FeltSight

Becoming Mole with "FeltSight": Sensitizing the Surrounding through Mixed Reality Haptic Proximity Gloves

Abstract

FeltSight is a mixed reality haptic art experience that reimagines human perception by drawing inspiration from the tactile navigation of the star-nosed mole. Moving beyond traditional, vision-dominated interaction paradigms, FeltSight enables users to engage in meditative wandering guided by extended-range haptics with subtle visual cues. The system comprises a wearable haptic glove paired with an extended reality interface. As users reach toward objects in their environment, the glove’s vibration actuators—driven by audio-responsive patterns—simulate material textures, enabling the sensation of touch. Meanwhile, the mixed reality interface offers a deliberately “reduced reality,” presenting nearby objects as dynamic point clouds that only materialize in response to exploratory hand gestures. By shifting perceptual focus from the visual to the tactile, FeltSight challenges ocularcentric sensory hierarchies and foregrounds an embodied, relational, and more-than-human mode of sensing. Grounded in more-than-human design frameworks, this work embodies the principles tentacular thinking—inviting users to experience the world through intertwined human and nonhuman perceptual modalities.