Fingerhints: Understanding Users' Perceptions of and Preferences for On-Finger Kinesthetic Notifications

Abstract

We present "fingerhints,"on-finger kinesthetic feedback represented by hyper-extension movements of the index finger, bypassing user agency, for notifications delivery. To this end, we designed a custom-made finger-augmentation device, which leverages mechanical force to deliver fingerhints as programmable hyper-extensions of the index finger. We evaluate fingerhints with 21 participants, and report good usability, low technology creepiness, and moderate to high social acceptability. In a second study with 11 new participants, we evaluate the wearable comfort of our fingerhints device against four commercial finger- and hand-augmentation devices. Finally, we present insights from the experience of one participant, who wore our device for eight hours during their daily life. We discuss the user experience of fingerhints in relation to our participants' personality traits, finger dexterity levels, and general attitudes toward notifications, and present implications for interactive systems leveraging on-finger kinesthetic feedback for on-body computing.