Screens and speakers focus on two main senses, sight and hearing. Haptic displays, on the other hand, target our sense of touch. Pushing the haptic field forward, scientists at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a haptic system called VibrAID, which uses vibration patterns to simplify interactions with complex control systems in power stations and transport networks
In control rooms, a hefty amount of information is displayed on screens, and although interfaces are individually configurable, users may not be able to find relevant data in the most efficient way. This is where VibrAID can show its worth.
“We want to relieve the visual sense by drawing attention to relevant events using the sense of touch,” says Vincent Diener who is developing VibrAID, and works at the Telecooperation Office (TECO) research group of KIT. “A portable (wearable) system informs the user about important changes or events on the dashboard with the help of vibration patterns that the system has already learned.”
This means that users don’t have to be focused on the screen at all times, and can direct their efforts on other important tasks.
“A server is running in the background, which monitors whether a threshold is exceeded in the system,” continues Diener. “If this is the case, the system sends the information to the user’s smartphone. It will then forward the relevant data via Bluetooth to the wearable and trigger the vibration.”
The system consists of a wristband fitted with 20 vibration modules, and it can be easily cleaned thanks to removable electronic components.
The research team is now working on a study to put VibrAID to the test in a realistic control room setting of an energy supplier.
Watch how users can “feel” data through haptic displays in the German-language video below by KIT.
