Hapticat

This paper describes the Hapticat, a device we developed to study affect through touch. Though intentionally not highly zoomorphic, the device borrows behaviors from pets and the rich manner in which they haptically communicate with humans. The Hapticat has four degrees of freedom to express itself: a pair of ear-like appendages, a breathing mechanism, a purring mechanism, and a warming element. Combinations of levels for these controls are used...