Mastering the Senses in HCI: Towards Multisensory Interfaces

Abstract

With the proliferation of sensory technologies that do not only stimulate the sense of vision and hearing, but also our sense of touch, smell, and taste, we are confronted with the challenge of mastering those "new" senses in the design of interactive systems. To meaningfully design multisensory interfaces and enrich human-technology interactions we need to systematically investigate the technical, perceptual, and experiential parameters of sensory and multisensory stimulation. Here, I particularly focus on the study of tactile, gustatory, and olfactory experiences facilitated by the use of novel technologies (e.g., mid-air haptic devices, olfactory devices) and the combination of objective and subjective measures within sensory science, psychology, HCI, and user experience research.