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AERATE
Haptic Wine Tasting 

Senior capstone project revolutionizing the wine tasting experience by utilizing mid-air haptics to alter user's perception of wine taste. Study demonstrates that 82% of users could taste a difference in wine taste after interacting with the mid-air haptic design.

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AERATE is a sensory augmented wine tasting that utilizes mid-air haptics to elevate the users’ perception of taste. This project represents the culmination of my design education, taking my entire senior year to complete. My final deliverables include a 30 page trend research essay, a working prototype of three haptic patterns and wine pairings, and a user research study of 50 participants.

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Fall 2022, Spring 2023 / Senior Design Capstone

Trend Research, Literature Review, Expert Interviews, Branding

Developer Technology, Mid-air Haptics, C#, User Testing

Pitch Commercial

Note: the user results in this video are not up to date. Final results show 41 out of 50 participants (82%) noticed a significant difference in wine taste and 33 out of 50 users (62%) noticed an improvement in wine taste. 

Trend Research

The first step to beginning my senior year capstone project was to research upcoming trends in four subject areas: Cultural, Technology, Design, and Economic. I utilized trend reports made available to me through the Georgia Tech Library as well as news articles, magazine articles, videos, and academic publications. Here are my selected trends:

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Combining both physical and digital worlds into one. Can involve augmented reality, virtual reality, or extended reality aspects.

Ultrasound waves programmed into specific arrays that intersect and create the sensation of touch without physically touching users. 

After the pandemic, people are eager to venture out in the real world and explore new things. How can companies compete for these consumers, providing them experiences they cannot replicate at home?

Utilizing multisensory stimuli to immerse users into a new world, whether it be physical or digital. This is very popular in entertainment design.

Concept Ideation

Based on my trends, I had an idea that I would create an immersive entertainment experience with mid-air haptics. I work part-time at a restaurant in Atlanta and have recently been introduced to the world of fine wine. I remembered what our beverage manager taught us about mouthfeel and textures in wine, and I thought that haptics would be a fun way to emphasize these feelings.

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I wrote a proposal to my school so we could begin the process of buying an Ultraleap Stratos Inspire haptic module. I knew it would take a while, but I didn't expect the company to discontinue the product! We placed an order for some of the leftover stock in December. Throughout that process, I continued with research to further define my concept and prove its application in the food and beverage industry.

Literature Review

Social media trends are good for one thing: process documentation of research! 

Fall Semester Deliverable

At the end of the Fall semester I completed a research essay evaluating my chosen trend intersections. From my investigation I was able to develop guiding insights that carried through to my final design.

Actionable Findings

Adequate Yet Imperfect
Emotional Connection

The haptic pattern should be adequate yet imperfect, allowing users to build their own narrative around the experience and fill in gaps with their imagination.

Haptic technology has been found to activate the emotional part of the brain and is most effective when used in hedonic UX design that involves enjoyment, identification, and evocation.

Improved Focus

The use of sensory augmentation can improve engagement, focus, and attention to details. In wine tasting, this can draw users' attention to oral somatosensation, which allows them to better identify wine attributes, such as body, acidity, and tannins. 

Intercultural Distinction

As per my requirements to earn an International Plan distinction on my degree, I was tasked with incorporating my intercultural learning and research into the design of this project.

 

To do so, I chose wines for my tasting that highlight the underrated wine region of Valencia, Spain. I spent five months living in Valencia during a semester exchange, and in that time I took a tour of a few vineyards where I learned about Valencian wine. This project served as a perfect way to elevate and promote the lesser-known Valencian wines.

Spring Semester

Mid-air Haptics Prototyping

After the long-anticipated arrival of my mid-air haptic device, I was finally able to begin prototyping the haptic patterns. First, I was challenged to set up the developer product and learn how to actually use it. Next, I was faced with an overwhelming amount of code that I did not have the skills to edit. Thanks to help from a computer science friend, I learned how to navigate Visual Studio and I learned the basic building blocks of the haptic code. Once I was familiar with the setup and demo suite from Ultraleap, I was ready to start my own code.

User Testing

I conducted two separate user tests: the first with 8 participants and the second with 42 participants. My first round of user tests was more in depth in which I interviewed each user and gained valuable insight on how to improve my design. All of my user testimonies and haptic descriptions come from the initial user test.

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The second round of testing was meant to strengthen my statistical analysis and this took place during my final project exhibition. I recruited people attending the College of Design’s Launchpad Exhibition and offered each participant a sample of one wine and haptic pairing. Then, they were each asked to answer two questions: Could you taste a difference in the wine after the haptic intervention, and did the taste of the wine improve?

Results

Out of 50 total users, 41 people noticed a significant difference in the taste of the wines after haptic intervention. 33 people claim the haptic intervention improved the taste of the wine. 8 users say they could taste a difference, but it did not affect their liking of the wine.

I was amazed at the transition from initial taste, doing the thing, and the change in what my perception was.

There were only positive benefits to how it tasted and smells. It enrichens and amplifies all aspects of the wines -- all in a good way.

The change wasn’t night and day; it was subtle but it did improve the flavor.

Final Design

​AERATE is a sensory augmented wine tasting that pairs each wine with a mid-air haptic sensation. This prototype is designed for three wines: Bobal Estenas, Casa Castillo, and Reymos. Users are meant to first take a sip of the wine, paying attention to flavor identification and mouthfeel. Next, they put their hand out over the haptic module, feeling the sensation that is projected on their palm. They take another sip of the wine, this time experiencing a more complex and nuanced taste sensation.  

Note: the user results in this video are not up to date. Final results show 41 out of 50 participants (82%) noticed a significant difference in wine taste and 33 out of 50 users (62%) noticed an improvement in wine taste. 

Haptic Patterns

1. Bobal Estenas

Haptics feel like:

  • "Like cats kneading in my hand"

  • "Tingling in the middle of my hand"

  • "Almost granular"

  • "Vibrations in hand and fingers"

  • "Crackling fire"

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2.  Casa Castillo

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Haptics feel like:

  • "All over tap tap tap tap tap all around"

  • "Tiny little clouds gently punching me in the hand"

  • "Pulsing is different – slower, more spread out"

  • "Breathing on me"

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3. Reymos

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Haptics feel like:​

  • "Drawing a circle"

  • "Pretty cool"

  • "Going around and around"

  • "Chka chka"

  • "Going around in a circle around my hand"

  • "Breathing on me"

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Future Improvements

Expand Prototype
Haptics Iteration

Design an entire bar-top that has haptic speakers integrated into the design. Build a prop for user's hands so they can easily find the haptics.

Further study would involve recruiting a coder who is proficient in C Sharp to help develop multiple haptic sensations. Then, I would test multiple sensations for each wine to determine the best one.

Expert Critique

After improved iteration, this experience should be put forth for review by experts in both the wine industry and the haptics industry.

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