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"The origin of the word haptics is the Greek haptikos, meaning able to grasp or perceive. Haptic sensations are created in consumer devices by actuators, or motors, which create a vibration. Those vibrations are managed and controlled by embedded software, and integrated into device user interfaces and applications via the embedded control software APIs."

"In the course of researching this post, my phone vibrated seven times. I checked Facebook three times and my email twice. An article that should have taken me at most ten minutes to read took me double that. Needless to say, I illustrate perfectly some research recently done by Larry Rosen, an expert in the psychology of technology and a professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills."

"The idea for this bot came from the book Robotics: Discover the Science and Technology of the Future. The specific project that motivated this activity was the Art-Making Vibrobot on pages 24 to 26, though I modified the supplies considerably and the technique slightly. Basically this little "robot" is just a cup with marker legs that vibrates and spins due to the motor being off balance. As it jiggles around on a piece of paper it makes interesting designs. While I hope to make more exciting and complicated projects with my kids as they get older, this was a nice unthreatening activity to start with which showed my child how to hook up a simple DC motor to a battery. He's already familiar with some of these electrical concepts through our Snap Circuits set (link to my review), but this was a fun, hands-on supplement to the more structured activities in that set."

"Pokémon Go is a cultural phenomenon that has gained so much in popularity over the last few weeks. This is basically an augmented reality game that you can play through your smart phone. The app uses the coordinates of your GPS to determine your location in the real world and provides you with Pokémon characters to view and catch. 'Pokémon are out there, and you need to find them. As you walk around a neighbourhood, your smartphone will vibrate when there's a Pokémon nearby. Take aim and throw a Poké Ball… You'll have to stay alert, or it might get away!'"

"Jewelbots are colorful, programmable, smart friendship bracelets to get girls excited about coding. Sure, they're pretty and interactive: but what Jewelbots founders really want is to inspire tween and teen girls to understand the basics of coding, and take on building features of their own. Girls can program the bracelets right away without writing code, using simple if-then statements-the foundational logic of engineering-from the linked mobile app. The bracelets light up, vibrate or flash, letting girls communicate with each other in Morse code. They can also communicate when other Jewelbots wearers are near. The bracelets are connected through Bluetooth, and can be used with or without a linked phone."

"With teenagers sending and receiving an average of 3,276 texts per month in the last quarter of 2010, according to the most recent statistics from the Nielsen Co., it's no wonder that Michael Rich, director of Children's Hospital Boston's Center on Media and Child Health, is starting to see young patients who come in exhausted by being "on call'' or semi-alert all night as they wait for their phones to vibrate or ring with a text."

"In this tutorial, you will learn how to make an Art Bot which is also known as a Scribblebot or Scribble Machine.  These contraptions use a vibrating or offset motor to move around in unpredictable ways. Making an Art Bot is a fun way to learn the basics of creating a simple circuit with a switch.  The best part of making these bots is that you can use repurposed and recycled materials. This project is also a great way to incorporate more Art into your STEM education program.  You can use markers, crayons, chalk and more to create one of a kind artwork."