VibWalk: Mapping Lower-limb Haptic Experiences of Everyday Walking

Abstract: Walking is among the most common human activities where the feet can gather rich tactile information from the ground. The dynamic contact between the feet and the ground generates vibration signals that can be sensed by the foot skin. While existing research focuses on foot pressure sensing and lower-limb interactions, methods of decoding tactile information from foot vibrations remain underexplored. Here, we propose a foot-equipped wearable system capable of recording wideband vibration signals during walking activities. By enabling location-based recording, our system generates maps of haptic data that encode information on ground materials, lower-limb activities, and road conditions. Its efficacy was demonstrated through studies involving 31 users walking over 18 different ground textures, achieving an overall identification accuracy exceeding 95\% (cross-user accuracy of 87\%). Our system allows pedestrians to map haptic information through their daily walking activities, which has potential applications in creating digitalized walking experiences and monitoring road conditions.