Roberto Vargiolu

Angular Parameter for Characterizing Road Surface Microtexture

Development of a device for measuring road surface microtexture and the determination of a microtexture parameter related to wet road/tire friction are discussed. A laser autofocus system was selected from existing devices. The required characteristics were defined from consideration of the contact between wet roads and tires. The autofocus principle is presented briefly, and comparison is made with a tactile system. The microtexture parameter, called the theta parameter, is defined from the useful parts of the texture profiles, that is, those in contact with the tire. It characterizes relative positions of profile peaks. A simple method was proposed to define the peaks. The profile analysis program is presented briefly. Relevance of the theta parameter was validated on surfaces composed of coarse aggregates with planar exposed faces. The specimens were polished using a projection method to emphasize the microtexture contrast between surfaces. Friction was measured using a skid resistance tester (SRT) pendulum. Profiles were measured using both laser and tactile systems. Characteristics of profiles are given. The statistical distribution of theta values obtained on a profile may be described by an exponential function. Close agreement was found between theta values obtained from laser and tactile profiles, values from laser profiles being somewhat lower. The difference is attributed to profile length. Fair correlation was found (r2 > 0.80) between theta values and SRT friction, and similar tendencies were observed from laser and tactile data.

Contribution of human skin topography to the characterization of dynamic skin tension during senescence: morpho-mechanical approach

The structuring of the dermis with a network of collagen and elastic fibres gives a three-dimensional structure to the skin network with directions perpendicular and parallel to the skin surface. This three-dimensional morphology prints on the surface of the stratum corneum a three dimensional network of lines which express the mechanical tension of the skin at rest. To evaluate the changes of skin morphology, we used a three-dimensional confocal microscopy and characterization of skin imaging of volar forearm microrelief. We have accurately characterize the role of skin line network during chronological aging with the identification of depth scales on the network of lines (z ≤ 60μm) and the network of lines covering Langers lines (z > 60 microns). During aging has been highlighted lower rows for elastic fibres, the decrease weakened the tension and results in enlargement of the plates of the microrelief, which gives us a geometric pertinent indicator to quantify the loss of skin tension and assess the stage of aging. The study of 120 Caucasian women shows that ageing in the volar forearm zone results in changes in the morphology of the line network organisation. The decrease in secondary lines (z ≤ 60 μm) is counterbalanced by an increase in the depth of the primary lines (z > 60 μm) and an accentuation of the anisotropy index.

Biophysical properties of the human finger for touch comprehension: influences of ageing and gender

The human finger plays an extremely important role in tactile perception, but little is known about how age and gender affect its biophysical properties and their role in tactile perception. We combined studies on contact characteristics, mechanical properties and surface topography to understand age and gender effects on the human finger. The values obtained regarding contact characteristics (i.e. adhesive force) were significantly higher for women than for men. As for mechanical properties (i.e. Youngs modulus E), a significant and positive correlation with age was observed and found to be higher for women. A positive correlation was observed between age and the arithmetic mean of surface roughness for men. However, an inverse age effect was highlighted for women. The age and gender effects obtained have never been reported previously in the literature. These results open new perspectives for understanding the weakening of tactile perception across ages and how it differs between men and women.

Sonification of a friction sensor for an acoustic characterization of the human skin

The friction properties of surfaces can be investigated via acoustic sensors that measure the noise generated during the sliding of the probe on the surface. This work presents a characterization of the human skin using a friction sensor, designed to measure the signal generated during the interaction between the finger of the experimenter and the skin of a subject. A panel of subjects with different skin characteristics (age, hydration, firmness) was first measured and supervised learning algorithms were used to infer the typology from the labeled data and the signals of the sensor. Next, a sonification of the signals was designed to make audible the differences between the skin categories. The sonification is based on a sound synthesis of a bowed string musical instrument, the violin, which mimics the interaction of the finger on the skin and constitutes a relevant metaphor. From the synthetized sounds corresponding to different experimental conditions (before and after the application of a cosmetic pro...