iFeelPixel™
is a multimodal application designed to create a range of sensations (visual, tactile, auditory) based
on pictures elements. It gives greater realism, excitement, entertainment, enjoyment and presence
to pictures on computers. Use this while using your desktop
computer,
playing games,
watching websites
or simply leave it running in the background while using any Windows
program. Any pictures elements generated by your computer and
being under
your cursor position on screen,
will be represented with a subjective
sensation on haptic
devices and sound cards.
It's the first software that allows a user to feel the pixels
on the screen with visual feedback, haptic feedback and auditory
feedback. There are infinite possibilities...let's explore the senses
of touch, vision and hearing! It works in parallel with existing access
technology.
Where is the "tactile feedback" in iFeelPixel? Updated for version 1.0.0!
iFeelPixel supports Immersion® TouchSense enabled devices. One such device is the Logitech® iFeel mouse that offers Tactile feedback to its user. Feeling different textures and effects as you navigate through pictures and web pages is fully supported.
iFeelPixel and Novint develop 3D haptic technology and products that enable people to experience a realistic sense of touch using their computer. Using our 3D haptic interface device, the Novint Falcon, and patented 3D haptic software, computer users may feel 3D objects, feel their shapes and textures, feel the dynamic properties of objects, and feel many other effects.
Tactile Mobile: Creates Tactile effects for your mobile phone with VibeTonz Technology.
To date, more than 65 million handsets with Immersion's high-fidelity, programmable haptics technology have shipped around the world.
iFeelPixel software lets mobile phone users design their own haptic effects to personalize touch feedback. Touch feedback makes the mobile phone user experience more sensory, intuitive, useful, fun and allows users to feel a computer screen anywhere.
From its "Tactile Mobile" option, iFeelPixel lets users create personalized haptic effects through a graphical user interface based on the conventions of Immersion's VibeTonz(R) Studio authoring tool for developers. Users can modify wave shape, duration, and intensity to create distinctive vibrational patterns. These creations let users personalize their phone with unique haptic experiences.
What is a Multimodal application?
It is an application that allows the simultaneous use of multiple input and output devices.
"Research has shown that advantage can be gained when the haptic modality is used in conjunction with the visual and auditory channels. The iFeelPixel multi-modal application enables the user to mediate structures such as edges, lines and textures, via a tactile/force feedback mouse depending on features of the pixels detected by the device. Both tactile and auditory feedback are experienced, as a result. Multi-modal solutions have the capacity to extend visual displays and thus making objects more realistic, useful and engaging."
"Multi-modal interfaces also provide assistance in the mental mapping process, allowing the user to develop a greater awareness of objects contained within the environment. A clearer spatial representation created by multi-modal feedback, enhances the user’s ability to orientate and navigate within their environment. It is apparent that a multi-modal assistive interface can provide one solution to reducing barriers that are faced by the blind and partially sighted community"
-
Edge Detection identifies the edges of shapes in images
by searching for gradient or slope variations.
- Vibration expressing sine, square or sawtooth waveshapes.
Indicates pixel intensity and velocity.
- Touch the pixels you want to know the colors of, it will transform the color into a sound.
- Everybody is influenced by associations between sounds and colors.
For example,
people tend to associate light colors with high-pitched sounds.
-
Distinguish patterns and hues of color
- Feel different sensations based on colors
- Customize your own color with
Immersion
Studio
A
Method for the Development of Virtual Textures:
-Create a texture
effect on the fly
ex: virtual haptic textile
-You can modify the texture
settings
-Option detection: human body filter
- Make your own texture, save
it, feel it and share
it
- You can see the magnitude value generated by iFeelPixel, in
2 textboxes:
Positive Magnitude & Negative Magnitude
- Added list of 24 presets,
same as
Immersion
Studio
( Note: H = Horizontal, V =Vertical)
- Communicates the feel of a path or surface.
7
Play/Stop
button
Enable/disable
iFeelPixel™ timer interval
8
Magnifier
Launch
the magnifier ( Zoom ratio: 1-10 x).
9
Demo
Mode
-
Automatically moves mouse randomly to feel audio-tactile Effects
- Useful for demo purposes.
Enable
Metronome
- It is a counting device that maintains a constant tone or
beat.
- Indicates the cursor speed via sound or tactile effects, if visual feedback is activated.
* Tactile
Orientation Navigation and Ranging
Edge, Line, Corner & Color detection are based on Periodic
effect.
* Required but packaged with iFeelPixel
setup, no further software installation is necessary.
