נעם טרקטינסקי

Interpersonal motor synchronization (IMS) has been shown to foster prosocial attitudes and feelings of connection, including in remote contexts mediated by interactive systems. Prior work has demonstrated the feasibility of remote IMS (rIMS) using smartphones. In this work, we extend rIMS to smartwatches, a body-proximal and constrained interaction platform. We present six smartwatch-based rIMS activities organized around three movement gestures - tapping, turning, and tossing - and varying in whether synchronized action produces an explicit, cumulative outcome. We report findings from an exploratory workshop in which non acquainted participants engaged in dyadic trials and reflected on usability, sensory feedback, interpersonal experience, and design intent. Our findings highlight the value of perceptible outcomes, multi-modal feedback, and legibility at the smartwatch scale, as well as the design tension between rIMS as a goal-oriented game and as a contemplative tool for connection. We discuss smartwatch-based rIMS as a promising design space.