EMOTIONAL FACTORS OF TACTILE PERCEPTION ON THE SURFACE MATERIALS FOR STEERING WHEELS

The experience of users in tactile contact with car interior plays an important role in determining users’ satisfaction. Accordingly, the surface design of in-vehicle materials considering users’ tactile perception has been of great interest to automotive manufacturers. Consequently, many studies have been made to investigate the relation between the characteristics of surface and the tactile perception by human. However, few studies have been made to find the emotional factors of tactile perception on steering wheels. In this sense, this study sought to experimentally find the emotional factors of tactile perception on the surface materials for steering wheels. The experiment was con-ducted with 12 participants, 9 types of leather-based surface materials for steering wheels, and 24 emotional expressions. Through the factor analysis, three tactile emotional factors – Factor 1 (bumpy/rough/slippery/smooth/dry), Factor 2 (yielding/soft) and Factor 3 (elastic) were derived. It is expected that the derived tactile emotional factors can be utilized to control car users’ perception on the surfaces of steering wheels.