Created by web developer/hardware tinkerer Charles Mangin, the PressurePen uses an audio signal to communicate how hard you’re pressing on the stylus while you draw. Rather than use an audible signal though, it sends data through the iPad’s audio jack to let it know the pressure level, passing at least 1000 levels of pressure information to the tablet. This means that it’s the first tethered stylus I’ve seen. Now that isn’t necessarily a bad thing – you’ll never lose your pen, so long as it’s plugged in.

The chunky looking PressurePen looks more like a fat marker than a skinny technical pen, but I actually think that’s a good idea, since drawing with pens which are too skinny doesn’t feel right either. Trust me, I’ve tried with the iPen – a horribly disappointing device. While the Jaja and Jot Touch pens also promise pressure sensitivity, the Jaja could have issues with audio interference because of the way it works. On the other hand, the Jot Touch uses Bluetooth, so expect it to burn battery for both stylus and iPad. I also HATE the goofy see through plastic tip on both of them. On the other hand, the more simple design of the PressurePen should get the job done, without the battery or interference issues, and it has a chiseled stylus tip that looks pretty usable.

Charles plans on making the PressurePen compatible with Android tablets as well, and will be making both the software and hardware Open Source, so you’ll be able to create your own, or make improvements.

The PressurePen is selling for just $60 (USD) fully assembled, and $30 in kit form (though you have to print your own 3D shell.) If you’re interested in one, head on over to PressurePen’s Kickstarter page and pledge in the next few days. They’re nearing their $10,000 fundraising goal, but need some more orders to push it across the finish line by May 31st.

While the jaja doesn’t have the ultra-precise pointing capability of the recently announced iPen, it does do one thing that artists have dreamed they could do on their tablets – detect stroke pressure. Two buttons on the stylus also can be used to switch colors, erase, or other custom functions.

Created by Jon Atherton of Silicon Spark, the jaja stylus works its magic using a clever, but simple sounding trick. As you press down, high frequency sounds are emitted by the pen. The variable frequency sound – undetectable by human ears – is picked up by the tablet’s microphone, and converted into pressure information. By building this trick into the pen itself, it requires no add-ons, and the pressure conversion can be handled by algorithms in the software. It even means it’ll work with any tablet with a microphone with the proper app installed, of course.

I like how he calls it a “Zsa Zsa”. I think I’ll call it that instead.

My only concern about the concept is what if any impact background noises (like flying on an airplane or taking a train) might have on the technology, and if multiple people in the same room could even use jaja pens without causing interference. I’m also not thrilled with the design of the pen itself, as it uses one of those cumbersome clear disc tips at the end. This lets you see exactly where you’re drawing, but doesn’t exactly feel like a normal pen based on my experience with other styli built the same way. Still, the pressure sensitivity – if it works well – is more than worth the price of admission.

If you’re interested in trying out the jaja stylus for yourself, head on over to Kickstarter and pledge now. The first 500 people can get a single jaja for just $40 (retail price will be $69). The project is looking to raise $25,000 total by February 7th, and is already about 1/3rd of the way there as of this writing. They expect to ship their first batch sometime this April. Atherton also plans on releasing an SDK to development partners so more apps can leverage the technology.

I’m hoping they’ll someday get together with the iPen guys and join forces to create a single stylus which can draw with precision AND is pressure sensitive. That would be the holy grail for tablet-bound artists. There’s no techincal reason I can think of that the two ideas couldn’t be combined.

You can really imagine all of the cool drawing programs you could create if you could detect the pressure applied with a stylus, and the guys at Ten One Design have figured out a way to do this, even though it’s not officially supported by Apple.

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And therein lies the rub… Since they had to build a private function call to make this work, it’s not something they can make available in the App Store. Ten One hopes Apple will see what they’ve done and roll the capability into the UIKit framework, but for now we’ll just have to admire their programming prowess from afar.

Apple, please check out what Ten One has achieved, and roll it into UIKit so we can all enjoy it! Thanks.

A device originally created for remote medical investigation is now being transformed into a gaming vest that can provide its wearer with sensory feedback. Physician Mark Ombrellaro designed the TN Games 3rd Space vest, which uses air pressure to produce thumping sensations wherever impact should be felt. The vest has eight zones which can simulate the direction and forces of bullet fire, explosions, and even the sensation of fingers tapping on you (great for scary horror games).

The vest will ship this November for $189, and is bundled with a game called 3rd Space Incursion and a special version of Call of Duty II which showcase the force feedback technology. For a limited time, you can pre-order one for $169.99 from the TN Games online shop. The company is also offering patches for Quake 3, Quake 4 and Doom 3 which enable the vest in those games. An SDK allows developers to easily add support to their games.

The company is working on another version of the vest which will emulate the G-force sensations in racing and flight games in early 2008.

[AFP via MaxConsole]

The Massage me jacket lets the person giving the massage get their game on while the person receiving the treatment gets to chill out. More intensive massage results in better game play, motivating the masseur to give a good rub down. According to the designer of the device “Otherwise wasted button-pushing energy is transformed into a massage and the addicted game player becomes an inexhaustible masseur.”

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Numerous pressure sensors are built into the jacket, converting massage into control signals for a video game console.

Since the jacket really just works in place of a traditional gamepad, it works with many off-the-shelf games. I’d imagine that “button-mashers” like fighting games are best, while first-person-shooters probably wouldn’t work all that well. I wonder if Dance Dance Revolution would work best if you walked on the person’s back?

[via Instructables]