Kinesthetics of dancing vs. cyclical movements

In this work, we analyzed and compared two patterns of movement according to a rhythmic signal (dancing vs. cyclical rhythmic movements) to create a more natural virtual dancing partner with haptic feedback. We observed linear movements to reduce the analysis complexity and highlight the critical factors that can be generalized to unconstrained movements. Results indicate that dancing movements are performed at lower frequency of oscillation than the provided signal. However, synchronization errors are lower during dancing, indicating that dance is a more natural and easy way to perform the task. Finally, the amount of jerk is higher while dancing, indicating that dance movements are not inherently smoother, but are instead more complex than cyclical ones.