"I had a cat for many years, and what I miss most about interacting with her is touch," says Steve. So he designed the furry rabbit robot to be laced with pressure sensors so it can sense where and how it's being touched or stroked. It then responds by making breathing-like motions, purring vibrations, or ear wiggles.

And though it sounds like a whacky bit of science, apparently a research study at the University of British Columbia showed that people who stroked the bunny had an emotional response even to this limited feedback, and could identify the bunny's "emotions" across a range of negative to positive.

Does this mean that next-gen Asimo's will go all soft, and like to be cuddled? Probably not, but I can only guess that Steve's research will wend its way into future robo-pets that connect to their owners even more than the lovable Pleo seems to. [New Scientist]

According to Palluxo.com, the two companies have already met, with a follow up meeting planned for next week to discuss licensing terms of Immersion's haptic technology. The iPhone would likely receive force feedback via inbuilt sensors, meaning a vibration of sorts would be output at the touch of on screen buttons, which would make the absence of a physical QWERTY that much more bearable. We'd probably give our right bionic arm (if we had one) for such haptic feedback on the iPhone, so we're hoping these rumorings are as solid as well formed stool. Until we hear something concrete, we'll keep you entertained with poo jokes. (See above.) [Palluxo]

LG launches its third Black Label Series handset

London, UK, 24 April, 2008 - LG Electronics, a worldwide technology and design leader in mobile communications, today announces the global launch of its third LG Black Label Series handset, the LG Secret (KF750).

Boasting style that lasts, the LG Secret has been specifically developed to satisfy the refined tastes of trendsetters who desire a sophisticatedly designed, yet durable handset. Following the success of its predecessors, the LG Chocolate and the LG Shine, this third model from the LG Black Label Series is as feature rich as it is stylish. At just 11.8mm thick, the LG Secret is the slimmest 5 megapixel camera phone on the market.

Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications, says, "Trends in the mobile phone market prove that today's discerning consumer is looking for the ultimate mobile experience - style and substance. The great success of the previous LG Black Label Series models proved this and the LG Secret continues this style led technology legacy."

Timeless style
The LG Secret will always look as new as the day of purchase thanks to the materials used to make it. Its casing of carbon fibre, one of the strongest composite materials used for aircraft and high-performance cars, adds to the handset's durability. Its tempered glass LCD adds sheen and strength, as well as shielding the phone's screen, and its neon touch navigation buttons sensitively respond to commands with a luminous blue light.

Timeless memories
As well as being the slimmest 5 megapixel camera phone, the LG Secret boasts the ability to take video at 120 frames per second and DivX certified recording. Timeless moments can be edited with powerful photo and video editing features, including facial editing and SmartLight , a feature that automatically adjusts the picture's light settings. Users can also create their own music videos using the phone's Movie Maker software.

Timeless entertainment
The LG Secret's outstanding entertainment features take advantage of the phone's touch-screen - users can access five multimedia functions which include music, photos, games, documents, and the FM radio. In addition, users can simultaneously flick through photos on the screen while listening to music. Microsoft documents can be opened easily and the handset is loaded with a Google package that enables the user to surf the Internet, log into Gmail, use Google Maps and watch YouTube videos.

Timeless convenience
Using Bluetooth, the LG Secret automatically synchronises with PCs without the need to use USB cables. Images can be viewed both horizontally and vertically using the phone's auto rotating display, and the screen's lighting adjusts to ensure that it is always clear. In addition, the phone also comes with Voice Clarity technology that guarantees perfect sound quality in every environment.

After its European launch, the LG Secret will be launched in Asia and South America, followed by the rest of the world. Please visit the LG Secret Microsite at http://secret.lgmobile.com

With just three actual buttons at the bottom, it relies mainly on a touch interface that you can customize (if you know Korean), with drag-and-drop desktop building. In the force feedback dept., it uses a vocabulary of 22 different vibrations to simulate actual feels and actions. When you see a volume knob for the radio and reach to turn it, you hear and feel the clicks of an old-timey dial.

The phone, which includes a terrestrial broadcast TV receiver, is going to sell for $700 to $800 and is Korea only—but for how long? Bring it, Sammy! We're waiting. [AP; NewLaunches]

The maglev haptic control consists of two bowl shape objects, powered by electromagnets. Inside these bowls, a joystick floats around with a tracking sensor that relays its position back to a Linux Fedora-powered computer. The technology is precise to 2 microns and produces 40 newtons of force. One specific demo was the "physics playpen," where a variety of 3d shapes were displayed on screen and users could interact with them using the joysticks; moving the shapes back and forth between each hand, getting feedback of the collision, and a feel for the volume and weight of the objects.

Ultimately, the goal for this maglev haptic technology would be to have it implemented in a medical setting (microsurgery), military use (drone control), or even data visualzation (minority report, perhaps?). Just don't expect it anytime soon, as the electromagnets that power this thing cost tens of thousands of dollars alone. More pics are available over at [Gadget Lab].

Haptic touchscreens, as you probably know, provide tactical feedback when a button is pressed. In this case, the phone vibrates when you hit a button. As it stands, the program is extremely buggy, crashing out and leaving the vibrations going even after you've hit the button. But even if it was running perfectly, with a short vibration coming every time you hit a button, would you want it?

First of all, having your phone vibrate almost continuously while you type a text message would be annoying. Secondly, it would suck up loads of battery life. Thirdly, it seems like it wouldn't really help at all. At this point, most iPhone users seem pretty used to the keyboard; it's not a major griping point. And while haptic feedback might come in handy for, say, selecting icons from the home screen, it's not going to allow you to select buttons or type without looking like you can with physical buttons. It seems more a gimmick than an upgrade.

