Immersion software adds rumbles and shakes to phone videos

Immersion, a company that specializes in adding an extra dimension to touch screen displays, has created new software to add a layer of feeling to smartphone videos.

With mobile devices becoming the primary video platform for many users, the company hopes to solve the problem of providing excitement on a small screen.

The California-based firm has developed TouchSense Engage to add rumbles, shakes and taps to TV shows and video adverts playing on smartphones and tablets. The technology could make sports highlights or action movie explosions more realistic.

The software is currently being employed in ads for the Homeland series on Showtime and Slate magazine's mobile apps. In both instances, the Immersion effects are only available to users with Android smartphones.

Jason Patton, Immersion's content and media vice president, said that the enhancement to mobile video was the natural next step for the industry.

"I've been on the cutting edge of video on demand, high definition, bringing video to the Internet, and I view this as the next progression, which is bringing haptics -- the sense of touch -- to the video entertainment experience".

TouchSense Engage works by using a phone's internal motor to create different kinds of taps, often referred to as haptics, as the user touches the screen. The software is already employed by firms like LG, Samsung and Sony to give users the sense of playing a real keyboard or strumming a guitar.

Haptics are expected to make more of an impact in the mobile industry this year with the Apple Watch already confirmed to use the effect to send notifications. They also have the added benefit of being less of a disturbance to others when compared with audio effects.

Patton also confirmed that his company wants greater involvement with movie studios and advertisers to ensure that the added effects are not an afterthought.

"Our entry into the space has been advertising," he said. "But our long-term play is not only advertising. We're looking at short-form video, long-form video, user-generated, sports content. There's a whole host of applications".

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