VibroBod’s rubber body contains force-sensitive resistors and microphones. It captures hand position, pressure, and vocalizations. VibroBods rest on the laps of individuals having personal conversations via phone, chat or instant messaging. VibroBod has various finger holds to afford different gestural positions which correspond with different emotional states; more anxious finger grips, for example, are deep holes set so that both hands and individual fingers are contracted close together, whereas relaxed finger grips accommodate arms and hands much further apart in more restful positions. The force of a user’s grip produces different pressures on three sensitive resistors, which, combined with vocal inputs, affect different frequencies and vibration patterns inducing distinct psychological states. The VibroBod grows warmer with use.
Source: Dobson, K., Boyd, D., Ju, W., Donath, J., and Ishii, H. 2001. Creating visceral personal and social interactions in mediated spaces. In Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’01). ACM Press, 151–152.
