Microsoft wants to bring advanced haptics to tablet and PC gamers

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advanced haptics

The US Patent office has just published a new patent from Microsoft titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING FEEDBACK FOR MULTIPLE HAPTIC ZONES”.

In the patent Microsoft described bringing advanced multi-zone haptic feedback to devices such as tablets, mice and keyboards which often lack these features, using Eccentric Rotating Mass (ERM), Linear Resonant Actuator (LRA) and/or a Piezo structure similar to mobile phones or Xbox controllers.

One of the implementation examples given was for playing video games on tablets such as the Surface or on PCs using a mouse and keyboard. Microsoft also suggested adding haptic actuators in styluses which would add another element for interacting to a touch screen with a pen.

The suggestion is that Microsoft hopes to turn these devices into gaming experiences akin to an Xbox with a good Xbox controller, as part of their expansion of PlayAnywhere and that these elements may make it to actual shipping hardware eventually, unlike many of Microsoft’s other patents.

Do our readers think Microsoft can make PC and tablet more “fun” with these gaming enhancements? Let us know below.

More about the topics: haptics, microsoft, patents, surface gaming