Force Attraction Pen: A Haptic Pen with Variable Attraction Force

Late Breaking Work at CHI 2016 from the BIG at the University of Bristol
James Burnside, Ben Elgar, Sam Healer, Alexander Hill, Zac Ioannidis, Luke Mitchell, Paul Worgan, Anne Roudaut
We present the Force Attraction Pen, a haptic stylus
that encourages the users to move in a particular
direction by providing variable attraction force feedback
based on their actions. The tip of the stylus is
augmented with an electromagnet that can repel or
attract the stylus to a metallic surface. By altering the
polarity and voltage, we change the amount and
direction of the force produced. The tactile expressions
of the stylus may enable a higher grain of control
during tasks such as tracing an image, performing
selection, and other high precision tasks. In this paper
we present the design and implementation of such a
system, along with a formative study as a preliminary
investigation into the haptic feedback generated by our
system.