Vibrotactile Vest and The Humming Wall: "I like the hand down my spine"

Abstract

Vibrotactile information can be used to elicit sensations and encourage particular user body movements. We designed a vibrotactile vest with physiological monitoring that interacts with a vibroacoustic urban environment, The Humming Wall. In this paper, we describe the first field trial with the system held over a 5-week period in an urban park. We depict the participants' experience, engagement and impressions while wearing the vibrotactile vest and interacting with the wall. We contribute with positive responses to novel interactions between the responsive environment and the vibrotactile vest, with a system designed to calm, activate, guide and warn the participants.