New Touch Feedback Technology Pitched to Console Developers
As the dawn of a new generation of gaming systems approaches, the University of Utah unveils an innovative new concept in touch feedback technology.
A new touch feedback controller prototype has been unveiled this week by the University of Utah, at the Haptics Symposium in Vancouver, British Columbia. The controller, which houses two unique analog sticks that manipulate the skin of the thumb, is able to mimic the subtleties of travelling across water, or the abrasiveness of firing a gun with much more accuracy than simply controller vibration alone. William Provancher, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Utah, is at the Symposium from the 5th to the 7th of March demonstrating this breakthrough technology. "In the centre of the thumbsticks there's a little contact bud that is similar to what you have on a Thinkpad laptop - a little red dot," he explained to a BBC reporter. "In our case that dot moves, and when it moves it provides touch feedback which allows us to enhance sensations such as gunfire. "The feeling is very similar to what you get if you place your finger down on a table top and drag it across - it stretches the skin. In this particular case the tugging on your skin is happening because of the motion-device mechanism beneath the thumbsticks." Take a look at the new tech in action: http://youtu.be/BfUxpOJXdYk Im hoping we can get this into production when the next game consoles come out in a couple of years, revealed Provancher, indicating that if the pitches to console manufacturers go to plan, we could be privy to a brand new generation of physical controller technology, even while were getting to grips with the innovations of the consoles themselves. Provancher told the press that he has already talked to Microsoft about the technology, and the Xbox manufacturer has expressed a healthy interest, inviting him to a more detailed pitch at their Redmond headquarters. But thats far from the last stop; he also plans to attract interest from other console manufacturers and game developers when he attends the upcoming Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. If hes unsuccessful, its likely that this technology will be shelved. Without strong backing from developers, the devices gaming applications will be moot. Code has to be specifically written into games in order for the thumb sticks to work, much like vibration feedback does; although there are potential military applications (aiding in the control of robots or unmanned vehicles for example). In an industry that seems to be leaning more and more towards non-physical controllers (the Wiimote, Microsofts Kinect or the PS Move, for example), its refreshing to see a new and innovative development in physical controller technology. For more information, click here.