1. SIE Touch and Haptics
Class 19

2. Today’s Schedule Touch as a spatial sense
Three subsystems: Cutaneous, kinesthetic, and haptic
Tactile acuity differs across the body surface
Exploratory procedures with touch
Interface design and touch
Types of haptic displays: Force feedback, cutaneous, and vibrotactile

3. Touch and Other Spatial Senses
Similarities and differences of audition, touch and vision.
No localized sense organ, receptors distributed across body surface
Front-back disparity
Three subsystems of touch: cutaneous, kinesthetic, and haptic

4. Cutaneous System Contains three types of sensory receptors:
Thermoreceptors: Temperature sensing
Mechanoreceptors: Pressure sensing
Nociceptors: Pain sensing
Mechanoreceptors most relevant to HCI
and touch-based interfaces
Two primary types of mechanoreceptors

5. Sensory Homunculus http://nobaproject.com/modules/touch-and-pain

6. Tactile two point acuities across the body
Source: Wolfe et al., 2008

7. Kinesthetic System
Receives input from receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints
Three types of receptors:
Fast adapting receptors
Slowly adapting receptors
Positional receptors

8. Haptic System
Haptics based on combined inputs from cutaneous and kinesthetic systems
Haptics = active touch
Haptic perception:
Based on material properties
Different from visual properties
Haptic space perception

9. Exploratory procedures
Source: Wolfe et al., 2008

10. Vertical Horizontal Illusion

11. Interface Design and Touch
Often used as part of another interface (secondary)
Most obvious is tactile feedback from input devices
Common feature: Feel, pressure, travel
Common interfaces: Keyboard, mouse, steering wheel, etc.

12. Touch as a Primary Interface
Often have no physical interaction with objects in computer-based systems
Source:

13. Three Types of Haptic Displays
Why are touch interfaces not more common?
As a primary interface:
Force-feedback devices
Cutaneous devices
Vibro-tactile devices

14. Phantom force feedback haptic device

15. Cutaneous Device

16. Touchscreen-based vibro-tactile interface
Vibrotactile array
Optacon
Touchscreen-based vibro-tactile interface

17. For Next Class Assignment 17: Designing a New Smart Device
Task 1: Smart devices (phones, tablets, and watches) are fast becoming the hub for multiple input-output technologies and embedded sensors supporting myriad tasks of daily life. Come up with two novel uses of smart devices to perform useful tasks or solve common problems.
Task 2: Describe the new technology, if any, that would need to be integrated to support these tasks. Creatively capitalize on the increasingly sensor rich nature for input/output in these devices. Describe how your two tasks are supported by the technology, interface design, and the intended user group.
Task 3: Post by 11:59PM on 4/6/16, and be prepared to comment on your fellow student’s ideas.