Imagine this: You're sitting in front of the TV, watching Adam and Jamie blow something up on Mythbusters, when a call comes in from your latest gf/bf. But instead of hearing your Leona Lewis ringtone or feeling the typical vibrate setting go off, the cell in your pants pocket starts stroking your leg.
According to SignOnSanDiego.com, that's what future cell phones may be able to do. Researchers from UC San Diego and Microsoft presented a paper last month at the Association for Computing Machinery's symposium in Monterey that looks into how 'vibrotactile feedback? can invoke more human-like interaction between users and their technology, namely cell phones and computer games.
Is this a great idea or just kind of creepy? Well, on the one hand, when your cell starts tapping you in an increasingly annoying and urgent manner, it would be pretty hard to overlook the fact that it's your mother calling. But one source in this article definitely inspired a strong reaction from me: The site quoted a doctoral candidate named Kevin Li who is the lead author of the paper ?Tapping and Rubbing: Exploring New Dimensions of Tactile Feedback with Voice Coil Motors.? Ick.
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