A wearable haptic game controller
This addresses the need for portable and affordable haptic controllers in gaming, offering an incremental improvement by integrating existing technologies in a novel way.
The paper tackled the problem of creating more immersive gaming interfaces by developing a low-cost wearable haptic game controller that combines vibrotactile feedback with gesture input, resulting in a device that blurs the boundary between user and machine to enhance immersion.
This paper outlines the development of a wearable game controller incorporating vibrotacticle haptic feedback that provides a low cost, versatile and intuitive interface for controlling digital games. The device differs from many traditional haptic feedback implementation in that it combines vibrotactile based haptic feedback with gesture based input, thus becoming a two way conduit between the user and the virtual environment. The device is intended to challenge what is considered an "interface" and draws on work in the area of Actor-Network theory to purposefully blur the boundary between man and machine. This allows for a more immersive experience, so rather than making the user feel like they are controlling an aircraft the intuitive interface allows the user to become the aircraft that is controlled by the movements of the user's hand. This device invites playful action and thrill. It bridges new territory on portable and low cost solutions for haptic controllers in a gaming context.