Haptic reassurance in the pitch black for an immersive theatre experience

An immersive theatre experience was designed to raise awareness and question perceptions of ‘blindness’, through enabling both sighted and blind members to experience a similar reality. A multimodal experience was created, comprising ambient sounds and narratives – heard through headphones – and an assortment of themed tactile objects, intended to be felt. In addition, audience members were each provided with a novel haptic device that was designed to enhance their discovery of a pitch-black space. An in the wild study of the cultural experience showed how blind and sighted audience members had different ‘felt’ experiences, but that neither was a lesser one. Furthermore, the haptic device was found to encourage enactive exploration and provide reassurance of the environment for both sighted and blind people, rather than acting simply as a navigation guide. We discuss the potential of using haptic feedback to create cultural experiences for both blind and sighted people; re...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: HUC
• Authors: Janet van der Linden, Yvonne Rogers, Maria Oshodi, Adam Spiers, David McGoran, Rafael Cronin, Paul O'Dowd
• Keywords: Audience Members, HUC 2011, Human Computer Interaction, Information Interfaces, Theatre Experience