The Biosignal C.A.O.S.: Reflections on the Usability of Physiological Sensing for Human-Computer Interaction Practitioners and Researchers

Wearable technologies and low-cost hardware platforms for physiological data sensing are rapidly growing. However, biosignal sources pose usability and acceptability challenges, which can negativelly affect the users’ experience and performance when working with systems that incorporate physiological sensing. This paper analyses and presents practical considerations about the use of biosignals, highlighting aspects that practitioners and novice researchers should be aware of when designing their systems, especially in real-world use cases. Common biosignal modalities are characterised according to a proposed multidimensional taxonomy (C.A.O.S.), devised to characterize physiological data sources and balancing expectations around their use in human-computer interaction.