Thermal feedback has been studied for navigation purposes with directional cues and a variety of other use cases. Yet, to date, systems providing thermal feedback were primarily designed for the upper body, targeting hands and arms in particular. As these parts are often occupied with other tasks, there is a need to extend the design space of thermal feedback to other body parts. To close this gap, we assess thermal feedback on the user’s feet. This research explores if creating stimuli representing any direction on a circle with only four actuators is possible. To evaluate this concept, we conducted a user study asking the participants to indicate the perceived direction after getting a hot or cold stimulus by direct actuation using one actuator or phantom actuation using two actuators. The results indicate that the detection accuracy was higher for cold signals. In addition, the results showed higher recognition for stimuli linked to actuator distribution than phantom sensation due to spatial summation.

Technologies have become an integral part of physical activity. Yet, the majority of popular programs do not focus on promoting a genuine understanding of how sport affects our bodies. As apps and trackers persuade users to exercise more, lack of body awareness can be detrimental to health. In this work, we propose and evaluate the concept of in-session reflective feedback as a means to support informed exercise routines by design. We designed and implemented REPLAY, a system which presents users with a visualization of physiological signals (heart rate, movement) from body-worn sensors during high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Our evaluation showed that participants gained a better understanding of how their body reacted to physical activity, allowing them to understand its effect and recognize own weaknesses. Further, our work demonstrates how the type of feedback can significantly moderate a user's perceived exhaustion. We highlight how in-session reflective feedback using bodily signals can promote healthy and effective workouts through creating a deeper understanding of one's own body physiology and limits.

Children can be a distraction to the driver during a car ride. With our work, we try to combine the possibility of facial expression recognition in the car with a game for children. The goal is that the parents can focus on the driving task while the child is busy and entertained. We conducted a study with children and parents in a real driving situation. It turned out that children can handle and enjoy games with facial recognition controls, which leads us to the conclusion that face recognition in the car as a entertaining system for children should be developed further to exploit its full potential.