Emotional priming of mobile text messages with ring-shaped wearable device using color lighting and tactile expressions

In this paper, as a hybrid approach to place a greater emphasis on existing cues in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), the authors explore the emotional augmentation benefit of vibro-tactile stimulation, color lighting, and simultaneous transmission of both signals to accompany text messages. Ring U, A ring-shaped wearable system aimed at promoting emotional communications between people using vibro-tactile and color lighting expressions, is proposed as the implementation method. The result of the experiment has shown that non-verbal stimuli can prime the emotion of a text message, and it can be driven into the direction of the emotional characteristic of the stimuli. Positive stimuli can prime the emotion to a more positive valence, and negative stimuli can invoke a more negative valence. Another finding from the experiment is that compared to the effect on valence, touch stimuli have more effect on the activity level.