The CHAT System: A Wearable Haptic System for Facilitating Tactile Communication

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Haptics
• Assistive Technology

Background:

• Remote communication often neglects tactile interactions, leading to sensory overload and inaccessibility.
• Existing communication methods over-rely on visual and auditory channels, excluding diverse sensory groups.
• Haptic intuitions from blind and low vision (BLV) and Protactile DeafBlind (PT-DB) communities offer insights for tactile communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate routing core communication functions through tactile channels.
• To design and evaluate a wearable haptic system for remote touch-based communication.
• To explore the feasibility of language recreation and emotional expression via touch.

Main Methods:

• Design and iterative development of the Conversational Haptic Technology (CHAT) system, including bidirectional sensing and actuation pads.
• User studies with sighted-hearing (N=20), BLV (N=4), and PT-DB (N=7) participants.
• Analysis of touch profiles for communication functions and emotional responses across diverse user groups.

Main Results:

• Identified trends and similarities in organically employed touch-based cues across diverse participant groups.
• Demonstrated the feasibility of communicating core functions through touch.
• Provided an initial framework for touch-based communication in a wearable form factor.

Conclusions:

• Wearable haptic systems can facilitate remote communication by routing functions through tactile channels.
• Learning from BLV and PT-DB communities is crucial for developing inclusive tactile communication technologies.
• The CHAT system shows promise for enhancing connection and engagement in remote interactions.