What the science says
Our instruments are built on findings from our team's peer-reviewed work in rheology, tribology, and sensory science. The highlights below are the ideas that shape how the instrument measures -- the full papers live in our publication library at Perceptometry Lab.
The five-newton sweet spot
In our published toothpaste squeezability work, panel acceptance peaked near a 5 N grip force: below it, product flows too easily; above it, dispensing takes too much effort. Knowing the force people actually apply lets an instrument squeeze the way a person does.
Friction is felt at low speed
The friction that predicts skin feel lives at slow sliding speeds -- the speeds of a fingertip, not a machine. Our moisturizer and sunscreen studies showed tribological measurements predicting panel-rated tactile attributes like spreadability.
Falling friction signals absorption
When the coefficient of friction drops over repeated strokes, the product is going into the skin. That drop is a measurable signature of rub-in and after-feel -- one number tracking something panels describe in whole sentences.
Stringiness must be seen
No conventional instrument measures stringiness, because thread formation has to be watched, not just weighed. Our "gloppiness" study used computer vision to score discharge behavior -- the reason this instrument carries a camera where others carry only a load cell.
Panels are precious -- spend them wisely
Expert sensory panels train for months and cost real money per session. The statistics connecting panel scores to instrument readings -- just-noticeable differences, attribute correlations -- let routine screening run on the bench, reserving human panels for final validation.
People feel with their eyes too
Two products with identical measured viscosity can be perceived as different when visual cues differ. Mechanical measurement alone misses that -- which is why the instrument records synchronized video of every test alongside its force data.
Acceptance peaks where force feels right
People judge a package by the force it demands. In our squeezability research, panelists rated products dispensed across a range of grip forces -- acceptance rose to a clear peak near 5 N and fell away on both sides. Too little force and the product feels runny; too much and it feels like work.
Want the details behind a finding?
The complete papers -- 22 peer-reviewed publications with DOIs -- are catalogued at Perceptometry Lab. If you'd like a specific paper or want to talk through how a method applies to your product, leave a note.