The folks at Kicker Studio wrote some interesting nuggets about a recent experiment with haptic UI.

“We created a matrix of possible haptic solutions for each button and action. As we manipulated the sound waves, we tried to match the feel of the button with what we imagined it should feel like to push it. We also imagined what it might feel like to slide one of the cards across the screen. Right away, we noticed that it was very difficult to imagine how the haptic would feel in context-it had to be prototyped and felt. The challenge was that we could only experience the vibrations through a reactive tablet hooked up to a PC (to generate the necessary sound triggers). The graphics were on an entirely different screen. Thus, it was hard to put the three separate pieces (the visual, the haptic response, and the actual experience of holding the phone) together to imagine their combined effect.”

Link: Artificial Muscle Case Study (kickerstudio.com)