Design and evaluation of a wearable remote social touch device

Abstract

Psychological and sociological studies have established the essential role that touch plays in interpersonal communication. However this channel is largely ignored in current telecommunication technologies. We design and implement a remote touch armband with an electric motor actuator. This is paired with a touch input device in the form of a force-sensor-embedded smart phone case. When the smart phone is squeezed, the paired armband will be activated to simulate a squeeze on the user's upper arm. A usability study is conducted with 22 participants to evaluate the device in terms of perceptibility. The results show that users can easily perceive touch at different force levels.