Haptic - Touch Screen Technology - Essay Example

Haptic is used in supporting cognitive tasks performance e.g. in children with low attention, mental problems, and brain injury, by enhancing mental imagery and verbalization systems. Furthermore, haptic can be used in communication as it gives feedback at the point of interaction by the user (Hatzfeld and Kern 21). It also enables conveying of information in demanding environments. Haptic can also be used in tactile interfaces to help in navigation by the visually impaired and blind people (Henderson ‎and Pehoski 77).

For haptic devices to be effective, there are functional and data requirements. These include reliability and uniformity so that consistent perceptual effects are obtained. Haptic devices should have sensing requirements for easy and faster input (Siciliano and ‎ Khatib 726). The sensing requirement helps in determining the state of the device. Haptic devices should have high power to weight ratio for excellent performance and good feedback. Also, to sense the user’s action, the haptic device should have a high force or torque.

A vending machine applies touch on a user interface for payment to be made. After payment is made, customers are provided with what they require for example a drink. Vending machines support a variety of payment methods such as coins, debit and credit cards, payphones, and online accounts such as Payoneer and PayPal. i. Inserting coins is the common method of payment supported by vending machines. Once the right amount is inserted, the vending machine ejects the drink.

ii. Credit and debit cards provide more convenient ways of making payments as a customer does not have to worry about carrying cash or having it in the right denominations accepted by the machine. A card can be tapped or inserted into the machine to make the payment.

iii. The use of payphones is a recent development. Mobile service providers have come up with different applications that allow business transactions to be conducted using phones. This is also a convenient way of making payments without physical cash. iv. Online payment methods are increasingly being adopted in the modern computing world. Examples include PayPal, Dwolla, Stripe, and Payoneer among others. These applications are installed on devices and a user gets a username and password.

For the data requirements, there is a need for efficiency and bandwidth to allow for the attainment of high output from the system. Vending machines have LCD screens that users use to enter the necessary details such as PINs, usernames, and passwords. Other functionalities such as ways to accept or decline to make a purchase or choosing a product’s quantity and type are provided. In conclusion, haptic includes the daily life mechanical signals arising from the involvement of sight, sound, and touch.

In this paper, a vending machine as an example of a device applying haptics is discussed.