Changes in heart rate variability by using tactile thermal interface device

Abstract

As an interface for calling attention without noticing others, presentation of tactile thermal information, equipped with an input device was evaluated. The thermal presentation device was designed such that emotional changes were generated after the exposure of the warm and cold stimuli, which may lead to the alarm effect. The experiment was conducted to examine physiological and behavioral responses for the thermal stimuli by measuring reaction time to the stimuli with heart rate variability. The results revealed that the reaction times given by cold stimuli were shorter than those by warm stimuli although the changes in R-R interval of heart rate decreased significantly only by the presentation of warm stimuli. Further evaluation included the usability for the effects associated with alarm and recovery of drowsy situations.