ENTERTAINMENT COMPUTING

The software Calculator is clumsy because it does not provide the rich Haptics: Gaming’s flow of information we get from the sense of touch when moving from but- ton to button on a phone’s dial pad. Haptics technology can simulate these New Sensation tactile and kinesthetic sensations so that computer interfaces not only look but also feel—in the literal sense of the Dean Chang, Immersion word—like the interfaces we’re accus- tomed to using in the real world.

NUTS AND BOLTS How does haptics work? With a dash of electronics, a smidgeon of

n 1972, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell debuted Pong at a Sun- nyvale, California bar. People Computer gaming, long the I responded by forming long lines domain of audio and video, will and, quarters in hand, waited to play the curious contraption that for- soon be shaken, rattled, and ever transformed computers into rolled by a new technology. entertainment devices. That transfor- mation has since spawned a industry that grossed $10 billion last year in the US alone, according to ers reach in, touch, and manipulate mechanical design, and a pinch of soft- market research firm NPD Group. that world as if it were real. ware. Whether embodied in a $25 mil- A quarter century later, as 3D lion flight simulator from CAE, the graphics and microprocessor advances THAT MAGIC TOUCH iDrive knob in the $70,000 2002 nudged in-game visuals ever closer to Haptics is the science of touch. In the BMW 7-series sedan, or a $59 force photorealistic standards, long lines of real world, we use our sense of touch feedback from Logitech, all people again formed to play another thousands of times daily, consciously haptic devices derive from a conver- dull-looking game that, like Pong, dis- and subconsciously. Everyday tasks gence of mechanical, electrical, and played only two plain lines represent- that we take for granted, like dialing a software engineering. All have ing paddles, and a circle representing touch-tone phone, finding first gear in a ball. a manual-transmission car, or playing • some sort of motor or actuator This unusual scene played out a musical instrument like a guitar or a and transmission mechanism that repeatedly in 1996 and 1997 at cut- piano all rely heavily on tactile and together impart some kind of ting-edge graphics and entertainment kinesthetic cues. Tactile cues are sen- motion or physical stimulation to conferences and expos. What was it sations like textures, vibrations, and the operator, generally upon the about this simplistic game, displayed bumps, while kinesthetic cues are sen- fingers or arm; on a monochrome monitor, that capti- sations like a stone’s weight, the resis- • some sort of electronics for pre- vated everyone’s imagination? tance encountered when stirring cisely controlling the motors and Haptics. The simple Pong-like game molasses, or the impact felt when hit- reading the sensors; and engaged players so effectively because, ting a tennis racquet’s sweet spot. • sophisticated software algorithms as they batted its virtual ball across the In the computing world, however, to simulate real-world physics and screen, they could magically feel the we usually must interact with purely interactions. impact of each volley fed back to them visual cues. Ever try using through the game’s controllers. Windows’ Calculator with a mouse? As a sign of the technology’s maturation, Stunning graphics can fool the eyes It’s incredibly frustrating. Yet this task What You See Is What You Feel soft- into believing a few lines of code and a does not differ much from dialing a ware authoring tools can help haptics few electrons really are an intricate touch-tone phone, which most people engineers rapidly and intuitively design world, but only with haptics can play- can do effortlessly, eyes closed. and customize the simulated sensations.

84 Computer All three components—mechanical, electronics, and software—are inter- Host computer TouchSense device dependent, and imprecision in any one will result in a poor haptic device over- Effects all. Figure 1 shows a typical haptic sys- tem using Immersion’s TouchSense Applications Firmware architecture. Commands HAPTICS GOES MAINSTREAM Operating Device Microcontroller system driver For many years, advanced flight sim- Movements ulators have used haptics technology. Companies such as Toronto-based Sensors Actuators CAE make extremely accurate and realistic flight simulators with cockpits Transmission that look, sound, feel, and respond just as a real Boeing 777 or C-5 Galaxy would. Motors and actuators push, Handle (mouse, etc.) pull, and shake the flight yoke, throttle, rudder pedals, and cockpit shell, repli- cating all the tactile and kinesthetic Figure 1. Typical TouchSense haptic system architecture. cues of real flight. Some examples of the simulator’s throes directly to their opponents. playing games like Everquest. For haptic capabilities include resistance in Soon, PC flying games offered indus- example, in LucasArts Entertainment’s the yoke from pulling out of a hard try-wide support for haptic technology. recent Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast, the dive, the shaking caused by stalls, and player can actually feel the weapon’s the bumps felt when rolling down a Hairpin turns power when wielding a light saber. The concrete runway. These flight simula- The driving genre, head- unmistakable sounds of the light saber tors look and feel so real that a pilot lined by games like Electronic Arts’ powering up, swinging around, and who successfully completes training on Need for Speed, also heartily embraced clashing with an opponent’s weapon a top-of-the-line Level 5 simulator can the new force feedback standard used are accompanied by visceral, high- immediately start flying a real com- in a slew of steering-wheel products fidelity tactile sensations communi- mercial airliner. from Logitech, Microsoft, Thrust- cated to the gamer’s fingertips through master, Saitek, Interact, and others. a haptic mouse. Barrel rolls Without force feedback, game steer- In 1996, Immersion Corporation ing wheels felt the same at 5 mph as REJUVENATING THE PLAYSTATION standardized a consumer version of this they did at 200 mph. However, with a Although haptics made its debut in haptic technology and made force feed- force feedback wheel, gamers could gaming on the PC in 1996, it also back—gaming industry’s term for hap- feel the centripetal forces in the wheel played a critical role in shaping today’s tics—available to the general public. dynamically changing as they acceler- console gaming industry. In 1998, with Immersion-licensed joystick products ated through turns. They could also PlayStation starting to show its age like Logitech’s Wingman Force and feel the jostling force of collisions or against new contenders like Nintendo’s Microsoft’s Sidewinder Force Feedback driving over cobblestones. If a jump N64, Computer Entertainment Pro let fans of flying games like sent them airborne, they could feel the breathed new life into its console by Microsoft Flight Simulator experience wheel go loose when the tires left the launching the Dual Shock controller, on their PCs many of the same haptic ground, followed by the jarring jolt of which contains a form of tactile feed- effects that CAE simulators generate. crashing back to earth. back. This midlife kicker captured These gamers could also now enjoy gamers’ attention when titles such as feeling machine-gun recoil, weapon-fire Light sabers Gran Turismo claimed, according to a damage, and explosions. Dogfights The tactile feedback mouse has now Sony press release, to offer the most with friends became much more com- opened the door to haptics for all the realistic driving experience ever by petitive and fun when the participants other PC game genres: first-person “allowing the player to feel every knew the smoking plane they had just shooters like Half-Life, adventure bump, nudge, and wheel spin, every blasted would transmit the palpable games like Myst, strategy games like pot hole and every camber—in fact jolts, coughs, and heaves of its death The Sims or Black & White, and role- every single inch of the track.”

