Multi-objective optimization of visual and tactile desirability of wooden textures

Affective and aesthetic qualities of textures largely depend on their visual and tactile features. However, to date, no systematic methods have been established for the design of such textures. This study confirms the feasibility of the Taguchi method for the multi-objective optimization of texture appearance and tactile pleasantness. To this end, texture stimuli are created using a medium-density fiberboard and laser cutting with several design parameters, including the dimensions and number of engraved figures. Each texture is evaluated based on its appearance and tactile pleasantness. In the multi-objective optimization process using the Taguchi method, a single-objective optimization is performed on iteratively updated sample sets. After several iterations of single-objective process, three non-dominated solutions, namely the Pareto set, are identified with respect to visual and tactile pleasantness. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the multi-objective Taguchi method to optimize multimodal textured stimulations.