Affective Stroking: Design Thermal Mid-Air Tactile for Assisting People in Stress Regulation
Source abstract
Abstract
Haptics for stress regulation is well developed these years. Using vibrotactile to present biofeedback, guiding breathing or heartbeat regulation is a dominant technical approach. However, designing computer-mediated affective touch for stress regulation is also a promising way and has not been fully explored. In this paper, a haptic device was developed to test whether the computer-mediated affective stroking on the forearm could help to assist people in reducing stress. In our method, we used mid-air technology to generate subtle pressure force by blowing air and generating thermal feedback by using Peltier elements simultaneously. Firstly, we found intensity and velocity parameters to present comfort and pleasant stroking sensations. Afterward, an experiment was conducted to find out whether this approach could help people mediate their perceived and physiological stress. A total of 49 participants were randomly assigned to either a Stroking Group (SG) or a Control Group (CG). Results showed that participants from SG felt more relaxed than those from CG. The physiological stress index, RMSSD, increased and LF/HF decreased in SG although these changes were not statistically significant. Our exploration created subtle, non-invasive, noiseless haptic sensations. It could be a promising alternative for assisting people in stress regulation. Design implications and future applicable scenarios were discussed.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Tactile and Sensory Interactions · Multisensory perception and integration · Color perception and design
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310007, China
School of Industrial Design, Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing 210003, China
Ningbo Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Ningbo 315000, China
Faculty of Humanities and Arts, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau 999078, China
Funding
Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities · “Leading Goose” R&D Program of Zhejiang · Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China · Research Center of Computer Aided Product Innovation Design, Ministry of Education
References (83)
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