Keywords: tactile patterns, esmileys, emoticons

Graphical input and visualization has irrefutable benefits as an intermediate between an analog perception of the human being and a computer that operates on and produces discrete data. However, graphical images pose greater problems for blind and visually impaired users. The converting of visual images into another sense (modality) could open new ways in visualization technique and promote alternative communication and user interface technology for all. Tongue is one of the most sensitive parts of human body. There have been several attempts to apply the tongue in human-computer interaction both to control and display information. The current study is based on electro-tactile stimulation of the tongue to transform short conditional messages, presented by symbols or graphics, into electro-tactile patterns. The goal is to estimate the efficiency of sensory substitution of the conditional semantic information regarding emotions with the use of Composite Electro-Tactile Patterns (CETP). The rectangular pulses of stabilized current of 0.3 mA with alternative polarity have been used to shape the CETPs. Three volunteers took part in the pilot testing of the technique. The performance of the subjects was evaluated through match game in the terms of the number of repetitions to memorize each of 9 CETPs, test-time completion and the error rate at recognition of the test patterns. The benefits and lacks of the eSmileys technique are discussed in detail.