Gamifying Haptics User Studies: Comparison of Response Times From Smartphone Interfaces

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Psychophysics
• Game Design

Background:

• Traditional haptics user studies are often limited by physical location and low user engagement.
• Integrating game design elements can improve user experience and data collection efficiency.
• Smartphones offer a ubiquitous platform for conducting widespread haptics research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility and impact of a gamified smartphone interface for haptics user studies.
• To compare user engagement and response times between a gamified and a traditional psychophysical interface.
• To explore the benefits and drawbacks of gamification in designing haptics experiments.

Main Methods:

• Developed a gamified "Whac-A-Mole" style interface on smartphones for a haptics experiment.
• Conducted a user study comparing the gamified interface with an existing psychophysical interface.
• Collected response time data for multisensory stimuli (auditory, haptic, visual) across varying intensities and participant preferences.

Main Results:

• The gamified interface significantly increased participant enjoyment (p < 0.003).
• Response time trends in the gamified interface were similar to the traditional interface.
• Response times were not equivalent between the gamified and traditional interfaces.

Conclusions:

• Gamification can enhance user engagement and enjoyment in haptics studies conducted via smartphones.
• While gamification shows potential for broader participant access and improved data collection experience, careful consideration of its impact on response time accuracy is necessary.
• The study highlights key trade-offs when applying gamification to psychophysical research.