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Vibrotactile rendering of live information with a mobile phone is highly desirable but also very challenging. Normally,It is difficult to use visual display (e.g. textual information) while walking since reading on-line text demands an intensive, continuous visual attention. Of course, audio could be an option when textual information was transferred to voices (through a text-to-speech engine). One has to realize that audio display is either publicly audible or visually noticeable when an earphone is used. In contrast, vibrotactile display can be a reasonable solution in certain situations since it can be directly presented to user’s hand or to other body parts. Touch provides us with unobtrusive interaction with live information. To offer mobile-users a live experience of a football game, Sense mobile system offers vibrotactile way to render the dynamic real-time game information. In a ball sport, the ball is the focus of the most attention. From a live TV broadcasting, it can be seen clearly how the ball “steers” the broadcasting camera. In our system, a mobile phone was “turned” into a dynamic football, which means it acted as a ball in a live football game. The phone vibrated when the ball was kicked. By holding the phone, the user was aware of the real-time game situation, such as where the ball was, when it was kicked and the possessing team. |