Detecting vibrations across the body in mobile contexts

Abstract

In this paper we explore the potential and limitations of vibrotactile displays in practical wearable applications, by comparing users' detection rate and response time to stimuli applied across the body in varied conditions. We examined which body locations are more sensitive to vibrations and more affected by movement; whether visual workload, expectation of location, or gender impact performance; and if users have subjective preferences to any of these conditions. In two experiments we compared these factors using five vibration intensities on up to 13 body locations. Our contributions are comparisons of tactile detection performance under conditions typifying mobile use, an experiment design that supports further investigation in vibrotactile communication, and guidelines for optimal display location given intended use.

Haptics for the Development of Fundamental Rhythm Skills, Including Multi-limb Coordination

“…MuSS-bits by contrast emphasises flexibility in choice of body locations for its wireless sensor-display pairs. Choice of body location for haptics can have a variety of subtle effects on the perception of haptic signals beyond the scope of this chapter-a general discussion of this issue can be found in [49].…”

Designing a Vibrotactile Language for a Wearable Vest

“…Placement location, number and types of tactors, arrangement, frequency, spacing, tempo, sequencing, connection methods and duration are all important factors when designing a wearable vibrotactile 'outfit' [9,10]. Karuei et al identified the wrists and spine as consistently most sensitive sites and found movement to be an impacting factor in decreasing detection rate [10] where Morrison et al found doing other activities reduced detection performance of vibrotactile stimuli [11].…”

The design and field observation of a haptic notification system for timing awareness during oral presentations

“…The wrist is one of the most sensitive body locations for vibrotactile stimuli, particularly during walking and standing when lower-limb sensitivity drops, and even with visuo-cognitive distractions [22,24]. A skin-exposed location where a presentation device could be worn, the wrist is also a key site for functional social touch as observed in human-to-human [21] and device-mediated [2] interaction.…”

“…Three synchronized eccentric-mass tactors (described in [22]). Multiple (more skin contact [35], redundancy), low cost tactors were spaced across the dorsal wrist at ~25mm intervals, parallel to the skin as in [6], and energized with pulsewidth modulated Arduino signals.…”

“…People's differing sensitivity to touch, accentuated by context and cognitive load [22], could explain why a few participants (notably GR) found the cues hard to notice. Tactile sensitivity also drops with movement [38], impacting mobile speakers particularly.…”