Visual Vibrations to Simulate Taps on Different Materials

This paper presents a haptic visualization technique for conveying material type through visual feedback, expressed as visible decaying sinusoidal vibration resulting from tapping an object. The technique employs cartoon-inspired visual effects and modulates the scale of the vibration to comply with visual perception. The results of a user study show that participants could successfully perceive three types of material (rubber, wood, and aluminum) using our novel visual effect.