The Characteristics of the Cutaneous Communications Channel
Abstract
Perception of the electrocutaneous stimulus is slow. It may be associated with the sensation of diffuseness of the electrical stimulus. The electrical and the neurological nature of the problem can be understood in terms of the cutaneous impedance model (Bennett et al., 1966), which hypothesized three principal levels of resistance in the skin. ECOM experiments have demonstrated the electronic, ionic and electrode surface complexity of the cutaneous impedance. As an overall conclusion, it can be said that the investigation to date indicates that the sharpening of acuity of reception of electrocutaneous messages can be achieved by the use of 'shadow' signals delayed in time and displaced in location from the primary signal. The ventral-dorsal combination on the forearm offers particular promise. Similarly the use of an electrocutaneous signal as a secondary cueing channel in conjunction with a primary acoustic channel has been shown to result in an effective 3 db signal to noise enhancement of the acoustic channel when that channel is degraded to the level of -5 db.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- ADA074197
Entities
People
- H. S. Bennett
- J. R. Hennessy
Organizations
- United States Army Communications-Electronics Command