TWIRL: um sistema mulsemídia enriquecido por ventos com a temperatura controlada para o aprimoramento de experiências de efeitos táteis

Abstract

This work presents Twirl, a haptic system that allows the creation and delivery of hot and cold airflow synchronised with multimedia or Virtual Reality content. Twirl combines the vaporisation of cooled water by Peltier elements for cold wind and hair dryers for warm wind steered by wind fans. To assess the system, several studies were carried out. First, the time taken by the devices to provide these effects was analyzed, considering the initial differences in the environment. Then, three videos, one with hot wind, one with cold wind and the other with both, were noted to observe the feasibility of obtaining these effects integrated into the audiovisual content. Then, the temperature variation of the devices as a function of the distance was validated. Finally, a questionnaire was distributed to assess different facets of the user experience and attitudes towards Twirl. The results, in addition to providing practical recommendations for the proper reproduction of these types of sensory effects, also suggest users' enthusiasm for such technology.