posVibEditor: Graphical authoring tool of vibrotactile patterns

Abstract

This paper presents an authoring tool, posVibEditor, for quick and easy design of vibrotactile patterns for vibration motors. The tool supports the drag-and-drop design paradigm so that novice users can easily learn and interact with the tool. Vibration patterns are managed in a database using XML formats in order to improve their reusability and extensibility. The multi-channel timeline interface is also developed for designing time-synchronized multiple vibrotactile patterns for multiple vibration motors. In addition, an internal vibration player is incorporated to allow the user to test and evaluate designed patterns immediately. The last unique feature is a module for perceptually transparent rendering that can guarantee the delivery of perceptually correct vibration effects. The authoring tool is suitable to mobile devices that contain a single vibration motor as well as applications in virtual reality and haptics that frequently employ multiple vibration motors.