Tactile interfaces for small touch screens

ABSTRACT

We present the design, implementation, and informal evaluation of tactile interfaces for small touch screens used in mobile devices. We embedded a tactile apparatus in a Sony PDA touch screen and enhanced its basic GUI elements with tactile feedback. Instead of observing the response of interface controls, users can feel it with their fingers as they press the screen. In informal evaluations, tactile feedback was greeted with enthusiasm. We believe that tactile feedback will become the next step in touch screen interface design and a standard feature of future mobile devices.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.3 SPECIAL-PURPOSE AND APPLICATION-BASED SYSTEMS
      Subjects: Real-time and embedded systems

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.1 PROCESSOR ARCHITECTURES
      C.1.3 Other Architecture Styles
          Subjects: Cellular architecture (e.g., mobile)

  H. Information Systems
  H.3 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
      H.3.3 Information Search and Retrieval
          Subjects: Relevance feedback
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Graphical user interfaces (GUI)

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation

Keywords:
mobile computers, tactile feedback, touch screen