New demo video

Imagine you are using your mobile device to browse the Internet for new furniture, home decoration or clothes. Today’s systems provide us only with information about the look of the products, but how does their surface feel when touched? For the future, we imagine systems that allow us to remotely enjoy the look and feel of products. The impact of such technology could be enormous, especially for E-Commerce. Tangible example applications are product customization, selection of materials, product browsing or virtual product showcases. 

The „Remote Texture Exploration“ app displays surface textures using the TPad Phone, which can be received from a texture database or from remote smartphones. Vibration and audio feedback is included to enrich the user experience. The texture models used to display textures recreate important dimensions of human tactile perception, like roughness or friction. New texture models are created using live recordings from the smartphone sensors (IMU, camera, microphone).

Originally posted by: http://www.lmt.ei.tum.de