PROXIMITY ACROSS DISTANCE: A SMART GLOVE-SLEEVE SYSTEM FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF TOUCH

Background.Physical touch is essential for emotional bonding, yet long-distance relationships lack this sensory dimension, potentially leading to feelings of disconnection and increased mental health risks.Existing communication technologies enable auditory and visual interaction but fail to provide haptic feedback.This study explores touch patterns used to express emotions in face-to-face interactions to inform the development of a Glove-Sleeve System that integrates virtual touch into video calls.Methods.We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 participants across three user groups (grandparents, grandchildren, and long-distance partners).Participants described how they use touch to respond to scenarios designed to elicit joy, fear, anger, sadness, stress, loneliness, thankfulness, and love.Descriptive statistics quantified touch gesture frequency, and Chi-square tests assessed variations across user groups.Heatmaps visualized the distribution of touch behaviors across emotions.Results.Participants most frequently reported hugging as their primary touch response.However, due to technological constraints, the study focused on hand and arm touch patterns, with hand holding (N = 35) and arm stroking (N = 30) being the most common gestures.Fear and stress were most associated with the absence of touch (N = 21 for arm, N = 20 for hand).Chi-square tests indicated no significant differences in touch patterns between user groups (p > .05),suggesting a universal reliance on similar touch interactions to convey emotions.Conclusion.Findings suggest that a customizable haptic system should focus on stroking and holding for arm-based interactions and holding, squeezing, and interlocking fingers for hand interactions.Given the frequent occurrence of pressure-based gestures, haptic feedback should incorporate force-sensitive actuation.Future research should explore full body mediated touch and adaptations of hugging in virtual interactions to enhance emotional closeness in remote communication.