A Human-Human Physical Interaction System for Training Handwriting

Handwriting training in childhood is known to influence academic success, foster self-esteem, and contribute to overall development. Previous studies underscored the positive impact of haptic feedback on handwriting learning using one-way communication systems that provided the trainee with haptic feedback based on pre-recorded trainer's movements. In this study, we propose a system involving bidirectional physical coupling (haptic communication) between a trainee and a trainer to exploit the advantages of haptic communication for motor task improvement, proved in tracking tasks. The system, composed of an interactive display and a coupling spring, was tested in a handwriting task performed by a dyad of healthy adults with different cursive handwriting backgrounds. The participants' performance demonstrated the feasibility of using this system for handwriting, opening the way for further studies to assess its benefits in handwriting improvement and learning.