What's
the price of iFeelPixel™?
iFeelPixel™
is a "DonationWare": this means that is free for members of iFeelPixel organisation, but non-commercial users can make a contribution to help support further development and web-server costs.
It is distributed in the hope that it will be useful for people
(regardless of disabilities), but without any warranty. You choose the amount of money you wish to give in your prefered currency (Euro or Dollar).
There is also a professional version, only for commercial users. The price depends of the size of the company and the number of employees:
We
want everyone to enjoy our product and built a powerful tactile
community.
Please use our software, and please talk
about iFeelPixel™ software to everyone you know, so that
they can try it as well.
How
to become an iFeelPixel™ Member?
The
active members are those which pay a sum of 10€ Euro renewable
each year.
By their regular funds, they stabilize our organisation.
They can
cancel
their subscription at any time, but the 'Refund Payment' option
is only available for 60 days after the payment was sent.
For
their money, they receive:
- A copy of the software + 1 "License
to touch"
- Full technical support via e-mail and instant messages.
- Remote support via TeamViewer
- Free major upgrades.
- iFeelPixel™ Member logo for their personal website
- Free patches, when applicable.
- Free access to the iFeelPixel™ Forum
- iFeelPixel™ Newsletter
- others gifts...
Special offer: If you are using our referral code "ifeelpixel" to get 20% off a Novint Falcon or if you already own a Novint Falcon, your subscription will be free (no charge). You just need to send us your Novint Falcon serial number.
How
to become an iFeelPixel™ benefactor Member?
The
benefactor members are those which pay an amount of their choice.
Only one restriction: The amount must be equal or superior to 20
euros.
By their important fund, they act like investors.
For
their money, they receive:
- same benefits as members
+
- Assistance by webcam and netmeeting
- Private conference
- Interviews
- others special request....
For example: possibility to add a link to their website into our
software...
The
members of honor are those which rendered important services announced
to the iFeelPixel™ users community.
Their registration is free.
- same benefits as benefactor Member
- eternal recognition, iFeelPixel™ Icon
- their name on this website
No! Because offline help is difficult to maintain and update
regularly,
but you can view the online
help here and the Readme File
here.
We apologize for any inconveniences.
Can
I get the source code of iFeelPixel™?
No,
we are sorry but iFeelPixel™ is not an open source code.
iFeelPixel source code is protected by
IDDN
(Inter Deposit Digital Number)
from
APP
(Agency for the Protection of Programs)
If
you are really interested, to add sensations to the Pixels on the
screen,
you are welcome to contact us. We may build
a great tool together, in joining our forces.
Please
take a look at the free software downloads
section
to get the usual iFeelPixel setup.
What's
the Haptic Technology?
Based
on the Greek word, "haptesthai," meaning touch, haptic
technology enables people to feel touch sensations while interacting
with a digital display, like a computer screen and a hardware device
such as a joystick or mouse.
Immersion's
haptic technology, brand-named TouchSense™, enhances the
user experience with sight, sound and touch simultaneously.
The
word haptics refers to the science of applying the sense of touch
in human-
computer interaction. Haptics is often used as a catchall term to
cover a variety of
distinct sub-types, including proprioceptive
(general sensory information about the
body), vestibular (the
perception of head motion), kinaesthetic
(the feeling of motion
in the body), cutaneous
(sensory information from the skin), and tactile
(the sense of
pressure experienced through the skin).
There are four types of sensory neurons (mechanoreceptors) involved in the haptic modality. The haptic, or tactile, sensory modality is the only active sense that can be used to explore our environment; vision and hearing are passive senses since they cannot act upon the environment.
In the context of computers, haptic feedback can refer to the simple feel of a keyboard or mouse, or to more sophisticated forms of tactile feedback employed by some virtual-reality systems. iFeelPixel is an emerging technology that promises to have wide reaching implications.
Sonification
is the use of non-speech audio to convey information.
You
are welcome to discuss about the Sonification Technology in the
iFeelPixel™ forum
Is
it an Electronic Alphabet Braille tactile display?
Not
really, but iFeelPixel™ is a new alternative way for blind
users to feel the text on screen.
Especially for them who didn't learn braille. A morse engine (that
translates keystrokes and text to morse) and a keyboard piano (that translates any keystrokes into a synthetized sound) are packaged with
iFeelPixel™.
Is
it possible to use iFeelPixel™ with any Software?
Of
course ! You can use iFeelPixel™ with any software. If you
are planning to test iFeelPixel with some special software, you
are welcome to send some report to us (bad
or good).
