In-the-Wild Vibrotactile Sensation: Perceptual Transformation of Vibrations from Smartphones

Smartphone vibrations are a regular part of our daily lives. These vibrations can add various meanings to the information users obtain from their screen experiences. There-fore, it is important to understand the perceptual transformation of vibration using ordinary devices to evaluate the possibility of improved vibrotactile communication via smartphones. This study investigated the reproducibility of vibrotactile sensations via smartphones in in-the-wild environments. To realize improved haptic design to communicate with smartphone users smoothly, we also focused on the moderation effects of the in-the-wild environments on the vibrotactile sensations: the physical specifications of mobile devices, operation manners, and users’ touch preferences. We conducted a web-based in-the-wild experiment instead of a laboratory experiment to reproduce an environment as close to the daily lives of users as possible. Through a series of analyses, we revealed that users perceive the weight of vibration stimuli to be higher in terms of sensation magnitude than the intensity of vibration stimuli under identical vibration stimulus conditions. We also demonstrated that it is desirable to consider the moderation effects of the in-the-wild environments to realize improved tactile system design that maximizes the impact of vibrotactile stimuli.