Using Wearables in the Field

Our Experience Lab researchers do not only stay indoors. We go out into the field for experience measurements during actual tourism, leisure, hospitality, and entertainment experiences.

In the field, we use smartphones and the Empatica E4 wearable wristband to record signals of emotions in the body. Phones track location and allow participants to take photos. The wristbands track motion, temperature, heart rate, and most importantly the sweating of the skin — which is extremely sensitive to emotional engagement.

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Field Projects Using Wearables

Roller coaster at Europapark, Germany Skin conductance responses were recorded during a roller coaster ride with and without a VR add-on. Emotional engagement was compared between participants who rode with and without the VR experience.

Museum exhibit emotional mapping Emotional experience during a museum exhibit was measured using Empatica wrist monitors and beacons placed in every room. This helped understand differences in emotional engagement between young adults who frequently engage in cultural activities and those who do not.

Autonomous vehicles in Drimmelen Multiple projects tested emotional experiences on autonomous vehicles — showing how comfortable people felt on the bus, and mapping at which moments passengers were most at ease and when they were not.

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Senior Researcher

Ondrej Mitas — Senior Researcher, Experience Lab