General FAQ | Consumer FAQ | Developer FAQ
Want some basic, general background on Immersion TouchSense™ Technology? You've come to the right place. Click on a question to jump to its answer, or just scroll through the entire list.
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What is Immersion TouchSense? |
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Immersion TouchSense is a revolutionary technology that lets users reach in and touch their computing environment. In the real world, you rely on your sense of touch in countless everyday tasks and would be impaired without it. TouchSense turns the computing environment into a real physical environment that is more intuitive, realistic, and satisfying.
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Do I need both Immersion TouchSense hardware and software? |
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In order to experience Immersion TouchSense, you need both a licensed Immersion TouchSense hardware product (e.g., a Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Joystick, a Logitech iFeel Mouse, or an InterAct Hammerhead FX gamepad), as well as software that supports Immersion TouchSense (e.g., LucasArts' Episode One Racer, Electronic Arts' Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Sierra's Tribes 2).
In addition, Immersion Touchware Desktop automatically provides software support in the Windows desktop, all applications, and all web pages for basic controls like menus, icons, sliders, and hyperlinks. Immersion Touchware Desktop is a program that ships and works with Immersion TouchSense-compatible mice and trackballs.
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What are some examples of what Immersion TouchSense can do? |
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With respect to games, Immersion TouchSense
lets you feel the crash of a spaceship or the recoil of a bazooka.
On the Internet, Immersion TouchSense lets you pop on hyperlinks,
feel a pair of corduroy pants on an e-commerce site, or tickle
someone through an electronic greeting card. On the desktop,
Immersion TouchSense lets you feel icons and menu items, pop
on check boxes and radio buttons, or feel the texture of the
desktop as you drag a file. In educational software or encyclopedia
CD-ROMs, Immersion TouchSense lets you feel the buzz of a bumblebee
or the viscosity of molasses. Touch is a basic sensory experience,
like sight and hearing, and like graphics and sound offers limitless
possibilities for enhancing applications. Visit the Gaming
area of our site to get a real feel for what Immersion TouchSense
has to offer.
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Where can I get Immersion TouchSense products for my computer? |
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You can purchase Immersion Touchsense products
from most major retail electronics stores, as well as from most
of our licensees' e-commerce stores. Whether it's a Logitech
iFeel mouse, a Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback joystick,
a Gravis Force Feedback gamepad or another touch-enabled computer
peripheral, if it's force feedback, it's Immersion technology
inside. For a complete list of related devices, visit Gaming
Peripherals of the Immersion website.
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How can I get a demo of Immersion TouchSense if I don't own a device? |
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The only way to understand what Immersion TouchSense feels like, is to try a product like the Logitech iFeel mouse, Kensington Orbit 3D trackball, Microsoft Sidewinder force feedback joystick, Guillemot force feedback steering wheel, Gravis Xterminator gamepad, or InterAct HammerheadFX rumblepad.
Each device offers its own level of TouchSense capabilities and is tailored your own interests. If you don't own one of these devices, visit your local computer store and ask for a demonstration, or ask one of your friends. Chances are someone you know already has one of these devices that you can try.
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How can I get a demo of Immersion TouchSense if I own a device? |
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If you own a device, then you've already felt a little of what Immersion TouchSense is all about. If you are looking for more fun stuff to try with your device, visit our Gaming Section, or if games are what you need, visit our Games List page.
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Where can I find a list of force feedback games that support my TouchSense-enabled device? |
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Visit our Games List page.
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What operating system and browser platforms does Immersion TouchSense work on? |
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Immersion TouchSense currently works only on
Microsoft Windows and Apple platforms with built-in USB (Universal
Serial Bus) support. This includes the Microsoft Windows 98,
Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP and Apple Mac OS X
(version 10.2.3 or later) operating systems. Immersion TouchSense
hardware was generally designed to work with any operating system
that supports USB. Linux, and BeOS are other operating systems
that support USB. While these operating systems are not currently
supported, we are working to get Immersion TouchSense supported
on as many platforms as possible.
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Why do I sometimes feel web content while using Netscape 7.x and sometimes I don't? |
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Authored sensations that have been coded into a web page can be felt with Netscape 7.x or Mozilla 1.x. Upgrade to Netscape 7.x in order to feel forces in authored web pages. Support for Netscape 7.x and Mozilla 1.x browsers was released by Immersion in Spring 2003.
Unfortunately, Immersion TouchWare Desktop does not support Netscape 6 or 7. Web pages that lack force feedback code can not be felt. As of Netscape 6.x, Netscape no longer supports a feature known as Active Accessibility, which is used by the Immersion Touchware Desktop software.
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Platform support primarily depends on support from the developer or organization that releases a particular platform. If TouchSense is not currently available for your platform of choice, please contact the developer and request that Immersion TouchSense support be added. |
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Platform support primarily depends on support from the developer or organization that releases a particular platform. If TouchSense is not currently available for your platform of choice, please contact the developer and request that Immersion TouchSense support be added.
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