Two
important points to keep in mind:
- iFeelPixel™ automatically creates audio-tactile sensations
based on image.
- iFeelPixel™ works with all Windows program that has image.
Is it a vision substitution software for the blind?
Not
exactly...iFeelPixel™ is a vision complementary software.
It can't replace vision, but it can complement vision with additional
informations.
Tactile and sound help augment poor vision.
If
you are seeking a vision substitution software for the blind and
even artificial sight.
Please check out
the
vOICe website.
About
Synesthesia:
This is a rather peculiar condition in which the senses get cross-wired.
For example, a person with synesthesia may "see" sounds,
"hear" colors,
or "feel" tastes; the stimulation of one sense stimulates
another.
Is
iFeelPixel™ Available in other languages than english?
- The
iFeelPixel™ website can be translated into eight different
languages,
making this a very rare, internationally appealing site:
Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese,
Korean
Please
select a Flag, and the website
will be translated on-the-fly.
This service is provided by altavista.
- The
iFeelPixel™ Software is only available in english.
We are planning to localize international version with a Localization software.
Yes,
you can feel movies (DVD, divx, trailers, *.avi, *.mpg, etc...) from
Windows Media Player and other players that do not use overlay
technology.
Also, you can feel live television images and video games.
What
is a "License to touch"? (Updated for version 0.8.3)
A "License
to touch" is a license key to activate your copy of iFeelPixel
on your machine.
We are protecting the iFeelPixel software against sharing of license
keys, the use of pirate copies and against any abuse.
Here
your benefits by activating iFeelPixel:
- No more time limit (your license code will never expire)
- No more activation restriction
- Free update
- Priority help and support, private forum access
- Preferential treatment for feature requests
- Free software sample, bundles, bonus, coupons and special offers
After you receive your personal license key via email or via our website,
please copy it and paste it into iFeelPixel software:
1. Start the iFeelPixel™ Software, you see the software defender activation window:
"This product needs to be activated. This file is digitally locked and requires activation before it can be accessed."
2. Paste the iFeelPixel License Key from your clipboard to textbox (Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + V)
3. Click on "Activate" Button.
If the license key you entered is valid. iFeelPixel software is activated and started. Enjoy!
If the license key you entered is NOT valid, the following messages box can appear on screen:
- "Your key is disabled. Please contact ifeelpixel at hotmail.com"
Click on "Contact Software vendor" to send us an email or click "OK" button to try again.
You can get a license extension if you make a donation.
- "This key is not valid. Unable to unlock with this key. Please ensure you typed key correctly."
Forgot your license key? Please go to our unlock key reminder or click "OK" button to try again.
Promo
codes allow us to monitor how you found out about us.
This allows us to advertise in the most effective ways and thank
people for promoting us.
What
is a Pixel?
The
Pixel (a word invented from "picture element": "pix"
for picture, "el" for element) is the dot element (usually
a single-colored dot) that, together with others, constitutes an
image on a video screen or in print. It is the basic unit of the
composition of an image on a television screen, computer monitor,
or similar display.
Why
did not I receive Email about iFeelPixel
software?
We
send you a message, when you submit your email address to download iFeelPixel software or when we release a new iFeelPixel version (If you choose to keep in touch).
If you do not get this email from us, that means maybe you provided
an incorrect email address or our message has been filtered by error
(misconfigured email filters) or you choose to not receive
emails from us.
Solution: Go through the "Trash box"
or "Spam box" first and glance through it to make sure,
your email filter has not captured our email by error, before resubmitting
the form.
If you find our message, please Click the "This is not Junk/Spam"
icon at the top of the message.
Alternative solution: Please try to submit the
form again with a different email domain, (preferably your corporate
email, and not a Hotmail, AOL, or Yahoo account) and add our email
address to your "email address book".
Make sure you don't miss out on any iFeelPixel Newsletters;
please add ifeelpixel.com domain to your address book. Thanks!
If the form doed not work with your browser, please send
an email. Thanks.
American
Sign Language (ASL) is a visual-gestural language created by Deaf
people with its own unique grammatical rules and sentence structure,
and is used as the primary means of communication by approximately
500,000 Deaf Americans and Canadians.
Sign
language is a language that you speak with your hands, for people
that can't talk or hear. When you can't hear or have severe hearing
problems, you are called deaf. It is called mute when you
can't talk.
