With over 10 years of proven success in force feedback technology for the PC and console video game market, Immersion has now set its sights on the mobility market. The company is working closely with leading handset manufacturers, operators, and content developers worldwide. Samsung, Immersion's first handset licensee, plans to launch its first VibeTonz-enabled phone for consumers this fall.
Immersion's VibeTonz System enables the phenomenon of sensory harmony, in which the combined effect of individual senses is greater than the sum of their parts. Adding touch sensations to sight and sound cues allows greater realism and intuition in the way people navigate and use their mobile phone. Haptics (comes from the Greek word hapesthai, meaning the science of touch) technology embedded in mobile phones helps solve the product differentiation problem for handset manufacturers and operators, provides more practical and interactive content options for developers, and redefines the quality of the communication experience for end users.
The embedded VibeTonz technology adds value to nearly all mobile phone functions, cutting across multiple features for downloadable content such as ringtones, games, and messaging to add depth and dimension to each. The system also enables user interface features such as a distinctive pulse sensation that signals when a call has been dropped. A full range of touch sensations adds nuance and value well beyond the limitations of sight and sound alone, creating new revenue opportunities and stimulating ingenuity in the development of applications for mobile phones.
VibeTonz System
Immersion has two customized VibeTonz System solutions, one each for handset manufacturers and content developers. For handset makers, the solution includes VibeTonz Mobile, VibeTonz Studio SDK, a hardware design specification relating to the phone's power amplifier circuit, and on-site core software integration assistance. The developer solution includes VibeTonz Studio SDK, access to Immersion's developer Web site, sourcing information for VibeTonz-enabled phones and cables, and application integration services.
Mobile Phone Applications Examples
Immersion's VibeTonz technology can be used to add the sensation of touch to virtually any application on a mobile phone, solve the user's problem of communications clutter, and enhance the mobile phone experience. By providing context-appropriate VibeTonz effects, users can customize their mobile phone experience in a way that fits their personal taste and lifestyle. Below are three examples of what's possible.
- Ringers that incorporate a VibeTonz-effect track synchronized to the music are unique, visceral, and easily identifiable. They can be used to communicate who's calling even when audio is turned off for courtesy mode, or when the environment is too noisy for the phone to be heard.
- Alerts with VibeTonz effects minimize frustration, helping users know immediately when a call is dropped or when one is waiting -- without having to look at the phone screen or become distracted by a competing noise on the voice channel.
- Games are more realistic and fun to play when users can feel the sensation of firing a gun or the crack of the bat in a baseball game.
