Words have Weight: Comparing the use of pressure and weight as a metaphor in a User Interface in Virtual Reality

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Guilmet, Joffrey, Sorli, Suzanne, Monteiro, Diego Vilela
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Guilmet, Joffrey
Sorli, Suzanne
Monteiro, Diego Vilela
author_facet Guilmet, Joffrey
Sorli, Suzanne
Monteiro, Diego Vilela
contents This work investigates how weight and pressure can function as haptic metaphors to support user interface notifications in Virtual Reality (VR). While prior research has explored ungrounded weight simulation and pneumatic feedback, their combined role in conveying information through UI elements remains underexplored. We developed a wearable haptic device that transfers liquid and air into flexible containers mounted on the back of the user's hand, allowing us to independently manipulate weight and pressure. Through an initial evaluation using three conditions-no feedback, weight only, and weight combined with pressure-we examined how these signals affect perceived heaviness, coherence with visual cues, and the perceived urgency of notifications. Our results validate that pressure amplifies the perception of weight, but this increased heaviness does not translate into higher perceived urgency. These findings suggest that while pressure___enhanced weight can enrich haptic rendering of UI elements in VR, its contribution to communicating urgency may require further investigation, alternative pressure profiles, or different types of notifications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_19294
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Words have Weight: Comparing the use of pressure and weight as a metaphor in a User Interface in Virtual Reality
Guilmet, Joffrey
Sorli, Suzanne
Monteiro, Diego Vilela
Graphics
Human-Computer Interaction
This work investigates how weight and pressure can function as haptic metaphors to support user interface notifications in Virtual Reality (VR). While prior research has explored ungrounded weight simulation and pneumatic feedback, their combined role in conveying information through UI elements remains underexplored. We developed a wearable haptic device that transfers liquid and air into flexible containers mounted on the back of the user's hand, allowing us to independently manipulate weight and pressure. Through an initial evaluation using three conditions-no feedback, weight only, and weight combined with pressure-we examined how these signals affect perceived heaviness, coherence with visual cues, and the perceived urgency of notifications. Our results validate that pressure amplifies the perception of weight, but this increased heaviness does not translate into higher perceived urgency. These findings suggest that while pressure___enhanced weight can enrich haptic rendering of UI elements in VR, its contribution to communicating urgency may require further investigation, alternative pressure profiles, or different types of notifications.
title Words have Weight: Comparing the use of pressure and weight as a metaphor in a User Interface in Virtual Reality
topic Graphics
Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.19294