Interactive Furniture: Bi-directional Interaction with a Vibrotactile Wearable Vest in an Urban Space

In this study we investigate the experience for participants while wearing a vi-brotactile vest that interacts with a vibroacoustic architecture The Humming Wall, set in an urban space. This public large scale artefact is built to exchange vibrotactile and physiological interactions with a vibrotactile wearable vest. The heart beats and breath rates of the vest wearers are vibroacoustically displayed at The Humming Wall. In addition, participants can swipe and knock on The Hum-ming Wall and the vest wearer is effectively swiped and knocked upon. We work with overlapping vibrotactile outputs in order that the wearers experience a flow of sensations similar to a touch gesture. The communication privileged vi-broacoustic and vibrotactile as the primary interaction modalities for both vest wearers as well as for a passing public. The participants found the experience fa-vourable and analysis reveals some patterns on the vest and zones at the wall im-pact relaxation in the form of calming and feel-good sensations, (even therapeu-tic) as well as activation and warning on the vest. We contribute to this research field by adding a large scale public object and visibly responsive interactive wall that was positively received as the partner responder for the wearers of a vi-brotactile vest set in an urban environment. Participants reported calming, thera-peutic, feel good sensations in response to the patterns.