Experiencing Touch by Technology

Abstract

Touch technology can mediate social touch in situations when people cannot be physically close. Recent social touch technologies use haptic actuators capable of displaying pressure touch. We studied experience in two set-ups which use such actuators: a motorized ribbon and a McKibben sleeve. We investigated whether there is an inherent emotional and sensory experience attached to sensations produced by those set-ups. Participants were presented with pressure touches varying in rate of force change, peak force and contact area. Participants rated the sensory and emotional experience of each stimulus variation with a check-all-that-apply measure of 79 items in two sections and the Emojigrid. We found that force has a major effect on the experience of a passive pressure touch. Speed and width also played a role, but to a lesser extent and only in one of the set-ups. The results inform the design of mediated social touch applications in making the technology more congruent with the context.