Haptic – actuators, motion, motors, and vibration

I will admit, I used to avoid motors! I thought they were complicated to use. However, I’ve come to realize that using motion can create amazingly interesting pieces and is a lot of fun. Movement has a magical element when we see it, and it’s in our nature to try to figure it out. Why did a motor respond to our data? How did it physically create a reaction in response to data received? It’s exciting!

Haptic devices can deliver feedback to our skin and bodies. We can use our sense of touch as a form of communication. Does a motor vary in its intensity to give us information about a system? How about the pressure that we feel? Do we alter the duration and pattern of a motor based on our incoming sensor data?

These questions form considerations for our wearable projects. Haptic feedback can be a powerful way to communicate with visually impaired people, or for situations where a screen would be a distraction...