Perceived Acceptability of Sensory Augmentation

Abstract

Sensory augmentation (SA) can extend how people perceive and engage with public environments through the body, offering opportunities to support shared multimodal experiences between deaf and hearing visitors. Designing such systems requires understanding which combinations of tactile stimuli and body locations users perceive as acceptable. We examined the perceived acceptability of fictitious yet feasible SA configurations in a museum use-case. Using a modified technology acceptance model, we surveyed 307 deaf and hearing participants about tactile stimulus types and body locations. The results showed significant effects of stimulus type and body location on acceptance, but no interactions with hearing status. Participants generally preferred temperature-based stimuli, subtle movement, texture, and tickling over vibration, and distal over proximal body locations. These findings suggest that tactile SA design should be guided primarily by embodied and contextual factors rather than hearing status, informing future systems for shared multimodal experience in public cultural settings.