What Is the User Experience of Eyes-Free Touch Input with Vibrotactile Feedback Decoupled from the Touchscreen?

Vibrotactile cues commonly serve as substitutes for visual feedback in eyes-free touch input, yet not all touchscreens have haptic capabilities. In this work, we examine the user experience of arm-localized vibrations delivered away from the touchscreen through a connected wearable. In a controlled experiment, fourteen participants used a touchscreen in eyes-free mode, while receiving single-pulse vibrations on the index finger, wrist, or forearm as confirmatory feedback of their on-screen touches. We reveal a favorable user experience of vibrations decoupled from the touchscreen, characterized by high perceived enjoyment (Mdn=4 on a scale from 1 to 5), efficiency (Mdn=4), integration (Mdn=5), and confidence (Mdn=4) with moderate complexity (Mdn=3) and low perceived distractedness (Mdn=2), difficulty (Mdn=1), and confusion (Mdn=1). To contextualize our findings, we contrast the user experience of arm-localized vibrations in eyes-free vs. eyes-on touch input, and outline preliminary observations involving three legally blind users.