Good Vibrations, Gripping Resources, Curious Patents & Upcoming Events
A roundup of the most interesting haptics news of the month
Hey Haptics Industry Insider,
Welcome to the latest edition of the All Things Haptics newsletter. This month, we cover haptics in the news, very curious patents, a library of resources, and some events to look forward to.
Before we dive in, let's pause and chuckle that for us industry insiders, "haptics" might as well be our morning coffee lingo. But for the uninitiated, it sounds like a fancy dance move from the future. I stumbled upon an adorable tweet that serves as a gentle reminder: it's our duty to teach the world about haptics.
Latest News
⚖️ Goliath vs. Goliath - Immersion settled its lawsuit with Meta for an unknown sum, allowing Meta to use patents around haptic feedback technology for its hardware, software, VR, and gaming products. Immersion previously filed lawsuits against Microsoft, Sony, Apple, and Valve. (TechCrunch)
♒︎ Look Don’t Touch - Feel Ocean Outdoor agency is launching touchless advertising displays using mid-air haptics technology by Ultraleap, allowing users to interact with screens through natural hand movements instead of sticky fingers. (Exchange 4 Media)
⌚ Tell Time with a Tap - The Pixel Watch 2 is said to have enhanced haptics that can be used for interactions like enabling users to tell time through vibrations. “For example, tapping once for hours and twice for minutes.” (9to5Google)
👋 Hand That To Me - The price of haptic gloves is usually behind NDAs and sales meetings, but in the case of WEART, they are advertising their TouchDIVER haptic glove with new SDK at a discounted rate of €3,900, which is about $4200 USD. (Weart)
🚙 Land Rover Gets Zen - In the 2024 New Range Rover Sport's owner manual, details are provided on the "Sensory Audio and Wellness,” aka haptics. (LandRover)
📱 Touchy Topics - Android 15 now offers the ability to turn off keyboard vibrations. The headline emphasizes "finally," suggesting a long-awaited change, though no specific reasons, such as battery conservation, were provided. (Android Police)
🏘️ Little Big Vibrations - Celebrating PSVR2's first year, the newly unveiled "Little Big Cities" caters to haptics aficionados. It will utilize the controller and headset haptics so you “feel everything from the satisfying 'whomp' of a well-placed mountain to the brush-stroke sensation of island sculpting." (PushSquare)
Patents
🪧 Apple Patent on Directional Cues - The patent covers a method that "detects a condition to activate a head-mounted haptic accessory with multiple actuators, using a specific pattern to direct the user's attention in a designated direction through haptic feedback." (USPTO - PDF)
🎀 Sony’s UI Haptics - A patent by Sony Interactive Entertainment in Japan covering haptic UI navigation and visual cues support. For example, a visual cue on the right would activate the haptics in the right controller. (USPTO - PDF)
✒️Pen-type Controller Patent by Wacom - Best known for its drawing tablets, Wacom recently published a patent for a ‘pen’ controller with haptics. (USPTO PDF)
🏗️ Haptic Feedback System for Anti-Sway Control - The University of Florida Research Foundation's recently published patent is for a method for a haptic-based force feedback system for crane operation. (USPTO - PDF)
🍏 Apple's Patent for Directional Haptics with Spatial Audio - Apple received a Patent for "haptic outputs that are coordinated with a position of a virtual object." (Patently Apple)
🤌⚡ Wearable Computing Device with Electrophysiological Sensors - A VR device with bio-signal sensors adjusts content based on user states determined from processed bio-signals, providing interactive feedback. (Google Patents)
Resources
🗜️Reality Labs Research on Mid-air Typing and Squeeze Haptics - The study finds that wrist-based haptic feedback improves mid-air typing efficiency and reduces visual reliance on the keyboard by up to 44%. (ACM)
𖦹༄ Amplify Mid-Air Haptics - Called UltLever, a simple lever mechanism was created by the Shinoda & Makino Lab to amplify the radiation force in an ultrasound-driven passive haptic actuator. (Hapislab)
💓 Follow Your Heart - Like literally. This haptic hack will dance across your desk in sync with the music you play. Create your own DIY rumbly heart by my TITAN Haptics team. (Hackaday.io)
🦯🎨Visually Impaired Artist Uses Haptic Feedback in VR - At Penn State University, the multi-disciplinary research team demonstrates a VR and haptic feedback prototype with a visually impaired artist creating a 3D sculpture. (YouTube)
🦿 Can Haptic Feedback Improve Amputees' Control Over Their Prostheses? - This study presents the development of the MuViSS (Multi Vibrotactile-Skin Stretch) haptic device worn on the wrist and forearm and provides sensory-motor feedback from a robotic prosthetic hand. (Science Direct)
Events
💫 IEEE Haptics Symposium 2024 - April 7-10, 2024, in Long Beach, CA, USA. Topics include research in neuroscience, perception, engineering, and design. (2024.hapticssymposium.org)
🗓️ Eurohaptics 2024 - Held in Lille, France, the conference runs from June 30th – July 3rd, 2024. The conference features "the latest in haptic technology with a new Art/Design track and opportunities for academia-industry collaboration through job dating and an industry forum." (EuroHaptics)
🌷GREWUS Haptics 2024 - Held on June 11-13, 2024, in Humburg, Germany, the event, “GREWUS Interactive HAPTICS Conference” is focused on automotive, HMI, and cockpits of the future. (Grewus Interactive)
🥳 Haptics Club Season 5! - Some upcoming guest speakers include executives from HaptX, Disney, D-Box, Port 6, and more. Did you miss an episode of last season? Better catch up now on Spotify and Apple Podcast. (TheHapticsClub)
That's it for this month!
Something exciting to look forward to next month is a fun story on Glove vs. Controllers. It's like the age-old: is a pen mightier than a sword? The modern-day version is if a haptic controller is better than a haptic glove. May the best haptics experience win! Stay tuned for that study.
To share your updates and news with the haptics community, reach out on Linkedin or Twitter. If you find this resource helpful, consider buying us a coffee or unlocking premium subscriber features.
Cheers!
Ashley Huffman
Co-founder of Haptics Club Podcast
Strategic Partnership at TITAN Haptics
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