Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Physical augmentation offers opportunities to enhance human abil- ities, yet these systems can also embed dark patterns that deceive users in ways that are against their best interests. To explore these dark patterns, we developed Flytrap Hand, a system that employs electrical muscle stimulation to automate grasping and releasing actions. While the system enhances grasping speed and reduces physical effort, it also exposes dark patterns in physical augmenta- tion, such as manipulating users through involuntary hand move- ments and imposing forced control, which diminishes user agency. Ultimately, we hope that our work can deepen the understanding of dark patterns and support practitioners in mitigating these issues within physical augmentation technologies.
exertiongameslab.org
Physical augmentation offers opportunities to enhance human abil- ities, yet these systems can also embed dark patterns that deceive users in ways that are against their best interests. To explore these dark patterns, we developed Flytrap Hand, a system that employs electrical muscle stimulation to automate grasping and releasing actions. While the system enhances grasping speed and reduces physical effort, it also exposes dark patterns in physical augmenta- tion, such as manipulating users through involuntary hand move- ments and imposing forced control, which diminishes user agency. Ultimately, we hope that our work can deepen the understanding of dark patterns and support practitioners in mitigating these issues within physical augmentation technologies.
exertiongameslab.org
