HCC: Small: Thermal Displays in Human Computer Interactions

迄今为止，大多数关于探索皮肤在人机交流中的应用的研究都集中在触觉显示上，这代表了在视觉和听觉系统过载的情况下增强信息显示的一个有前途的领域。除了触觉传感器，皮肤上还有热感受器，它对皮肤温度的变化做出反应，并传递温度变化的幅度和速度的信息。热反馈可能潜在地用作通信通道或在多感官显示中增强触觉和视觉反馈。PI在这项研究中的目标是探索热反馈可以用作交流媒介的领域，并确定对用户最有效的输入类型，其长期目标是发现热反馈提高人类表现的条件，这反映在更有效的信息处理或更有效地响应外部事件的能力上。重点是在多感官环境中使用热界面来显示抽象信息，而不是在虚拟环境或控制远程操作机器人时促进对象识别。人体热感觉系统由于其不同于其他感觉系统的空间和时间特性，在被认为是一种交流媒介时提出了独特的挑战。尽管这限制了呈现给用户的线索类型，但它也开启了创造新反馈形式的可能性，因为它们的新颖性可能会吸引用户。这项工作将分为三个重点：确定与用于与计算机交互的输入设备接口的热显示器的最佳配置和操作特性；评估使用热刺激来表示抽象信息的可行性，并评估使用热线索来呈现新的感官体验（如湿度或湿度的错觉）的可行性；并研究当热反馈与触觉和视觉提示同时呈现时，多感官显示中的信息表征是否得到增强。更广泛的影响：关于使用热显示来呈现抽象信息的可行性的研究很少，因此这项工作有可能为热界面打开一个全新的应用领域。显示器中热提示的可用性应该增加设计师选择模式的能力，并将功能和信息类型分配给最适合其展示的通道。项目成果也将有助于为视觉、听觉或前庭障碍人士发展感官替代系统；已经有相当多的研究使用触觉来弥补其他感官的缺陷，并且在这种显示器上添加热反馈为通信提供了一个额外的维度，潜在地增加了通信的可靠性。

To date most of the research concerned with exploring the use of the skin for human-computer communication has focused on tactile displays, which represent a promising arena for enhancing the display of information in situations in which the visual and auditory systems are overloaded. But in addition to its tactile sensors, the skin also houses thermal receptors that respond to changes in skin temperature and convey information about the magnitude and rate of change in temperature. Thermal feedback may potentially be of use as a channel of communication or in enhancing tactile and visual feedback in multisensory displays. The PI's objective in this research is to explore the domains in which thermal feedback can be used as a medium of communication and to identify the types of inputs that are most effective for users, with the long term goal of discovering conditions under which thermal feedback enhances human performance as reflected in more efficient information processing or the ability to respond more effectively to an external event. The focus is on using thermal interfaces within the context of a multisensory environment to display abstract information rather than to facilitate object recognition in a virtual environment or when controlling a tele-operated robot. The human thermal sensory system presents unique challenges when considered as a medium of communication due to its spatial and temporal properties which differ from those of other sensory systems. Although this constrains the types of cues that can be presented to users, it also opens up the possibility of creating new forms of feedback which by virtue of their novelty may be quite compelling to users. The work will be divided into three thrusts: determine the optimal configuration and operating characteristics of thermal displays interfaced with input devices used to interact with computers; evaluate the feasibility of using thermal stimuli to represent abstract information and appraise the viability of using thermal cues to present novel sensory experiences such as illusions of moisture or wetness; and examine whether the representation of information in multisensory displays is enhanced when thermal feedback is presented concurrently with tactile and visual cues.Broader Impacts: There is very little research on the feasibility of using thermal displays to present abstract information, so this work has the potential to open a fundamentally new application domain for thermal interfaces. The availability of thermal cues in displays should increase the designer's ability to choose among modalities and assign functions and types of information to the channel that is best suited for their presentation. Project outcomes will also contribute to the development of sensory substitution systems for those with visual, auditory or vestibular impairments; there has been a considerable amount of research on using the sense of touch to compensate for deficiencies in other senses and the addition of thermal feedback to such displays provides an added dimension for communication, potentially increasing the reliability of communication.