New-Tech Europe Magazine | Feb 2017

Sensors Special Edition

Touchless haptic hob control

Touchless haptic feedback evaluation kit from Ultrahaptics

gestures is, of course, now commonplace: the ability to swipe, pinch, push virtual buttons and type on touchscreens is provided by almost every type of electronic equipment. However, almost all require the physical touching of controls or surfaces. Clearly, this has limitations such as wear and tear of electrical switches and vulnerability to contamination – the classic example being spilt coffee on a computer keyboard. Some less obvious examples include the possibility of cross-infection from medical equipment controls or public toilets, or possible injury from hot or cold surfaces or sharp or electrically charged objects. Touchless haptic hob control Controlling equipment via human gestures without touching has become a growing area of interest to major technology companies over the past few years. The enormous global gaming market in particular has driven demand for the detection of body movements at a distance. However, a fundamental weakness of touchless controls is that they

do not offer the desired level of precision and tactile feedback necessary to provide the best user experience. Users will prefer to feel a control or different textures and surfaces, and ideally also have audible confirmation. Effective simulation of tactile feedback – haptics – is therefore being seen as the key to unlocking the potential of touchless gesture recognition. Tactile Feedback The accuracy and usefulness of human gesture recognition is advancing rapidly and will continue to do so for decades to come. The issues associated with image-based systems are a focus of development efforts, including adaptability to varying lighting conditions and backgrounds and managing unwanted objects in the field of view. However, only seeing and hearing limits human perception and the ability to effectively control computers, which can be a significant problem particularly in safety critical applications. Simply recognising human gestures does not necessarily provide the tactile feedback experienced from physical

controls such as switches and dials. For example, even with the use of predictive text, there is the need for the user to check the screen to ensure the correct key has been pressed when using the virtual keyboard of a tablet, phone or touchscreen. Adding the third sense of touch provides feedback that a key, button or switch has been activated correctly and substantially enhances perception and control. Tactile feedback is even more important in some other applications such as vibrating the steering wheel to simulate the effect of driving over a rumble strip, which warns a distracted driver that their vehicle is drifting from its road lane. In a number of scenarios, tactile feedback will be an absolute necessity for the public acceptance of touchless gesture recognition. Haptics Haptic feedback is the sensation of touch and is already well known in computer gaming to provide a more immersive environment, and especially in various applications such as aircraft control where user attention is critical. Even flat-panel

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