Immersion, a software company that provides haptics (tactical feedback within applications), is offering a new platform for Android developers.
The new platform, called Motiv, uses Immersion’s TouchSense haptics system and lets developer include a variety of widgets into their application, which controls the vibrator motor in mobile devices in a way that produces physical feedback. An example of this is vibration in a video game controller when an explosion occurs, explained Dennis Sheehan, vice president of marketing at Immersion.
“While enabling technologies have evolved to provide high-fidelity haptic sensations, utilization ultimately hinges upon ease of implementation,” he said. “With the release of the Motiv Development Platform, we are simplifying that process for the Android OS and providing the tools to create next-gen experiences such as personalized touch-based themes, games with tactile effects, and multi-modal applications that engage the user’s sense of touch.”
The Motiv system leverages the vibration motor built into most Android devices. The motor already provides tactile feedback on many operations, such as pushing soft keys.
Motiv includes two parts: Motiv Integrator for OEMs, available as of Feb. 10, and the Motiv SDK application developers, promised for March. The Integrator includes a user interface module to integrate haptics on the Android OS quickly; a theme manager module to let device manufacturers include a variety of themes that can be quickly downloaded into a user interface; and a reverb module to help applications that are not optimized for haptics to cause the device to vibrate in response to audio data.
“The Motiv SDK will provide an API, sample code, effects libraries with over 100 pre-designed effects, reference documentation, and a conversion layer that allows developers to easily and quickly incorporate specialized haptic effects into their Android applications,” according to the company. It also will include a haptic effect design studio for advanced users.
