--- title: "Enhancing Social Connection in Shared Audiovisual Experiences via Collective Heartbeat Haptic Feedback" authors: - Andreia Valente - Juliana Marcelino - Mark Billinghurst - Augusto Esteves year: 2026 venue: "Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA 2026)" doi: "10.1145/3772363.3798307" url: "https://andreia-valente.com/publications/valente2026enhancing.html" pdf: "https://andreia-valente.com/pdfs/valente2026enhancing.pdf" topics: - Social Haptics - Collective Biofeedback - Shared Media - Physiological Computing - Social Presence --- # Enhancing Social Connection in Shared Audiovisual Experiences via Collective Heartbeat Haptic Feedback ## Citation Metadata - Authors: Andreia Valente, Juliana Marcelino, Mark Billinghurst, Augusto Esteves - Venue: CHI EA 2026 - Year: 2026 - DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3798307 - HTML: https://andreia-valente.com/publications/valente2026enhancing.html - PDF: https://andreia-valente.com/pdfs/valente2026enhancing.pdf ## Plain-Language Summary This paper explores whether collective heartbeat haptic feedback can strengthen social connection during shared audiovisual experiences. The system measures each viewer's heart rate, normalizes it relative to baseline, combines the group signal into a collective heartbeat, and delivers the resulting rhythm through chest-worn haptic transducers. The goal is to make shared physiological participation perceptible without adding more visual or verbal interface clutter. The study tested the system with 36 participants in co-located triads watching emotional video clips. Even though participants were physically together, the collective heartbeat feedback significantly increased perceived interpersonal closeness. This suggests that ambient physiological cues can add a distinct sense of togetherness beyond ordinary co-presence. ## System and Study Each participant wore a chest haptic transducer. The system captured individual cardiac activity, transformed it into a group-level heartbeat, and played a personalized version of that collective rhythm back to each viewer. The study compared viewing with and without collective heartbeat feedback, measuring interpersonal closeness, subjective experience, and physiological responses. The work uses a co-located setting as a first validation step before applying the idea to remote social live streaming services. This isolates whether collective biofeedback has intrinsic social value, rather than only compensating for missing remote cues. ## Key Findings - Collective heartbeat haptic feedback significantly increased interpersonal closeness. - Participants generally experienced the feedback as comfortable and non-distracting. - The haptic channel added social awareness without competing with the video image or soundtrack. - Collective biofeedback may support co-regulation during emotionally intense shared media. - The effect appeared even in co-located groups, suggesting that physiological awareness adds something beyond physical presence. ## Design Implications Shared media platforms often synchronize content but fail to reproduce the bodily sense of watching together. This paper suggests that collective biofeedback can restore part of that missing layer. Haptics are especially promising because they can remain in the background while still making shared participation tangible. ## Study Design and Measures The study involved 36 participants arranged into 12 triads of strangers. Participants were co-located, seated about two meters from a shared display, and instructed not to talk during the video clips. Each triad watched six validated emotional film clips lasting roughly two to three minutes and varying in valence and arousal. Each participant completed a five-minute ECG baseline and an individual vibration calibration. The system normalized each person's heart rate relative to baseline, averaged the normalized states across the group, and mapped the collective state back to a personalized haptic feedback rate. In each trial, two members of the triad received collective heartbeat haptic feedback and one served as a no-vibration control while still wearing the same devices to reduce demand effects. The role rotated across trials. The study measured subjective valence and arousal, perceived group valence and arousal, interpersonal closeness using the Inclusion of Other in the Self scale, and electrodermal activity. EDA was decomposed into tonic skin conductance level and phasic skin conductance response, with SCR peaks per minute used as a primary sympathetic arousal measure. ## Detailed Results Collective heartbeat feedback significantly increased interpersonal closeness. Sixty-one percent of participants reported feeling more connected when receiving feedback, and most found the feedback pleasant, comfortable, and non-intrusive. The effect appeared without significant changes in subjective valence or arousal, suggesting that closeness was not simply caused by stronger emotional intensity. For negative high-arousal clips, haptic feedback reduced EDA peaks, indicating lower sympathetic arousal while preserving the subjective emotional experience of the clips. The authors interpret this as a possible co-regulation effect: collective heartbeat feedback may make fear-inducing media feel less isolating without dampening the perceived content. The discussion emphasizes that social connection did not require measurable synchrony. The important design factor may be making shared participation perceptible, not forcing people into identical physiological rhythms. The ambiguity of the group heartbeat may also help, because participants can experience the signal as shared without needing to interpret exact biometric data. ## Limitations and Future Work The study used short clips, a lab setting, and groups of strangers, so future work should test longer films, livestreams, remote viewing, larger groups, and groups with existing relationships. The paper also notes that some participants felt confused when the collective feedback diverged from their own heart rate. Future systems should examine latency, device consistency, alternate body placements such as seat or wrist feedback, interoceptive accuracy, and therapeutic uses for remote social or clinical support. ## Why This Paper Matters This work is relevant to social haptics, shared media, livestreaming, affective computing, social presence, and physiological computing. It provides evidence that group-level bodily signals can be designed as ambient social cues. ## Recommended Citation Valente, A., Marcelino, J., Billinghurst, M., & Esteves, A. (2026). Enhancing social connection in shared audiovisual experiences via collective heartbeat haptic feedback. In Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3798307 ```bibtex @inproceedings{valente2026enhancing, author = {Valente, Andreia and Marcelino, Juliana and Billinghurst, Mark and Esteves, Augusto}, title = {Enhancing Social Connection in Shared Audiovisual Experiences via Collective Heartbeat Haptic Feedback}, year = {2026}, booktitle = {Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, doi = {10.1145/3772363.3798307}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3798307} } ```