Where Should I Look? Comparing Reference Frames for Spatial Tactile Cues

When designing tactile displays on the wrist for spatial cues, it is crucial to keep the natural movement of the body in mind. Depending on the movement of the wrist, different reference frames can influence the output of the wristband. In this paper, we compared two possible reference frames, one where spatial cues are fixed in a wrist-centered frame of reference, and an allocentric frame of reference which fixes spatial cues in the global coordinate system. We compared both conditions in terms of reaction time, achievable accuracy and cognitive load. Our study with 20 participants shows that utilizing the allocentric reference frame reduces cognitive load (avg. 38% reduction) and reaction time (avg. 240ms reduction), with no statistically significant difference in accuracy.