Better Because It's New: The Impact of Perceived Novelty on the Added Value of Mid-Air Haptic Feedback

Mid-air haptic (MAH) feedback, providing touch feedback through ultrasound, has been considered an attractive substitute for the absence of physical touch during gesture-based interaction. Although the impact of MAH feedback on workload has already received some attention, the impact on other qualities of the user experience, including general attractiveness and experienced pleasure have been less investigated. In this preregistered study, involving 32 participants, we observed an added value of MAH feedback, on top of visual feedback, by increasing the attractiveness and experienced pleasure during gesture-based interaction, but not by decreasing workload. The added value regarding pleasure and attractiveness disappeared however after statistically controlling for perceived novelty. This paper highlights the importance of statistically controlling for novelty when testing the user experience of new technology during first-time use.