Tilt and Feel: Scrolling with Vibrotactile Display

As mobile computers become more sophisticated, highly graphical stylus driven interaction techniques are becoming overloaded. The combination of movement based input and vibrotactile haptic output offers a promising alternative. To this end we have developed a hardware platform with these sensing and affecting capabilities and have begun to consider them in the specific scenario of scrolling. In general terms, we describe the methods by which movement, in the form of tilting, can be used to control scroll position, and by which a dynamic vibrotactile display can be used to present information relating to a scrolling operation. Two mobile applications are then explored in depth: an address book, and a map viewer. A number of specific interaction techniques are described for each application, and a qualitative assessment of each is provided. This work leads us to believe that movement based input coupled with vibrotactile display can yield satisfying and effective interfaces.