Tactile Melodies in user Interfaces

Abstract

The application of dynamic vibrotactile displays in user interfaces is still a rare situation. There are, however, several important advantages of using the sense of touch as an information channel, especially in relation to overloaded or unavailable visual and auditory channels. We propose here to make good use of the qualities of the sense of touch in the temporal domain by suggesting the usage of tactile melodies in user interfaces. In an explorative study we investigated the perception of such tactile melodies and found that tactile melodies often lead to a rich perceptual experience, as testified by the ability of the subjects in our study to describe such signals in detail. We conclude that die application of tactile melodies in user interfaces seems feasible, provided careful consideration is given to the creation of an intuitive connection between tactile melodies and the messages they are meant to convey.