Real-Time Tangible Feedback: Improving Spending Perception Through Dynamic Airbag Interaction
Zheng BIAN, Seunghee LEE · International Symposium on Affective Science and Engineering · 2026
This study explores a tangible feedback approach to enhance users’ awareness of spending during mobile payment interactions. We present an airbag-based device that dynamically changes its volume in response to simulated purchase actions, enabling users to physically perceive both the increase and decrease of virtual monetary balance. The improved prototype supports continuous inflation and deflation, allowing the full transition of the airbag’s form to be experienced before and after a transaction. Connected to a smartphone interface via a host PC, the system delivers real-time physical feedback synchronized with user actions. Through this design, the study highlights the potential of embodied, continuous tactile cues to influence spending perception in cashless payment contexts.