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.
What Triggers You? No two alerts are the same. You get to choose which in-desktop events automatically trigger a tactile alert and have complete control over how each one feels. Hyperlinks, Edge, Color, Texture, events can all be individually set to trigger a Tactile Alert.
Completely Customizable! Customize vibration patterns, duration, triggers, and tactile alerts to enhance your desktop experience. Set an alert that feels like a heartbeat when you are moving over hyperlinks, or set an alert to detect colors. Choose between a wide array of patterns such as: Short and Long Buzz, Fast and Slow Heartbeats, Sad Trombone, Double Click, Triple Click and much more - the possibilities are endless!
Zero Recoil! The Tactile Alerts have been carefully placed in the center of your mouse, so you feel the pulse strongly in your palm. By directing the pulse to only move up through your hand, opposed to left and right, Tactile Alerts will never impact your mouse’s tracking so you can keep your pixel-perfect aim.
- 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.
(VibeTonz was deprecated by Immersion)
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.
Tactile Mobile for Android users: TouchSense ActiveX for Windows (ImmVibe & ImmWeb) are no longer developed by Immersion, but you can try our alternative haptic app for Android, please visit www.tactilemobile.net
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 2D/3D 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.
- Magnitude amplication slider.
7
Play/Stop
button
Enable/Disable
Pixel Detection and 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 (Move quickly the mouse to take back the control)
- Useful for demo purposes.
Enable
Tactile
Orientation Navigation and Ranging (Tactile Echolocation System)
- Useful to know the cursor position and direction.
- Detection based on screen or window size.
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.
Edge, Line, Corner & Color detection are based on Periodic
effect.
If you receive a Fatal Error "The dynamic link library 'FTD2XX.dll' could not be found", please download and install D2XX Drivers made by FTDI Chip. D2XX drivers allow direct access to the USB device through a DLL.
If
you need additional files, that are missing on your machine, please
visit our online support.
* Required but packaged with iFeelPixel
setup, no further software installation is necessary.
What's
the price of iFeelPixel™?
iFeelPixel™
is a "DonationWare": it literally means that non-commercial users can make a donation of any amount 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 enter the amount of money you wish to give in your prefered currency (Euro or Dollar).
Due to some patent, the minimum amount of Donation on Gumroad is 0.99 Euro since November 2020. We have removed most ads on our website, so we cannot afford to distribute free version anymore. iFeelPixel Association is a non-profit organization that depends on users donations, members subscriptions and professional license purchase. Please support our haptic project to make accessible the World Wide Web.
There is also a professional edition, available for commercial users or advanced users. The price depends of the number of computers:
With professional edition you also get Priority email support and free updates. That means that even if we release a new version, you can still unlock it and use it for as long as you like.
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 30 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 Parsec
- Free major upgrades.
- iFeelPixel™ Member logo for their personal website
- Free patches, when applicable.
- Free access to the iFeelPixel™ Forum
- iFeelPixel™ Newsletter
- others gifts...
If you need support during your registration, please contact us
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™? Updated for version 2!
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.
Here is the list of Software Development Kit (SDK) that we use:
Please note that "Visual Force Feedback" technology is protected by a french patent (number: 0311302) and by international pending patents.
Please
take a look at the 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.
3D touch is the ability to experience the virtual world in much the same way the real world is experienced --- intuitively, interactively, and with a full complement of complex tactile sensations. Much more than simple “joy buzzer” vibrations, 3D touch allows computer users to navigate in three-dimensional space naturally while feeling sophisticated, high-fidelity simulations of weight, texture, shape, and dynamics.
One example of it's applications in gaming is through the feeling of recoil for weapons. Since the level of touch that can be simulated is very sophisticated, it allows each weapon to have it's very own unique feel. In computer-generated environments, 3D touch makes it possible to practice complex surgical procedures, to polish a golf swing, to distinguish the viscosity differences between molasses and honey, to pull back a bowstring, and more. 3D touch is deeply affecting, genuinely helpful for users, never gimmicky, and when implemented correctly, it can be as crucial to an application as sound or even graphics.
What's
the Sonification Technology?
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 different
languages,
making this a very rare, internationally appealing site:
Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese,
Korean, etc...
Please
select a language and our website
will be translated on-the-fly.
