Multi-Touch Haptic Feedback via Segmented Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional multi-touch devices lack the ability to provide physical feedback, making the user experience less efficient and realistic, especially when performing tasks that require tactile sensations like keyboarding, as they rely solely on visual cues.
Innovation Solution
The integration of haptic feedback mechanisms into multi-touch systems, which include a touch-sensitive surface, a detection mechanism, and haptic devices that provide discreet tactile feedback at multiple locations, allowing for dynamic responses to user interactions, such as finger motions and pressure variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multi-touch devices provide only visual feedback without haptic feedback, then the device complexity is reduced, but the user experience efficiency and realism deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The touch-sensitive surface is divided into multiple discrete sensing regions, with haptic feedback devices selectively activated at specific locations based on touch events. This segmentation allows haptic feedback to be provided only where needed, improving user experience efficiency while avoiding the complexity of providing haptic feedback across the entire surface simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the touch-sensitive surface are assigned different haptic feedback characteristics. The system provides location-specific tactile sensations that correspond to the visual feedback at each location, creating a realistic user experience without requiring uniform haptic complexity across the entire device.
2Reliability
If haptic feedback devices are added to provide tactile sensation, then the realism and user experience are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically activates haptic feedback devices based on real-time touch events and gestures. Rather than having all haptic devices active simultaneously, the system selectively engages specific haptic feedback devices at specific locations and times, providing realistic tactile feedback while managing device complexity through dynamic control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a closed-loop feedback mechanism where touch events are detected, processed, and converted into corresponding haptic feedback responses. The haptic feedback devices provide tactile sensations that mirror the visual feedback, creating a realistic user experience through coordinated sensory feedback while maintaining manageable complexity through systematic feedback processing.
3Reliability
If multiple haptic feedback devices are activated simultaneously at different locations, then the tactile feedback realism is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system activates haptic feedback devices partially and selectively rather than all at once. Based on the specific touch event and gesture being performed, only the necessary haptic feedback devices at relevant locations are activated, providing realistic tactile feedback while consuming minimal energy by avoiding unnecessary activation of all haptic devices.
4Ease of operation
If the system provides detailed tactile feedback at each touch location, then the user experience is enhanced, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a unified multi-touch detection mechanism that handles both touch detection and gesture recognition across the entire surface, with a single controller managing haptic feedback output to multiple devices. This universal approach enhances user experience quality through consistent, detailed tactile feedback while reducing processing complexity by avoiding separate specialized systems for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for processing touch inputs are disclosed. The invention in one respect includes reading data from a multi-touch sensing device such as a multi-touch touch screen where the data pertains to touch input with respect to the multi-touch sensing device, and identifying at least one multi-touch gesture based on the data from the multi-touch sensing device and providing an appropriate multi-haptic response.