A Model Based Design Approach

Name Loy Rovers
Advisors Berry Eggen, Harm van Essen
Website http://www.haptics.nl

This project explores opportunities to enrich the experience of interpersonal communication by adding the haptic modality.  The goal is to obtain insight in the haptic communication process and to apply this knowledge to facilitate

designing for a specific user experience.
A model based design approach has been developed. A layered protocols (LP) interaction model explicitly describes the effect of interaction parameters on message transformations during haptic communication over a network. In order to capture the user’s experience and intentions, essential for a product designer, an experience framework is introduced, allowing to describe and compare “enrichment” of communication in a structured way. By correlating interaction and experience parameters,  design guidelines  can be obtained.

The added value of using the model components for synthesis has been evaluated during the design process of a Haptic Instant Messaging system (HapticIM). The HapticIM system has been evaluated during a longitudinal user test where two groups of teenagers used a haptic communication device at home. The design approach allows a structured evaluation of the HapticIM system and a systematic comparison of the experience generated by the device with other haptically enriched devices.