The influence of visual and haptic material information on early grasping force

In this paper, we assess the importance of visual and haptic information about materials for scaling the grasping force when picking up an object. We asked 12 participants to pick up and lift objects with six different textures, either blindfolded or with visual information present. We measured the grip force and estimated the load force from the object’s weight and vertical acceleration. The coefficient of friction of the materials was measured separately. Already at an early phase in the grasp (before lift-off), the grip force correlated highly with the textures’ static coefficient of friction. However, no strong influence on the presence of visual information was found. We conclude that the main mechanism for modulation of grip force in the early phase of grasping is the real-time sensation of the texture’s friction.