Real-Time Geospatial Haptic Feedback

Haptic feedback provides an alternative or additional path to convey geospatially referenced information from tablets and other portable devices. This benefits persons with disabilities and also enhances servicemen responsiveness in high work-load situations.Lynntech proposes to develop geospatial haptic feedback on COTS tablets or smart-phones using a new technology that provide a very natural feel within a very small form factor and has low power requirements. The proposed haptic technology, which has no moving parts and is practically invisible to the user, is readily integrated in existing devices and is already available, providing a very short path to product development. Weight, power, form factor, natural feel, and ease of use are only few dimensions to consider in developing an effective user interface for portable devices. Lynntechs solution is superior to existing haptic feedback devices that are often limited to vibrations or have other moving parts, which make them less suitable for portable devices. In Phase I Lynntech will team with researchers at Texas A&M University to determine the optimal haptic representation of geospatial information required by the Army and will provide a demo of the proposed product which will be developed for production in Phase II.