This service is provided by Google.
- The
iFeelPixel™ Software is only available in english.
We are planning to localize international version very soon. Thanks for your patience. Please contact us if you want to help for the translation.
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.
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
- No more registration reminder
- Free updates
- Priority help and support, private forum access
- Preferential treatment for feature requests
- Free software sample, bundles, bonus, coupons and special offers
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 and gumroad.com domains 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®.
Windows XP SP2/SP3 users: if you cannot run the setup executable, please download the Zipped version of iFeelPixel then extract the contents to a folder of your choice (Recommended folder: C:\iFeelPixel, create the folder if it does not exist).
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:
Older version: View > Main display > Uncheck "Disable Aero for compatibility issues"
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:
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 (To fix this problem automatically get the latest setup).
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" or "C:\Program Files\iFeelPixel" or "C:\Program Files (x86)\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 the following checkboxe:
◦Disable Desktop Composition
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. Visit web site Tecassault (archived) maintained by John Tsoupanarias dedicated to the Novint Falcon Games.
Does iFeelPixel software is compatible with Windows 8 Operating System?
iFeelPixel is compatible with Windows 8 since version 1.8.0. The Desktop Window Manager (DWM) can no longer be programmatically disabled, nor is it disabled when an application attempts to draw to the primary display surface.
In Windows 8, Desktop Window Manager is always ON and cannot be disabled by end users and apps. As in Windows 7, DWM is used to compose the desktop. In addition to experiences enabled in Windows 7, now DWM desktop composition enables desktop composition for all themes, support for Stereoscopic 3D, and management, separation, and protection of the experience with Windows Store apps.
Does iFeelPixel software is compatible with Windows 10 Operating System?
Yes, iFeelPixel is compatible with Windows 10 since version 1.9, but to improve the "Visual Force Feedback" feature, we recommend to disable "enhance pointer precision" because iFeelPixel automatically changes cursor speed to simulate pseudo-haptic sensation.
The SteelSeries Rival 500/700 is the recommended haptic device to feel tactile feedback. Xbox Gaming Controllers are natively supported. The Novint Falcon is also supported to feel Force Feedback, but TouchSense devices (iFeel Mouse), smartphones and Nintendo Wiimotes are not supported anymore on this operating system.
Sound Feedback with MIDI feature, beeps with Internal Speakers and Narrator with male/female voices are correctly working.
Does iFeelPixel software is compatible with Windows 11 Operating System?
Yes, iFeelPixel is compatible with Windows 11 since version 4.0, but to improve the "Visual Force Feedback" feature, we recommend to disable "enhance pointer precision" because iFeelPixel automatically changes cursor speed to simulate pseudo-haptic sensation.
You can customize adaptative triggers of PS DualSense controllers. Xbox Gaming Controllers are natively supported. The SteelSeries Rival 500/700 is the recommended haptic device to feel tactile feedback. The Novint Falcon is also supported to feel Force Feedback, but TouchSense devices (iFeel Mouse), smartphones and Nintendo Wiimotes are not supported anymore on this operating system.
Sound Feedback with MIDI feature, beeps with Internal Speakers and Narrator with male/female voices are correctly working.
How to disable Mouse Acceleration?
By default in windows, 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.
However, this makes the mouse pointer move very slowly in relation to the movement of the mouse. Disabling acceleration is desirable for some users of Windows, such as CAD users, but making the default mouse speed the only speed is impractical. Source: How to Disable Mouse Acceleration.
You can download the following registry key to Disable Mouse Acceleration (Reboot is required):
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.
Registration for new Falcon users: please contact us with your Falcon serial number.
We will verify the legitimacy of your Serial Number as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience.
Is it safe to install iFeelPixel software on a computer?
Yes, our software is 100% Clean. The Windows version is using a Code Signing Certificate digitally signed by iFeelPixel Official President. It is tested regularly with Antivirus program, it is perfectly safe to download and install the official version of iFeelPixel software. But some antivirus can report a false positive alert if their virus database is not correctly updated. How To Add Exclusions for Windows Defender and How To Whitelist Apps In The SmartScreen On Windows 10.
Warning: Please never download a cracked version of iFeelPixel, because cracks contain Trojans and Malicious Viruses.
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™
