Immersion Corporation, a provider of technologies for haptics and Rightware, and automotive user interface (UI) software for the design and development of a signature UI in the digital cockpit, has announced a collaborative effort to provide automotive UI designers with the ability to use Kanzi Studio with Immersion's APIs to design haptics. As a result, car manufacturers can test and experience haptics on a haptic-enabled HMI unit as they create their Kanzi-powered UIs for automotive touchscreens and centre stack displays.
Users building haptic UIs with Kanzi can access Immersion's haptic API, and haptic effects library made for Kanzi. Access to Kanzi is provided through a license from Rightware. The companies' joint customers would use the solutions to customize the plugin to their instance to design and test haptics in Kanzi.
In addition, Immersion joins the Kanzi Partner Program and expands the Rightware ecosystem to include its first haptic technology provider. The Kanzi Partner Program is a global ecosystem of providers delivering HMI solutions based on Kanzi software. Immersion's automotive solutions, the Automotive Haptic Product Development Kit (PDK) and Haptic Innovation Program, are designed to help engineers manufacture, build, and integrate haptic-enabled touchscreens, touchpad, button panels, and other innovative haptic implementations for the car.
"Including haptics earlier in the automotive UI design cycle can change a designer's whole approach," said John Griffin, VP of Products and Marketing at Immersion. "With the ability to programmatically add button feels, textures, sliders, and other haptic elements to the touchscreen, you have added flexibility in the user interface design. We're working closely with industry leaders, like Rightware, to enable automotive UI designers and product managers to design for haptics as they work on the UI. Haptic design should be an integrated part of the process."
"The touchscreen is a fundamental element of the modern automotive user interface. Designing a sophisticated, intuitive, user-focused HMI requires the right tools and methods for rapid prototyping in the automotive context," said Derek Sellin, Vice President of Marketing and head of the Kanzi Partner Program at Rightware. "We are pleased to see innovators such as Immersion showcasing the integration of their technologies with Kanzi to continue advancing the user experience in the digital cockpit."
This collaboration results from Immersion's work to use Kanzi to design a UI for Immersion's Haptic Design Touchscreen, Edison. The 10.1-inch HD haptic-enabled touchscreen is a design unit made to enable automotive UI designers to quickly prototype, experiment, test, and define haptic experiences during the HMI development process.
Kanzi software is used to manage the entire UX process from HMI design and development to integrating content seamlessly across operating systems within the vehicle. The product family includes:
A powerful 3D runtime for superior graphics performance.
An innovative connectivity platform.
A designer-oriented visual studio.
Kanzi affords automakers and Tier 1 suppliers faster HMI development using smaller design teams with greater creative freedom in a multi-display, connected cockpit.
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