Like
spoken languages, ASL includes slang, expressions and puns. ASL
has evolved from a combination of Old French Sign Language, and
a "dialect" used by communities in Martha's Vineyard from
the 17th to the beginning of the 20th century. Martha's Vineyard
had an unusually high incidence of hereditary deafness for many
generations. Like any other living language, ASL continues to evolve.
The
iFeelPixel software starts and stops touch effects from an Immersion
Force Resource (IFR) or Immersion VibeTonz (IVT) file on a touch-enabled device (tactile mouse or tactile mobile)
An IFR/IVT file is the output of an effect design session in Immersion TouchSense/VibeTonz
Studio®.
Does iFeelPixel software is compatible with Windows Vista Operating System?
Yes, iFeelPixel is Windows Vista compatible, including support of visual styles, service packs (SP1 and SP2) and User Account Control (UAC). Administrator and Non-Administrator account can run directly the Setup Package. Per-user settings are in a separate file located under "Application Data" and are requested of the OS in the same manner.
By default, everytime iFeelPixel is started, the visual graphic interface Aero is automatically disabled for compatibility issues and speed latency, but you can enable it if you prefer:
Old version: View > Main display > Uncheck "Disable Aero for compatibility issues"
New version: View > Main display > Uncheck "Disable Desktop Composition (Compatibility)
Next time iFeelPixel is restarted, the graphic interface Aero of Windows Vista will not be disabled.
Does iFeelPixel software is compatible with Windows Seven Operating System?
Yes, the latest version of iFeelPixel is Windows Seven compatible including support of visual styles and User Account Control (UAC). Administrator and Non-Administrator account can run directly the Setup Package. Per-user settings are in a separate file located under "Application Data" and are requested of the OS in the same manner. Our Developers have improved stability and compatibility (side-by-side feature). If you want improve your experiences on windows Seven please follow instructions below:
By default in windows 7, the checkbox labeled Enhance pointer precision is checked. We recommend you to uncheck it to improve your cursor movement.
Go to Control Panel and click on the Mouse icon.
In the mouse dialog, click on the Pointer Options tab.
UnCheck the checkbox labeled Enhance pointer precision.
You might notice after successfully installing iFeelPixel on Windows 7 that it is a bit, well, sluggish. For example, resizing windows is a real pain.
After installing iFeelPixel, you'll want to change the compatibility settings for the executable.
1.Using Windows Explorer, browse the location where you installed iFeelPixel. By default, the path is
C:\iFeelPixel
2.Right click the iFeelPixel.exe program file, and select properties from the context menu.
3.Click on the Compatibility tab.
4.Place a check in each of these checkboxes:
◦Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 3)
◦Disable Visual Themes (optional)
◦Disable Desktop Composition
◦Disable display scaling on high DPI settings (optional)
After changing these settings, fire up the iFeelPixel application, and things should be back to normal, and the software is no longer sluggish.
For information, some beta-testers reported the following issues in previous versions:
- Recursive startup errors in Win 7 64 bit, Error loading in DLL (Error 48)
- The Novint Falcon driver is not fully compatibile with Windows Seven Operating System (Slow cursor motion, no force feedback, etc...).
Solution: Please download and install the new Novint Installer.
How to find my personal Novint Falcon Serial Number?
You can obtain your Falcon ID by following these steps:
1) Navigate to C:\Program Files\Novint\Falcon\TestUtilities\FalconTest
2) Run FalconTest.exe
3) Click 'Open'
4) In the top left hand corner, you will find your Falcon's Serial Number (listed as SN), also known as your Falcon ID. This is what you will need to submit to us when you subscribe.
Another solution is to use USBDeview. It is a small utility that lists all USB devices that currently connected to your computer, as well as all USB devices that you previously used. For each USB device, extended information is displayed: Device name/description, device type, serial number, the date/time that device was added, VendorID, ProductID, and more...
Alternatively, if you still have not receveid your Novint Falcon yet. You can log in to your Novint account and get your serial from your account Info in the "My purchases, My hardwares" area.
Note for Novint Falcon users: we will verify your Serial Number if it is legitimate (expected delay: 1 week) then we will cancel your PayPal Subscription. Thanks for your patience. But if you are the real owner of a Novint Falcon, you can directly unsubscribe.
If you prefer a manual registration, please contact us
Other
questions...
You
may find common answers and questions about iFeelPixel™ in
the Support Page
If
you have any other questions or criticisms,
feel free to contact us!
Or please post them in the iFeelPixel™
forum.
Thanks for reading this page.
Here you can find common questions asked about iFeelPixel™
Note: H = Horizontal, V =Vertical)
