to be presented to the user.

3. The tactile presentation device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit acquires the user's movements from a detection device that detects the user's movements, and when coordinates based on the user's movements overlap with coordinates of an object in an image presented to the user, inputs an instruction to the signal generating device to vibrate the vibrator.

4. The tactile presentation device of claim 3, wherein the control unit specifies an amplitude that has a positive correlation with the size of the area where the coordinates based on the user's movements and the coordinates of the object in the image overlap, and inputs an instruction to the signal generating device to vibrate the vibrator.

5. The tactile presentation device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit determines the second frequency from the texture of an object that overlaps the coordinates based on the user's movement, specifies the determined second frequency, and inputs an instruction to the signal generating device to vibrate the vibrator.

6. The tactile presentation device according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of said vibrators.

7. A tactile presentation device as described in claim 6, further comprising a processing device having a control unit that inputs an instruction to the signal generating device to give the signal to the vibrator at the timing of presenting a tactile sensation to the user, wherein the control unit refers to correspondence data that associates identifiers of multiple vibrators with specific parts of the user on which the vibrators are provided, and identifies the identifier of a vibrator among the multiple vibrators that corresponds to overlapping coordinates based on the user's movement and coordinates that overlap with coordinates of an object in the video presented to the user, and inputs an instruction to the signal generating device to vibrate the vibrator with the identified identifier.

8. The tactile presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the specific part is the head.

9. The tactile presentation device according to claim 8, wherein the first frequency is in the range of 100 Hz to 1 kHz, and the second frequency is lower than the first frequency.

10. A head-mounted display comprising: a tactile presentation device that presents a tactile sensation to a user; and a display device that displays video data to the user, wherein the tactile presentation device comprises: a vibrator that is placed on a specific part of the user's skin that does not detect a first frequency and has a resonant frequency of the first frequency; and a signal generator that provides the vibrator with a signal that is amplitude-modulated at a second frequency that is detected at the specific part, on a carrier wave of the first frequency.

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