Haptic FM Radio |
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Stanley Tsao and Vik Chib built a haptic tuning knob for an FM tuner. (click photos to enlarge) |
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When turning the tuning knob, you can feel the stations. |
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The tuner has meters that show the signal strength, and the deviation from center-frequency, of the received station. The indication shown by these meters became inputs to a control algorithm. |
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In old tuners, the tuning knob is mechanically coupled by a nylon string to the rotation of a variable capacitor, which sets the detector frequency. Stan and Vik added a rotation encoder and a motor, that turn with the tuning knob. Their control algorithm applies a torque to the knob, giving the sensation that the knob wants to stick where the signal is best. |