BubbleWrap
Olivier Bau, Uros Petrevski, Wendy E. Mackay · 2009
We are investigating actuators that are able to provide different types of haptic sensations and that can be wrapped around a wide range of surfaces and objects. Our first prototype, BubbleWrap, consists of a matrix of electromagnetic actuators, enclosed in fabric, with individually controllable cells that expand and contract. It provides both active haptic feedback, using vibration, as well passive haptic feedback, using shape and firmness. An initial experiment demonstrated that users could reliably discriminate among the three firmness levels displayed on our prototype.