Tight Times: Semantics and Distractibility of Pneumatic Compression Feedback for Wearable Devices

Abstract

Notifications on wrist worn devices can be delivered visual, auditory or haptic. Haptic notifications are hands and eyes-free and at the same time discrete. As an alternative to vibrotactile notifications we explore the use of compression notifications for a variety of semantic contexts. We present a prototype to deliver squeeze cues and present the results of two empirical studies focusing on context-dependent interpretation and distractibility of squeeze notifications. In the first study, 20 participants rated the desirability and intuitive understanding of squeeze-based notifications in a variety of contexts. In the second study, 39 participants completed a set of cognitive tasks interrupted by squeeze-distractors. Our observations suggest that by using simple squeeze signals it is possible to convey a range of context-dependent information that requires little learning and does not distract users from their main activity. These findings help to further investigate the use of compression notifications as an attention-preserving communication channel.