Feeling the Temperature of the Room: Unobtrusive Thermal Display of Engagement during Group Communication

TL;DR

This study explores using wrist-worn thermal feedback to communicate group engagement during hybrid meetings, demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing social connectedness without adding workload.

Contribution

It introduces thermal signals as a novel method for conveying group affective states in hybrid communication, extending prior work from dyadic to group settings.

Findings

Thermal feedback effectively conveys audience engagement.

It does not increase cognitive workload.

It helps presenters feel more connected to the audience.

Abstract

Thermal signals have been explored in HCI for emotion-elicitation and enhancing two-person communication, showing that temperature invokes social and emotional signals in individuals. Yet, extending these findings to group communication is missing. We investigated how thermal signals can be used to communicate group affective states in a hybrid meeting scenario to help people feel connected over a distance. We conducted a lab study (N=20 participants) and explored wrist-worn thermal feedback to communicate audience emotions. Our results show that thermal feedback is an effective method of conveying audience engagement without increasing workload and can help a presenter feel more in tune with the audience. We outline design implications for real-world wearable social thermal feedback systems for both virtual and in-person communication that support group affect communication and social connectedness. Thermal feedback has the potential to connect people across distances and facilitate more effective and dynamic communication in multiple contexts.