Emotional Response to Vibrothermal Stimuli

Emotional response to haptic stimuli is a widely researched topic, but the combination of vibrotactile and thermal stimuli requires more attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate emotional response to vibrothermal stimulation by combining spatiotemporal vibrotactile stimulus with dynamic thermal stimulus (hot or cold). The vibrotactile and thermal stimuli were produced using the Haptic Chair and the Embr wave thermal bracelet, respectively. The results show that spatiotemporal vibrotactile patterns and their duration, and dynamic thermal stimulation, have an independent effect on the emotional response. Increasing duration generally increases the valence and arousal of emotional response. Shifting the dynamic temperature from cold to hot generally decreases the valence of emotional response but has no significant effect on arousal. Nevertheless, certain spatiotemporal patterns do exhibit unique responses to changes in dynamic temperature, although no interaction effects were found. The results show the potential of designing affective haptic interfaces using multimodal vibrothermal feedback.

Automated summary

This study investigated the emotional response to vibrothermal stimulation by combining spatiotemporal vibrotactile stimulus with dynamic thermal stimulus. The results showed that vibrotactile patterns, duration, and dynamic temperature all independently affected emotional response. Increasing duration generally increased valence and arousal, while shifting from cold to hot generally decreased valence but had no significant effect on arousal. Certain spatiotemporal patterns exhibited unique responses to changes in dynamic temperature, indicating the potential for designing affective haptic interfaces using multimodal vibrothermal feedback.