eShiver: a Novel Haptic Technology for Geospatial Display

The goal of this project is to develop a novel Surface Haptic feedback solution for geospatial 3D/4D visualization. Tangible Haptics LLC is proposing to apply a new technology that allows for control of both direction and magnitude of the in-plane forces felt by a users fingers while exploring a touch screen. Control over both the direction and magnitude of fingertip forces is important because it opens up a vast realm of haptic affordances and interactions that have not previously been feasible. Moving beyond today's vibrational alerts and confirmations, Surface Haptics will be an integral user interface tool to convey information and tactile visualization. Control of in-plane lateral forces will be achieved by combining our Haptic One Glass Solution with our ShiverPad technology. During this phase I effort we will also develop methods for rendering geospatial elements such as textures, shapes, and contours.