Publication
Touchbox: A research toolkit of haptic textile cubes for experiencing, evaluating, and co-designing tangible remote communication
Hannah Friederike Fischer; Hanns-Peter Horn; Emil Woop
In: DRS Conference Proceedings. Design Research Society International Conference (DRS), Design Research Society, June 8-12, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, DRS Conference Proceedings, 2026.
Abstract
The novel nature of tangible communication technologies and users’ lack of prior experience pose a significant challenge for engaging stakeholders in participative activities for non-verbal, tangible remote communication devices. To address this gap, we developed a research toolkit consisting of wirelessly connected textile cubes capable of transmitting haptic signals such as motion, warmth, shape change, heartbeat, vibration and visual cues. This paper presents the toolkit and a specialized study format as methodological tools for identifying suitable input-output modalities and capturing user perceptions in middle stages of device development. Applied within a recent research project, the toolkit enabled participants to engage with unfamiliar interaction modalities and supported designers in evaluating preferences and patterns across various communication scenarios. Our work contributes a case study on user study design in the field of tangible remote communication and offers insights into the participatory development of multimodal, non-verbal remote communication devices with implications for future research.