Immersion Corporation (Nasdaq:IMMR), a leading developer and licensor of haptics (touch feedback http://www.immersion.com/corporate/haptics/index.php) technology, announces that the benefits of its technology for human-computer interactions (HCI) have been recognized by several industry authorities.
Computerworld magazine named haptic feedback one of the top 10 trends in 2008 that will fuel “the best year ever in personal technology.”(1) Its December 2007 article cited the long-standing use of haptics in video console games and stated that, in 2008, “haptics will help compensate for the disappearance of buttons in cell phones” and will “return to its roots by improving game play on cell phones.”
Immersion’s TouchSense® components for portable devices, which provide tactile feedback in response to touchscreen interactions, won Electronic Design magazine’s Best Electronic Design 2007 Competition in the Components/Displays/Touchscreen Technology category.(2) The awards point out the technologies judged by editors to be the most significant to advancing electronic design.
Immersion’s VibeTonz® technology for mobile phones was included in Hot Trends 40: Global Trends to See, a compilation of 40 rising global trends identified as having a high growth potential.(3) The 282-page book was published in January 2008 by Korea Trend Research Institute in cooperation with the International Design Trend Center.
“The recognition we’ve received from these and other distinguished authorities corroborates independent research and the real-world experiences of our customers,” said Immersion CEO Victor Viegas. “Haptics can help improve the user experience for a broad range of products in many industries.”
Research shows that haptic feedback (also known as tactile, touch, vibrotactile, or force feedback) has been found to:
- Increase user speed and accuracy(4)
- Reduce complication and stress(5-9)
- Improve user satisfaction(4,7,10)
More information on research performed by companies and universities can be found in the Immersion white paper The Value of Haptics, available at: http://www.immersion.com/valueofhaptics.php.
(1) Elgan, Mike. 2007. Personal Tech 2008: Top 10 Trends. Computerworld. December 31.
(2) Penton Media. 2007. Penton’s Electronic Design Magazine Announces Winners of ‘Best Electronic Design’ Competition for 2007. December 10.
(3) The Korea Times. 2008. Recent Books: Hot Trends 40. January 4.
(4) Brewster, Stephen, Faraz Chohan, and Lorna Brown. 2007. Tactile Feedback for Mobile Interactions. Proceedings of CHI 2007.
(5) Wickens, Christopher D. 2002. Multiple resources and performance prediction. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science 3: 159–177.
(6) Burke, Jennifer L., Matthew S. Prewett, and Linda R. Elliot. 2006. Comparing the Effects of Visual-Audio and Visual-Tactile Feedback on User Performance: A Meta-analysis. International Conference on Multimodal Interfaces. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Multimodal Interfaces, 108-117.
(7) Poupyrev, Ivan, Shigeaki Maruyama, and Rekimoto Jun. 2002. Ambient Touch: Designing Tactile Interfaces for Handheld Devices. CHI Letters 4 (2): 51–60.
(8) Van Veen, Hendrik and J.B.F. Van Erp. 2001. Tactile Information Presentation in The Cockpit. Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Haptic Human-Computer Interaction, 174–181.
(9) Brown, Lorna M. and John Williamson. 2003. Shake2Talk: Multimodal Messaging for Interpersonal Communication. CHI '03 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, 854–855.
(10) Serafin, Colleen, Ranier Heers, Michael Tschirhart, Chris Ullrich, and Christophe Ramstein. 2007. User Experience in the U.S. and Germany of In-Vehicle Touch Screens with Integrated Haptic and Auditory Feedback. Proceedings of SAE World Congress 2007.
About Immersion (www.immersion.com)
Founded in 1993, Immersion Corporation is a recognized leader in developing, licensing, and marketing digital touch technology and products. Using Immersion’s advanced touch feedback technology (http://www.immersion.com/corporate/products/), electronic user interfaces can be made more productive, compelling, entertaining, or safer. Immersion’s technology is deployed across automotive, entertainment, industrial controls, medical training, mobility, and three-dimensional simulation markets. Immersion’s patent portfolio includes over 700 issued or pending patents in the U.S. and other countries.
About Computerworld (www.computerworld.com)
Computerworld is recognized worldwide as the premier source for news, information, and opinion on the critical technology and management issues affecting senior technology professionals. In the past five years alone, Computerworld has won more than 100 awards, including the 2004 and 2006 Magazine of the Year Award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Computerworld has an online audience of over 1.1 million unique monthly visitors and a total print audience of 1.3 million. Computerworld is a business unit of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading technology media, research, and events company.
About Electronic Design (www.electronicdesign.com)
The authority on emerging technologies for design solutions, Electronic Design magazine and its Web site reach the design engineers and engineering managers who put new technology and products to work in today's most dynamic markets. A Penton Media publication issued bi-weekly to a circulation of 141,000, Electronic Design delivers the largest print circulation of any design magazine serving the electronics OEM. The Best Electronic Design winner selection process begins with hundreds of briefings and demonstrations the publication’s editors participate in each year.
About Korea Trend Research Institute (KORTRI) (www.kortri.co.kr)
A market research firm specializing in both global market trends and trends specific to Korea.
About International Design Trend Center (IDTC) (www.idtc.info)
As a design trend analyzing firm, IDTC provides design related information to leading companies through a membership-based online operation and offline center.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of Immersion Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
All statements, other than the statements of historical fact, are statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements, including any projections of earnings, revenues, or other financial matters; any statements of the plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning the breadth of and timeline to implement touch feedback technology into portable devices or touchscreens or into mobile devices, games, or other content; or any change in revenue that may occur from such implementation; any statements regarding consumer response that may occur as a result of having touch feedback in touchscreens or content, or any statements regarding market growth for touchscreens with touch feedback, or consumer and market acceptance of force feedback products in general; proposed products or services; any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; statements of belief; and any statement or assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Immersion’s actual results might differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business which include, but are not limited to, delay in or failure to achieve commercial demand for our products or a delay in or failure to achieve the acceptance of force feedback as a critical user experience.
For a more detailed discussion of these factors, and other factors that could cause actual results to vary materially, interested parties should review the risk factors listed in our most current Form 10-Q, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release reflect our beliefs and predictions as of the date of this release. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements as a result of financial, business, or any other developments occurring after the date of this release.
Immersion, the Immersion logo, TouchSense, and VibeTonz are trademarks of Immersion Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Contacts:
Angie Ayala, +1-650-762-2952
aayala@ar-edelman.com
