Haptics and Your Sense of Touch

Haptics—the science of integrating touch into the human/machine interface—taps into a powerful sense not being fully utilized in the user interface today. In addition to sight and sound, touch provides several higher-order advantages for the user.

The sense of touch provides reflex-rate responses in milliseconds and allows precise control and discrimination. In addition, through haptics, users can innately verify engagement or completion and intuitively understand continuous monitoring and progress.

Touch feedback can be used to reduce visual strain, especially for exacting or prolonged tasks. A gentle resistance provided by a TouchSense module can make it easier to control motion and to identify discrete elements or boundaries.

Because understanding is instinctive, using touch can reduce cognitive loading and the need for focused attention. Because joining touch with sight and sound enlarges the multimodal experience, using touch can enhance even very simple tasks.

Programmable Modules Provide Advantages In Usability, Design and Cost

• Context sensitivity – relevant tactile cues help users instinctively navigate menus or operate equipment for improved safety, productivity, or enjoyment
• Precise control – coarse to fine scaling can be performed by one module and intuitively communicated to the user through unique tactile feedback cues
• Expanded control options – non-linear or dynamic haptic effects not possible with mechanical devices are easy to program
• Brand reinforcement – the unique feel of your controls can be consistently recreated
• Personalization – manufacturers may provide user options for feel or action of the control
• Space saving – controls can be consolidated to save space, minimize clutter, and improve aesthetics