Internet of touch: analysis and synthesis of touch across wearable and mobile devices

We demonstrate a method that allows two users to communicate remotely using their sense of touch by dynamically applying vibrotactile feedback to one user's forearm using two different input methods. User input on a standard mobile touch-screen device or a purpose-built touch-sensitive wearable is analyzed in real time, and used to control intensity, location, and motion parameters of the vibrotactile output to synthesize the stroke on a second users arm. Our method demonstrates that different input methods can be used for generating similar vibrotactile sensations

The log-star revolution

In this paper we outline the design process of the TaSST (Tactile Sleeve for Social Touch), a touch-sensitive vibrotactile arm sleeve. The TaSST was designed to enable two people to communicate different types of touch over a distance. The touch-sensitive surface of the sleeve consists of a grid of 4×3 sensor compartments filled with conductive wool. Each compartment controls the vibration intensity of a vibration motor, located in a grid of 4×3 motors beneath the touch-sensitive layer. An initial evaluation of the TaSST revealed that it was mainly suitable for communicating protracted (e.g. pressing), and simple (e.g. poking) touches

Self Touch to Touch Others: Designing the Tactile Sleeve for Social Touch

In this paper we present the concept and initial design stages of the TaSST (Tactile Sleeve for Social Touch). The TaSST consists of a soft pressure-sensitive input layer, and an output layer containing vibration motors. A touch to ones own sleeve is felt as a vibration on the sleeve of another person. The idea behind the TaSST is to enable two people to communicate different types of touch at a distance. We will outline the design process of the TaSST, describe some initial results from a user study, and discuss possible applications of the TaSST