Ubiquitous Haptics

本研究计划探讨泛在触觉的概念。随着可穿戴计算、物联网和无处不在的计算获得动力，我预计触觉设备将越来越多地出现在我们身上和周围。我建议探索使用触觉反馈来增强新兴交互系统的用户体验，因为触觉功能因此成为我们佩戴的物体和我们周围的物体的一个不可分割但无形的部分。我把这个概念称为“泛在触觉”（ubiquitous haptics），与泛在计算（ubiquitous computing）的承诺类似，即让计算不断触手可及，但很大程度上是不可见的。****这个研究项目是围绕三个轴来构建的。第一个轴探索事物的触觉，或我们周围物体的触觉。例如，这个轴探索如何满足手持设备和我们周围日常物品的被动表面。第二个轴探讨了具体的触觉，或在用户身体上使用触觉反馈。例如，这个轴探索机会性地使用可穿戴触觉设备，因为它被带入互动环境，例如VR模拟器中的智能手表。第三个轴探索的是触觉交响乐，或者说是由我们身上和周围的多个设备产生的触觉反馈的协调，从而实现更丰富的触觉体验。例如，这个轴探索使用流动或同步的触觉感觉来使数字交易和连接有形。这个研究项目是从两个互补的角度进行的。第一个视角研究了支持三个研究轴的触觉硬件设计，重点是电振动，这是一项有前途的技术，但在可穿戴设备和连接对象的背景下受到了有限的关注。第二个视角调查了用户体验的设计，这些设计体现了事物触觉、具体化触觉和触觉交响曲的概念。****这项工作的重点是实现和原型新颖的触觉体验和实验评估他们使用定量和定性的用户研究技术。该研究项目将证明触觉反馈在当前和未来的交互系统中发挥着重要作用，并将为交互系统的设计提供信息，这些交互系统将利用我们身上和周围触觉设备的可用性。这项研究计划将使加拿大成为触觉技术的领导者，并在该领域产生当地的专业知识，这对虚拟现实和其他互动体验的成功至关重要。此外，这项研究的结果将影响加拿大高科技部门在成熟和新兴行业，如视频游戏，增强/虚拟现实（AR/VR），可穿戴设备和物联网（IoT）。

The proposed research program explores the concept of ubiquitous haptics. As wearable computing, the Internet of Things, and ubiquitous computing gain momentum, I foresee an increasing availability of haptic devices both on us and around us. I propose to explore the use of haptic feedback to enhance the user experience of emerging interactive systems as haptic capabilities thus become an integral but invisible part of the objects that we wear and those that surround us. I call this concept ubiquitous haptics, by analogy with ubiquitous computing's promise to make computing constantly accessible yet largely invisible.****This research program is structured around three axes. The first axis explores the haptics of things, or the haptification of the objects that surround us. This axis for example explores haptifying the otherwise passive surfaces of handheld devices and everyday objects that surround us. The second axis explores embodied haptics, or the use of haptic feedback on the user's body. This axis for example explores opportunistically using a wearable haptic device as it is brought into an interactive context, e.g. a smartwatch in a VR simulator. The third axis explores the haptic symphony, or the coordination of the haptic feedback produced by multiple devices on us and around us to enable richer haptic experiences. This axis for example explores using a tactile sensation of flow or synchronization to make digital transactions and connections tangible.***This research program is approached from two complementary perspectives. The first perspective investigates the design of haptic hardware in support of the three research axes, with emphasis on electrovibration, a promising technology that has received limited attention in the context of wearable devices and connected objects. The second perspective investigates the design of user experiences that exemplify the concepts of the haptics of things, embodied haptics, and the haptic symphony.****The focus of this work is on enabling and prototyping novel haptic experiences and experimentally evaluating them using quantitative and qualitative user research techniques. This research program will demonstrate that haptic feedback has a significant role to play in current and future interactive systems, and will inform the design of interactive systems that leverage the availability of haptic devices on us and around us. This research program will establish Canada as a leader in haptic technologies and generate local expertise in the topic, which is increasingly recognized as critical to the success of virtual reality and other interactive experiences. The findings of this research will moreover impact Canada's high-technology sector in established and emerging industries such as video games, augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR), wearable devices, and the Internet of Things (IoT).