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Reach out and touch me: effects of four distinct haptic technologies on affective touch in virtual reality

Published: 31 October 2016 Publication History

Abstract

Virtual reality presents an extraordinary platform for multimodal communication. Haptic technologies have been shown to provide an important contribution to this by facilitating co-presence and allowing affective communication. However, the findings of the affective influences rely on studies that have used myriad different types of haptic technology, making it likely that some forms of tactile feedback are more efficient in communicating emotions than others. To find out whether this is true and which haptic technologies are most effective, we measured user experience during a communication scenario featuring an affective agent and interpersonal touch in virtual reality. Interpersonal touch was simulated using two types of vibrotactile actuators and two types of force feedback mechanisms. Self-reports of subjective experience of the agent’s touch and emotions were obtained. The results revealed that, regardless of the agent’s expression, force feedback actuators were rated as more natural and resulted in greater emotional interdependence and a stronger sense of co-presence than vibrotactile touch.

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        cover image ACM Conferences
        ICMI '16: Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction
        October 2016
        605 pages
        ISBN:9781450345569
        DOI:10.1145/2993148
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        Published: 31 October 2016

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        Author Tags

        1. Virtual reality
        2. affective communication
        3. facial expressions
        4. haptic technologies

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        • (2024)JetUnit: Rendering Diverse Force Feedback in Virtual Reality Using Water JetsProceedings of the 37th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology10.1145/3654777.3676440(1-15)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
        • (2024)Multichannel Vibrotactile Glove: Validation of a New Device Designed to Sense VibrationsIEEE Transactions on Haptics10.1109/TOH.2024.347574017:4(913-923)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2024
        • (2024)Contactless Electrostatic Piloerection for Haptic SensationsIEEE Transactions on Haptics10.1109/TOH.2023.326988517:2(140-151)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2024
        • (2024)Social touch to build trustComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2023.108121153:COnline publication date: 12-Apr-2024
        • (2024)Haptics in social interaction with agents and avatars in virtual reality: a systematic reviewVirtual Reality10.1007/s10055-024-01060-628:4Online publication date: 14-Nov-2024
        • (2023)Pseudo-haptic and Self-haptic Feedback During VR Text EntryProceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the ACM Greek SIGCHI Chapter10.1145/3609987.3610002(1-8)Online publication date: 27-Sep-2023
        • (2023)Receiving a Mediated Touch From Your Partner vs. a Male Stranger: How Visual Feedback of Touch and Its Sender Influence Touch ExperienceIEEE Transactions on Affective Computing10.1109/TAFFC.2021.308518514:2(1044-1055)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2023
        • (2023)Touching Virtual Humans: Haptic Responses Reveal the Emotional Impact of Affective AgentsIEEE Transactions on Affective Computing10.1109/TAFFC.2020.303813714:1(331-342)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2023
        • (2023)Touch Technology in Affective Human–, Robot–, and Virtual–Human Interactions: A SurveyProceedings of the IEEE10.1109/JPROC.2023.3272780111:10(1333-1354)Online publication date: Oct-2023
        • (2023)Shape memory alloy actuators for haptic wearables: A reviewMaterials & Design10.1016/j.matdes.2023.112264233(112264)Online publication date: Sep-2023
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