Joe Mullenbach

Exploring affective communication through variable-friction surface haptics

This paper explores the use of variable friction surface haptics enabled by the TPad Tablet to support affective communication between pairs of users. We introduce three haptic applications for the TPad Tablet (text messaging, image sharing, and virtual touch) and evaluate the applications with 24 users, including intimate couples and strangers. Participants used haptics to communicate literal texture, denote action within a scene, convey emotional information, highlight content, express and engage in physical playfulness, and to provide ones partner with an experience or sensation. We conclude that users readily associate haptics with emotional expression and that the intimacy of touch in the contexts we study is best suited for communications with close social partners.

ActivePaD surface haptic device

We present a new surface haptic interface that combines a variable friction device (the Large Area TPaD) with an impedance controlled planar mechanism. This device configuration is novel because it allows control of the frictional force in the static friction regime, control of the direction of force in the kinetic friction regime, as well as a degree of control over the transition between the two regimes. The range of operating modes combined with a large force capability make the device an appropriate platform for exploring surface haptic control algorithms. The design of the system is explained, two major categories of control algorithm are introduced, and the implementation of a virtual dimple is discussed. Experimental data are used to compare a virtual dimple to its physical analog, and to reveal areas for improvement.

Surface haptic interactions with a TPad tablet

A TPad Tablet is a tablet computer with a variable friction touchscreen. It can create the perception of force, shape, and texture on a fingertip, enabling unique and novel haptic interactions on a flat touchscreen surface. We have created an affordable and easy to use variable friction device and have made it available through the open-hardware TPad Tablet Project. We present this device as a potential research platform as well as demonstrate two applications: remote touch communication and rapid haptic sketching.

OS-level surface haptics for touch-screen accessibility

The TPad Tablet combines an Android tablet with a variable friction haptic touch-screen and offers many novel interaction possibilities. For example, unique textures may be associated with different user interface elements, such as text boxes and buttons. This paper presents an Android AccessibilityService that was created to give operating system-wide (OS) access to haptic effects. Prior to this work, the haptic feedback of the TPad could be controlled only from within specific applications. With the new implementation, all applications and primary user interfaces (e.g. home screen) will have access to the TPad. Rather than focus on specific elements or applications, we seek to provide a high fidelity haptic experience that elevates the TPads accessibility to the standard of Talkback and Voiceover, Androids and Apples accessibility programs respectively. The code for the application is available on our website.

Designing Wearable Haptic Information Displays for People with Vision Impairments

With the ubiquity of wearable computing, an important and emerging challenge is to understand how to design wearable information displays for non-visual, non-auditory interaction. This is particularly relevant to the design of accessible technologies for people with vision impairments. Working towards this aim, we developed a smartwatch prototype that uses variable friction surface haptics to test initial design concepts. Through interviews and iterative prototyping with seven blind users, we identified three key use cases for a haptic smartwatch as well as embodied conceptual models for presenting haptic information. We found that a physical clock face, compass, and numerical keypad are productive representations for presenting information haptically, and these models build on existing tactile and spatial understandings of our target user group.

Student Innovation Challenge at the World Haptics Conference 2015: Teams Create Haptic Apps for the TPad Phone

Reports on the events and activities that took place at the 2015 Student Innovation Challenge at World Haptics contest.

[D98] TPad watch

The small size of touchscreen smart watches presents a unique interaction challenge. While the “fat-finger problem” is present on tablets and smartphones, it is exacerbated on smart watches, potentially occluding up to half of the display at a time. Haptic feedback can potentially be used to fill this information gap by aiding in location identification and in discriminating between fine selections. We have developed a miniaturized ultrasonic variable friction display integrated with a smart watch. We demonstrate the TPad Watch (Tactile Pattern Display) with two prototypical navigation elements- distinctly textured buttons, and closely spaced menu items in a list.