Tactile crescendos and sforzandos: applying musical techniques to tactile icon design

Lorna M. Brown, Stephen A. Brewster, Helen C. Purchase

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference PaperOther

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Tactile icons (Tactons) are structured vibrotactile messages which can be used for non visual information display. Information is encoded in Tactons by manipulating vibrotactile parameters. This research investigates the possibilities of applying musical techniques to tactile icon design in order to define such parameters. Tactile versions of musical dynamics were created by manipulating the amplitude of vibrations to create increasing, decreasing, and level stimuli and an experiment was carried out to test perception of these stimuli. Identification rates of 92%-100% indicate that these tactile dynamics can be identified and distinguished from each other, and that tactile dynamics could be used in Tacton design.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI'06 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA'06
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Pages610-615
Number of pages6
ISBN (Print)1595932984, 9781595932983
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006
Externally publishedYes
EventInternational Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2006 - Montreal, Canada
Duration: 22 Apr 200627 Apr 2006
Conference number: 24th

Conference

ConferenceInternational Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2006
Abbreviated titleCHI 2006
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityMontreal
Period22/04/0627/04/06

Keywords

  • Non-visual interaction
  • Tactile icons
  • Tactons

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