August 2002 85 Entertainment Computing Are you

making the Such haptics-focused marketing by effects, gamers’ appetites and market Sony proved critical to maintaining pressures are driving the wide adop- PlayStation’s position as market leader. tion of both forms by both sectors. most of your Although most considered the N64’s Altogether, more than 500 games use graphics far superior to the Play- force feedback, and more than 20 Station’s, Sony successfully showed that peripheral manufacturers now market editorial simultaneously stirring the senses of in excess of 100 haptics hardware sight, sound, and touch was the best products for gaming. way to deliver the ultimate gaming When considering what gaming coverage? experience. haptics’ future holds, it’s fun to think Today, all major video consoles have of the haptic peripherals designed for built-in tactile feedback capability. other industries that could be applied Various sports games, for example, let to entertainment with fabulous results. you feel bone-crushing tackles or the For example, the CyberGlove could different vibrations caused by skate- make possible a virtual archery game boarding over plywood, asphalt, and in which the gamer can actually feel the concrete. pull of the bowstring. However, sub- stantial advancements will come when THE MEDIUM IS THE MASSAGE game developers simply catch up with Konami took haptics a step further existing haptic controllers’ capabilities. by employing a vibration effect artist In Metal Gear Solid, Konami for its Metal Gear Solid series, which showed what adding a dedicated and Receiving editorial coverage critics frequently applaud for its talented haptic effect artist to the devel- is like money in the bank... remarkable range of tactile effects. In opment team can do, but game devel- when you cost-effectively capitalize on your exposure. addition to the standard weapon opers must take this approach even RMS can show you how to recoils and explosions, Metal Gear further and create entirely new games expand the positive impact of Solid adds tactile effects that help cre- and genres predicated on haptics. your press through mass ate a certain mood or environment. Sports games like golf and baseball distribution of reprints and When a low-flying helicopter passes could then evolve from simple exer- e-prints. overhead, for example, the gamer can cises requiring timed mouse clicks to feel the ground-shaking rumble grad- fluid swing choreographies that repli- The uses for reprints and e-prints are endless: ually intensify and then fade, like a cate the distinctive and satisfying feel- musical crescendo and decrescendo. ing of making solid contact with a Trade Show Collateral Likewise, gamers can feel their in- three iron or Louisville slugger. If hap- Seminars • Media Kits game pulse slow after taking a drug to tic Pong could draw a crowd at the help steady their hands when using a Game Developers Conference, imag- Direct Mail • PR Tools long-range sniper rifle. And, in a truly ine what a haptic Tiger Woods game Sales Force Handouts humorous meeting of the virtual and could do. physical worlds, after a prolonged and hectic action sequence of rapid button- gnashing on their controller, they can Dean Chang is chief technology offi- get a real forearm massage. This occurs cer and vice president of Technology when the in-game, onscreen doctor Adoption and Partner Services at Imm- instructs the in-living-room, on-sofa ersion Corporation in San Jose, Calif. gamers to place the vibrotactile con- Contact him at dchang@immersion. troller against their lactic-acid-filled com. forearms for a magic-fingers-style For more information call: treatment. 800.290.5460 - Ext. 106 Editor: Michael Macedonia, Stricom, 12350 or email us: lthough haptics in PC gaming Research Parkway, Orlando, FL 32826-3276, [email protected] began by focusing on kinesthet- [email protected] A ics, while haptics in console gam- Obtain quotes and place your ing began by focusing on vibrotactile reprint orders online at www.reprintbuyer.com