What do you think? If you had the option to download a program that added haptic functionality to your iPhone, would you do it?

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

"The basic technology is not that difficult...we inserted two small piezo sensor pads under the screen and engineered in a 0.1mm movement in the screen itself. What's taken the time has been fine tuning the movement and response to mimic exactly the sensation of pressing a real key."

"...it was hard to remember that you were using a touchscreen keyboard."

Simply reach in your pocket and hit the 5 key to get it to tell you the time. How does it tell it to you?

Long vibrations are the number of hours of the current time on a 12 hour clock, so 6pm and 6am are both 6 vibrations. The shorter vibrations are the number of minutes divided by 5. So 4 vibrations is 20 minutes and 7 vibrations is 35 minutes. Example: (3) long vibrations and (6) short vibrations means it's 3:30. Just in case you do want to see the time, the screen displays the time with tick marks for hours, minutes and seconds.

Haptic Clock [via Future Feeder]

Slim Devices founder Sean Adams gave Gizmodo a video tour of his high-end streaming audio player that we first told you about in July. The overview is up top. Videos about the specific features after the jump...
—Noah Robischon

Product Page [Brainic]

If It Feels Good: Skateboarding toward the future of digital user interfaces

When I'm not busy creating user-interface prototypes, I'm co-director of the local Public Skatepark Action Committee. The two gigs aren’t as dissimilar as you might think; a skatepark, after all, is just a user interface for skateboarders, and one with a lot of design challenges. But instead of dealing with code, I have to think in terms of steel and concrete. On one side you have a myriad of choices from prefab to design-built concrete and steel. On the other side you have vocal “consumers” that will let you know when you get their UI wrong—leaving you with an empty park marked up with free, um, “market research reports” in spray paint.

Anyone using, designing or selling a product with a digital user interface can identify with this scenario. Not that someone will walk into Best Buy and tag “This MP3 Player UI Sucks”—at least not anyone who wants to stay out of jail. But just as new trends in construction have changed skatepark design, so, too, has technological progress enabled us to build better UIs. This is helping us design products—whether it be skateparks or game controllers– that don’t just look good, but feel good, too.

Devices are getting more powerful, and buzzing technologies (like AJAX and many other acronyms I won’t make your eyes glaze over by listing here) are allowing designers to create new possibilities from better-looking designs to rich animation.

These technologies are demand driven, sparked by the trend away from modular solutions–easily configured, pre-produced pieces (whether they be pieces of code or pieces of a ramp)–into more engaging and full experiences. Skateboarders are already onto this trend. There are nearly as many devoted to fighting modular skateparks as there are building them.

These new technologies focus on the ability to create custom UI experiences, and with good reason. Both iTunes and Google’s photo application Picasa quickly attracted fans by breaking from the standard controls and interface you find on most Windows-based applications. This is not merely another skinning trend; both applications also employ unique control behaviors and animation. As technology enthusiasts we have all experienced the attraction and perils of animation (“skip intro,” anyone?). Animation allows sexiness and innovative ways of navigating around a screen, but also runs the risk of simply adding unnecessary, time-consuming clutter to our devices.

The skatepark gives us a tangible reference. Think in terms of “feel.” As the skateboard wheel rolls across a park, surfacing, smoothness, transition radius and other factors are not processed consciously by the skater, but are reduced to a single subconscious impression of user satisfaction; an overall impression of how the park “feels.” In the case of browsing menus on a set-top box like TiVo, the equation for “feel” will include things like timing, transitions, and even inertia and elasticity.

In terms of timing, anyone who has skated a bowl with too much flat bottom (or used a Sony Ericsson T300) knows that slow responsiveness is a design flaw that can totally kill the user experience. The same can be said for animation in UI. Transitions should never block the experience or the information a user is seeking. A common complaint among cell phone users, for example, is animations that harm the UI. A quick search of “slow UI” in Google yields many such gripes, including an entry from mobile-review.com that simple states: “LG U8180 very slow UI.”

Effective use of animation in UI is not arbitrary. For instance, the menu transition from the right to left on a TiVO or an iPod helpfully implies that navigation to the left will take me backwards. Gadgets that use an animated transition just because their hardware can finally support it run the risk of annoyance once the novelty wears off. Better still is UI that incorporates simulated physics. Take the Picasa Scroller. The further you pull down, the quicker it snaps back into place. This elasticity naturally communicates its relationship to moving you through the library; the “harder” you pull, the faster you scroll photos.

In the not-too-distant future, that elasticity will be more than simulation. Haptic technologies–those dealing with the sense of touch, like force feedback mice and attenuated asymmetrical offset direct current motors– will actually give the UI “feel.” There are a lot of haptic devices available now for gamers, from steering wheels to the Xbox 360 controllers. But the technology is becoming more than vibrating motors. Soon you’ll know you are committing an important change to a document not because a dialog prompts, but because the cancel button is physically harder to push and has a longer throw, like the main power switch on your house. Cell phones will have jog dials that will be paired with animation, and will let you know with a moment of resistance as you pass each item in your address book; it will then stiffen and stop as you approach the end of a list. We won’t just look at the user interface, we’ll feel it—the same way a skateboarder feels a concrete transition.

As gadgets gain more animation and the feel of haptic technologies, designers will need to start thinking like the builder of a skatepark. Incorporating flow, feel, transition and speed, not just look and layout, will bring consumers enhanced usability and build an emotional connection between users and their gizmos.

Jared Ficklin is a Senior Design Technologist in frog’s Austin, Texas studio.

The frog Design Mind column appears every Monday on Gizmodo. Read more frog Design Mind.