The present invention relates generally to the field of tactile feedback technology, and more particularly to creating a visual representation of tactile feedback.
Haptic technology, or haptics, is a tactile feedback technology that recreates the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to a user through actuators (e.g., motors responsible for movement) incorporated in a computing device. Haptics manipulate the actuator using defined waveforms to produce a range of effects which may be perceived uniquely by an individual touching the computing device. Initially, haptics were only capable of providing strong feedback with a limited range of sensations to an entire device or providing limited localization of haptic feedback to a specific position (e.g., display instead of the body of the device) with an expanded effects, such as frequency range, response time, and intensity. As the technology continues to evolve, haptics currently incorporated in computing devices now provide the means to deliver both touch-coordinate specific responses and customizable haptic effects (e.g., virtual keyboard scrolling list) to the user.
When sensing physical interaction between a user and a computing device is necessary, haptic computing devices incorporate tactile sensors that measure information arising from a physical interaction with the environment. One of the most common implementations of tactile sensors are touchscreen devices, such as those utilized in mobile devices and computing. The touchscreen device allows a user to interact directly with what is displayed (e.g., images, icons, virtual keyboards, applications, etc.) by touching the screen with a specialized stylus and/or one or more fingers rather than utilizing an intermediate device, such as a computer mouse or a touchpad. The mechanical stimulation provided by the haptic feedback may then be utilized to assist in the creation of virtual objects in a computer simulation (e.g., developed model representing characteristics, behaviors, and functions of a physical or abstract system over time). The continued exchanges between the user and computer simulation via the touchscreen may then provide additional feedback (e.g., changes and updates to images, text responses, change in displayed information, etc.), which allows for confirmation of actions taken by a user and for additional interactions to occur based on received responses.
Digital images created and displayed by a computing device include metadata. Metadata provides information regarding the data content of the actual digital image. For example, digital images may include metadata that describes how large the picture is, the color depth, the image resolution, when the image was created, and other relevant data. In addition to the aforementioned metadata, additional metadata (e.g., GPS coordinates, compression ratios, software, etc.) and object tags (e.g., non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a digital image describing an item) may be changed and assigned to the digital image by a user and through image processing software which includes incorporating tactile effects. For example, a user or image processing software may identify objects and the boundaries associated with the object within a digital image. Once the boundaries of an object are defined, additional tactile effects may then be added to the metadata (e.g., tactile metadata), enhancing the viewing experience of future users.