Smart Bracelets to Represent Directions of Social Touch with Tactile Apparent Motion

Abstract

We present a novel haptic interaction which represents a direction of social touch with a tactile apparent motion using a pair of smart bracelet devices. We define the direction as being from the hand actively touching to the hand passively touched. The device consists of a microcontroller, an acceleration sensor, an intra-body network module, and a vibrator. First, one device sends own acceleration data at the moment of physical contact with the other over wearers’ hands (intra-body network). The other compares it to the own data, decides which one is actively touching or passively being touched, and sends the result to the partner device. Then, the devices drive the vibrators synchronizing the timing of the vibrations with each other according to our previously built model through the intra-body network. As a result, a tactile apparent motion is induced from the active to the passive. We aim that representing the direction provides awareness of the direction, which we expect to correct unilateral touch behavior.