A Call for Haptic Porn (No, It’s Not Dirty)
The other day I came across yet another announcement for a mobile phone with haptic feedback. In this case is was Samsung’s Yepp YP-P3 Haptic PMP. The device supposedly has a haptic touchscreen, but I’m still not clear if it does anything more than vibrate.
So why is it that no one has created a compelling demonstration of the value of a haptic devices through audio and visual channels?
I understand the challenge that comes with communicating tactile feedback through non-tactile mediums, but this is nothing that designers haven’t seen before. After all, smell is an integral part of the food industry, but that hasn’t stopped creative folks from finding ways to convey the spirit of a dish with less than the full sensory toolset. In culinary circles, the Macro lens often comes to the rescue, allowing photographers to create luscious imagery (food porn) that offsets the fact that we can’t utilize our other senses. But no one has done the same with Haptics. I’d like to see that change. There are only so many people you can reach with an in-person demo.
So this is an open call for Haptic Porn. If you find any instances that clearly demonstrate the value of a haptic device, please let me know. In the mean time, we may just need to create it ourselves.
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5 Comments
Since I am not a native English speaker, the word “haptic” makes me wonder about its subtle meaning… I’d like to know how its nuance (or usage) differs from that of the word “tactile”.
Remember the original Operation game? The buzzer on that was so loud it was a haptic device whether it meant to be or not. The whole table shook!
Thank god cell phones haven’t gone that direction. I know some old timers on the train who would commit a violent crime if they had to endure something like that for more than a minute.
From Geb Thomas at the University of Iowa
“Haptic devices interact with the muscles and
position of the hand and finger joints. This
may include pressure sensation, but it
typically involved in the global posture and
integration of the sensation across different
portions of the hand.
• Tactile devices interact with the fingertips and
the shape and position sensors under the
fingertips (and more generally, the skin).”
Chad,
Thank you so much for the clarification!
Yes–thank you for finding that definition, Chad. It helped remove some of my own cloud around “haptic” devices in general. I would extend the definition to include the cognitive expectation…the mental sensory from the user of what should likely happen when an item (digital or physical) is touched. Runs close to the lines of Human Factors sure, but the lines between the two practices of HF and Cog Sci get blurred for me.