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Neurobiology

Feeling bumps and holes

We use our hands as well as our eyes to perceive physical objects. New insight into how our hands feel a surface may have implications for developing virtual-reality tools such as training devices for surgeons.

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Figure 1: How force and geometric cues contribute to the perception of shape by touching.

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Correspondence to J. Randall Flanagan.

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Flanagan, J., Lederman, S. Feeling bumps and holes. Nature 412, 389–391 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35086674

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