CollabJam

Tool Summary

Metadata
Release Yearⓘ The year a tool was first publicly released or discussed in an academic paper.	2025
Platformⓘ The OS or software framework needed to run the tool.	Electron
Availabilityⓘ If the tool can be obtained by the public.	Available
Licenseⓘ Tye type of license applied to the tool.	Open Source (MIT, CC-BY-4.0)
Venueⓘ The venue(s) for publications.	ACM CHI
Intended Use Caseⓘ The primary purposes for which the tool was developed.	Real-time Collaboration, Prototyping

Hardware Information
Categoryⓘ The general types of haptic output devices controlled by the tool.	Vibrotactile
Abstractionⓘ How broad the type of hardware support is for a tool. Bespoke: Hardware is custom built, including open hardware. Consumer: Support is limited to a specific commercial device or a family of devices. Class: Any device with the same affordances can be used, possibly with some configuration required.	Bespoke
Device Namesⓘ The hardware supported by the tool. This may be incomplete.	CollabJam Hardware, CollabJam Harness
Device Templateⓘ Whether support can be easily extended to new types of devices.	No
Body Positionⓘ Parts of the body where stimuli are felt, if the tool explicitly shows this.	Head, Arm, Hand, Torso, Leg, Foot

Interaction Information
Driving Featureⓘ If haptic content is controlled over time, by other actions, or both.	Time
Effect Localizationⓘ How the desired location of stimuli is mapped to the device. Device-centric: No spatial information is taken into acccount. Actuators are directly controlled. Target-centric: Stimuli are placed on the body or are assigned to a virtual object to be triggered through interaction. The tool handles how the device will display the effect. Location-aware: The desired location of an effect is taken into account to some extent, but is ultimately presented in context of the output device.	Location-aware
Non-Haptic Mediaⓘ Support for non-haptic media in the workspace, even if just to aid in manual synchronization.	None
Iterative Playbackⓘ If haptic effects can be played back from the tool to aid in the design process.	Yes
Design Approachesⓘ Broadly, the methods available to create a desired effect. Direct: low-level parameters are directly modifiable. Procedure: parameters are controllable by an abstract process. Additive: reusable effects are ordered in time to create complex effects. Library: a library of pre-existing effects is available for use or re-use. Description: a natural language description of the experience is used to find an appropriate effect, often through searching a library.	Direct, Library
UI Metaphorsⓘ Common UI metaphors that define how a user interacts with a tool. Track: a timeline represents an interactive channel containing effects. Keyframe: key points of the effect are set and behavior between them is interpolated. Music Notation: an adaptation of a musical score or notation represents haptic effects. Dataflow: a dataflow programming model is used to control haptic output. Demonstration: physical actions or other data are mapped simply to effects or parameters.	Track, Demonstration
Storageⓘ How data is stored for import/export or internally to the software.	Internal
Connectivityⓘ How the tool can be extended to support new data, devices, and software.	None

Additional Information

CollabJam is an open-source collaborative prototyping suite, designed to support the synchronous design of on-body vibrotactile experiences in remote or co-located scenarios. Its primary purpose is to facilitate communication between designers by enabling them to express haptic intentions through shared tactile controls.

Technically, CollabJam consists of a cross-platform desktop client application that communicates via a central server. This software connects wirelessly through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to custom tactile displays capable of driving four independent actuators (compatible with ERMs, LRAs, or VCAs). These actuators can be freely attached to the skin using a modular harness. To control the actuation, users utilize gamepads for fine-grained intensity modulation or keyboards for standard actuation. Users connect within virtual rooms to share real-time control over actuators, effectively “jamming” together to test ideas before recording and refining them.

For more information about CollabJam, consult the CHI’25 paper and the main GitHub repository.