A Shoulder Pad Insert Vibrotactile Display

1. ISWC 2003 A Shoulder Pad Insert Vibrotactile Display Aaron Toney Bruce H. Thomas Wearable Computer Laboratory University of South Australia Lucy Dunne Susan P. Ashdown Department of Textiles and Apparel Cornell University

2. Our Goals for Today’s Mass-Market Wearable Devices • Maintain consumer’s current relationship with garments (physical, psychological, and social) • Minimize impact of devices on user social interactions (minimize social weight)

3. Wearable Integration • Embedding technology within the current structure of clothing imposes restrictions on: • Size • Weight • Form factor • User interface options

4. Our Solution: Standard Clothing Inserts

5. What are Standard Clothing Inserts? • Layers of padding, interfacing, or other materials meant to give shape, strength, or protective function to the garment. • Location and function of clothing inserts vary with age, gender, season, garment function, and current fashions. • Inserts are a fundamental part of the clothing structure, not pockets which are added to the surface.

6. Standard Clothing Inserts

7. Standard Clothing Inserts • Exist in many common garments • Maintain physical and psychological expectations and user relationships between wearer and garment • Minimize outward appearance of electronics, diminishing social impact of augmented garments

8. But I Don’t Wear Shoulder Pads Anymore!

9. Goals of this Research • Examine the utility of clothing inserts as a housing space for electronic components. • Evaluate the potential of shoulder worn vibrotactile displays

10. Why a Tactile Shoulder Pad? • Proximity of clothing to the body provides optimal opportunity for integration of tactile displays • Shoulder area is a culturally habitual area for receiving tactile stimuli • Shoulder pad provides a pre-existing volume in which to embed electronics. • Shoulder pad is a part of the business suit, one of the most standardized garment systems in our culture.

11. Some Applications for a Tactile Shoulder Display • Navigation for both fully-sighted and seeing-impaired individuals • Silent alerts • Socially subtle transmission of information • Motion guidance for physical activities

12. Development of a Shoulder Pad Insert Vibrotactile Display

13. Fitting the Population ANSUR Measures Used • Army ANSUR database of anthropometric measures • 3,982 subjects: 2,208 female • US Army population A: Shoulder Length, B: Cervicale Height, C: Axilla Height, D: Acromial Height

14. Derived Body Size Specifications Body Size Pad Size

15. Fabrication of Shoulder Pad • Conflicting goals • Stability and structure • Isolation of individual vibration areas • Compromise: a layered prototype

16. Fabrication of Shoulder Pad: Final Prototype Pad interior, showing layers and motor attachment (4-motor configuration) Pad closure, outside edge

17. Integration of Vibrotactile Shoulder Pad into Test Jackets

18. Fabrication of Shoulder Pad: Prototype Configurations Motor locations for right shoulder: 4- and 6- motor configurations pictured against the shoulder

19. Experimental Subjects • 12 subjects, all female • Ages 19-34 • Varied body types and sizes • Shoulder lengths 9 - 14.5cm

20. Experimental Procedure: Subjects

21. Experimental Procedure: Trials • Tested dominant side • Motor activation: • individuals, pairs, threes, fours, fives, and sixes, randomly generated combinations • total 15 trials for 4-motor configuration, 24 trials for 6-motor configuration • Subjects responded on generic torso figure (open response)

22. Experimental Procedure: Subject Responses

23. Experimental Procedure: Qualitative Questionnaire • Following pad testing, subjects completed a questionnaire concerning: • comfort of the electronic shoulder pad vs. standard shoulder pad • comfort of vibrational sensation • mental difficulty in determining location of stimulus

24. Results: Mapping Stimuli Composite subject responses: responses often covered a much larger area than the actual shoulder pad.

25. Results: Comfort • All subjects found the electronic shoulder pads at least as comfortable as the standard shoulder pads • Subject responses to the vibration stimulus varied from soothing or comforting (3 subjects) to annoying or ticklish (3 subjects), but most subjects found the stimulus neither annoying nor comfortable

26. Results: Cognitive Load • Generally high concentration level • Qualitative responses • Observational data • Reflected in accuracy of responses • Stimuli appeared less difficult to localize in 4-motor configuration

27. Results: Perception of Motors • Each subject experienced at least one motor location that could not be felt. • Subject perceptions generally consistent throughout trials • Motor coupling effects extended the perceived activation area

28. Example of a Missed Motor for One Subject • Red=actual activated motors • Shading=subject response • Lower front motor missed in both trials Trial 1 Trial 2

29. Results: Missed Motors • Body locations of consistently missed motors are not consistent between the 4-motor and 6-motor configuration. Shoulder Shoulder Neck Neck Missed Motors: Miss frequency for each motor location • The neck-edge motor was missed in both configurations.

30. Conclusions • Shoulder worn displays show promise for wearable multi-bit wide displays. • Garment inserts provide a viable space to house electronic components for wearable devices. • Each subject felt at least one combination of motors. • Distinct perceptibility of individual motors or patterns varied considerably between subjects. • Individual subjects’ perceptions were consistent throughout testing.

31. Future Work • Further experimentation to determine consistent perceptibility • Wireless shoulder pad unit • Testing of moving tactile patterns • Use of shoulder pad to transmit information • Involve in a physiologist for further multidisciplinary insights

32. Future Work Come See our Demo! Broadcloth Special Interest Smart Clothing Listserve: email broadcloth@hhhh.org subject line: subscribe