NordiCHI22 Tutorial

Designing Feedback for Haptic and Shape Changing Interfaces with Feelix

8 October 2022, Aarhus, Denmark

about

The toolset for haptic interaction design is limited, vibrotactile editors are available for mobile devices, and a variety of tools have been introduced within research that enable the design of vibrotactile feedback for a wide range of applications. Force feedback on the other hand is less common and the tools that exists are often tailored towards commercially available devices.

Feelix is a haptic authoring tool designed to make designing with force feedback more accessible for designers, whilst supporting the freedom to explore and integrate force feedback in a wide range of context. The tool that was developed through an iterative design process with intermediate validations with students and researchers.

In this tutorial, we aim to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with the design of force feedback and temporal form in custom user interfaces through hands-on explorations with Feelix. We hope these explorations will lead to a fruitful discussion about haptic interaction design that could inspire directions for future research.

Purpose

The goal of this tutorial is to highlight challenges associated with the design and implementation of force feedback that obstruct exploration and adaptation of force feedback in a wider variety of contexts.

Force feedback and shape change introduce unique qualities in interaction design that can be favorable for the design of more intelligent physical user interfaces and robotics, as communication revolves to a large extent around body language and gestures.

AIMS

(1) Highlight challenges and opportunities associated with the design of force feedback and temporal form

(2) Explore different design methods with Feelix

(3) Identify directions for future research on haptic interaction design

Tutorial Extended Abstract

Audience

The tutorial can be attended by anyone who has an interest in haptics, regardless of their background or expertise. The tutorial is accessible for novices and experts, experience with the haptic interaction design is not required. Attendees should bring a Windows or MacOS laptop with a USB-socket to connect with the device. A computer mouse is optional but recommended. Working in teams is possible in case attendees cannot bring a laptop.

organizers

Anke van Oosterhout - Postdoc at TU Eindhoven
Miguel Bruns - Associate Professor at TU Eindhoven
Eve Hoggan - Associate Professor at Aarhus University

We all share an interest in the haptic interaction design. Anke's research is oriented towards the development of design support and guidelines for force feedback and temporal form in physical user interfaces. Miguel has an interest in the aesthetics and emotional expressivity of haptic and shape changing interfaces, and Eve is interested in the design of novel interaction techniques and non-visual multimodal feedback.

schedule

The duration of the tutorial will be 3 hours, including scheduled breaks.

13.00

Introduction

Outline of plans and goals.
13.10

Presentation

Challenges with force feedback design and shape change in custom haptic interfaces.
13.25

Introduction to Feelix

Important workflows and features in Feelix will be shown as preparation for the hands-on exercises.
13.45

BREAK
14.00

Hands-on design exercises with Feelix

1. Basic design exercises to get familiar with the tool and illustrate the difference in graphical notation methods.
2. Design exercise with custom shape changing interfaces with multiple degrees-of-freedom.
3. Exercise in which the usage of Machine Learning for interaction with physical user interfaces is explored.
15.30

BREAK
15.45

Discussion

The tutorial concludes with a structured group discussion on explored methods, personal experience with haptic interaction design, and future for directions for haptic interaction design. Here, attendees have the opportunity to ask questions, exchange experiences, best practices, ideas, and make contacts for potential collaborations.
16.00

Concluding tutorial

location

The tutorial is part of the NordiCHI 2022 conference that will take place from 8 to 12 October at Aarhus University, Denmark. Visit NordiCHI 2022 for more details.

The tutorial is planned to be held in person since a major part of the tutorial is devoted to hands-on explorations. Remote participation is considered an exception since this requires access to specific hardware. Please, contact the organizers for more information regarding the possibilities for remote participation.

Contact Organizers