Vibration signaling in mobile devices for emergency alerting: a study with deaf evaluators.

In the United States, a nationwide Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) is being planned to alert cellular mobile device subscribers to emergencies occurring near the location of the mobile device. The plan specifies a unique audio attention signal as well as a unique vibration attention signal (for mobile devices set to vibrate) to identify that the incoming message pertains to an emergency. Ratings of vibration signals of varying lengths and patterns were obtained from 44 deaf users of mobile devices for the perceived effectiveness of the signal in getting their attention in an emergency situation.