Grewus, a specialist in developing and producing innovative acoustic signal sensors and haptic actuators for all industries and applications, has announced that following a successful workshop in February 2020, it is launching the inaugural interACTIVE HAPTICS Conference (iAHC) 2023 in Hamburg, Germany, designed for OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, scientists and experts from all industries in the field of haptics. Automotive Interiors World is a media partner for this event.
Taking place on June 14 and 15 at the historic Gastwerk Design Hotel Hamburg, the two-day conference will bring HMI-relevant disciplines together to discuss which aspects need to be considered when integrating haptics into an application – in terms of how the design, the UI, the UX, the sensors, the mechanics, the driving and the actuator interact.
Different industries in the field of haptics will explore the challenges faced in each sector and discipline, interfaces and synergy. Experts in gaming, automotive and academia will look at which aspects need to be considered for optimal haptics and which physical parameters can be integrated into the desired design.
Haptics as a visible trend
Speaking about the integration of active haptic feedback in HMI at Automotive Interiors Expo in October 2022, Elisa Santella, managing director at Grewus, said, “Active haptics in automotive is a visible trend. The first reason is safety: anything you can do to help people not take their eyes off the road is essential!
“Reconciling safety with connectivity is a key challenge driving the development of next-generation vehicle HMIs. The second is improving the HMI experience for the driver and more possibilities to configure the car according to the requirements [of each driver type]. But, of course, there is design freedom in the surfaces, just as in the design of the haptics.”
Conference highlights
A reception will be held at the Alsterlagune Hamburg on Tuesday, June 13, the evening before the first day of the conference. The iAHC will then begin on Wednesday, June 14, at Gastwerks with presentations on markets, trends and industries.
Presentations on Day 1 will include an opening speech from Elisa Santella on ‘Haptic Trends in Automotive HMI’, followed by a presentation on ‘Unlocking the Power of Haptic Technology in Gaming: Industry Leaders Explore Best Practices and ROI’ by Eric Vezzoli at Razer. Wolfgang Clemens from PolyIC will speak on ‘Smart integrated touch solutions for HMI surfaces in Automotive and Home Appliances’; Iyad Nasrallah from TouchNetix will deliver a presentation called ‘Touch, Force, Hover, Proximity, Haptics … aXiom!’; and Jörg Stierand from Haptics Alliance will discuss ‘Immersive HMI solutions’.
A gala dinner will be held on the Wednesday evening at the Historischer Speicherboden, with the opportunity for an exclusive tour through the Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg.
Day 2 will focus on technology and science with speeches from Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Alexander Kern (Technische Universität Hamburg – TUHH) on ‘Vibrotactile Actuators – how to really quantify their performance for a more general applicability’; Anouschka Esselun from Grewus on the ‘Measuring of active Haptic Feedback’; Morten Rothmann (Hamsø Engineering) on ‘Criteria for chip selection for driving and sensing’; Daniel Shor from Innovobot on ‘Haptics Language and Design Rules’; and Ralf Sandomeer of Grewus on ‘The recipe of haptic integration’.
To integrate participants within the topics being discussed, Day 2 will host two workshops: ‘Haptics Language and Design Rules’ and ‘Let’s become ACTIVE now – From Theory to Practice’.
Recently announced, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Phillipp Beckerle, chair of Autonomous Systems and Mechatronics at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, will be speaking on the ‘Human perception of Haptics’. More speakers will be confirmed on the website, including a special presentation on ‘Gamification in Automotive’.
The deadline for registrations is fast approaching. To participate in this exciting new conference or for more information, please visit the conference website: www.interactivehapticsconference.de
