CompuTouch
CompuTouch Company Profile
CompuTouch AS was established in 1997, based on the idea of using a
third communication channel between man
and machine, i.e. to transfer of useful information via our sense of
feeling or touch - receiving tactile information.
CompuTouch has so far been an invention-oriented company, concentrating
on product development. However, the
status of development has now reached a level that enables us to start
talking to potential industrial partners in selected segments for the
use of our generic haptic technology. (Haptic is the common expression
that combines the touch-input with the information we get when we feel
the reaction from the use of our muscles).
The company is located in Asker, close to Oslo, but the people working
with CompuTouch come from different countries in Europe. We also should
mention that CompuTouch 15th of February 2001 won the national “Rosing
Creativity Award” from Den Norske Dataforening (the Norwegian IT
Association). CompuTouch has been able to operate with very low
overhead costs through using expert consultants and companies. Only in
September 2002 had the tactile motor development come so far that a
full time MD was employed to actively follow up research projects and
look for partners/companies who require our haptic technology in their
products.
Active participation in National as well as EU projects has/will
finance much of our development in 2002 and 2003 as the financial
overview shows. To date all tactile motor production has been for
demonstration and project use.
Our focus is to advance haptic and tactile technology so it will become
a main stream user interface.
We believe we should assist device and application manufacturers
enhance their products with this new technology.
We have the theoretical and practical experience to help product
manufacturers to build robotic assemly lines, and our prototype tactile
motor construction has been designed for such assembly.
We shall continue to work with research institutions which are
focussing on incorporating tactile (haptic) technology in new areas. We
are at the start of a new era which we believe will radically change
our interaction with computer driven systems/virtual reality, hence our
participation in such research projects.
To date most funding has come from research and development grants,
which have enabled us to bring our technology from a prototype to the
pre-industrialization stage. The tactile motors are now compact and
robust and the electronics and driver software ready for production.
Our strategy is to continue our research project participation in order
to remain at the leading edge of the technology,
and initially to find one or two niche product manufacturers whose
product would be significantly enhanced through adding tactile
technology. Small production runs can be manufactured by CompuTouch,
but for larger volumes we see lisensing of our technology as the best
solution for most partners. Through a step wise refinement of the
robotic manufacturing prosess we anticipate that the final production
cost of a standard tactile motor can be as low as
10-25€ including amortisation costs. The production cost of our new SMT
electronics which drives three tactile motors
is today 30€.
The potential of haptic technology is enormous from low volume high
tech applications (data mining, telemedicen etc.)
to for example a high volume ergonometric mouse where tactile feedback
facilitates user reflex responses to select without intense physical
steering often causing RSI. Think also of the world
for the visually impaired who with a multi tactile motor mouse might
Ñfeelì the pictures on the screen and seconds later “read” the text
along side. Or the driver, pilot, crane operator who will use a tactile
communication channel while his
eyes and ears are 100% focussed outside of his vehicle.
Give your interface a new dimension
Contact:
J.P. Steller
Web site:
http://www.computouch.no
Phone: +47 9514 9797
Fax: +47 8503 4625
European Commission • Sixth Framework Programme 
