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InTouch Tactile Tales: Haptic Feedback and Long-Distance Storytelling

The squeeze of an arm during a tense moment in a story -- an absentminded caress on the back of the hand while listening to an engaging tale -- the physical presence and interpersonal touch of a loved one can be an important part of reading to a child. However the thrill of the tale is often lost and the intimacy diluted when separated families have to resort to the flatness of a video-call or mobile app to share a bedtime story with their loved one. This project is setting out to create a physical story portal, a magical object which uses technologies to link teller and listener through sound, light and touch to help bridge this gap when families are separated. While the development of the InTouch reading system is still in the preliminary stages, a prototype handheld device has been created to allow adults and children to share touch-based messages during story time. It has been trialled with several families in the lab, and the initial results have pointed to both guidance and design considerations that should be taken into account for such a system to be successfully deployed.