TRENDS
Haptic Happenings
How touch technologies are taking on new meaning.
BY RUSS BANHAM
Of the five senses, touch arguably is the most underprized.
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If limited to a choice of having four senses, chances are that
many people would select sight, hearing, smell, and taste, not
realizing the vital role touch plays in conveying
information.
Our brains have receptors that interpret
tactile sensations based on an object’s
shape, weight, texture, and vibration. In
tandem with information transmitted by the
other senses, a fuller picture emerges of the
object’s significance. Take away touch and this
significance is diminished. That’s where haptic
technology—or haptics—comes in.
Haptics is any form of interaction involving
touch. In the context of technology, haptic
tools are providing extraordinary opportunities
to impart information through touch. An
example is the use of a virtual reality (VR)
flight simulator for airline pilot training, as
opposed to more expensive physical flight
simulators with actual flight instruments. The
challenge with VR pilot training is the lack of
physical sensation—the feeling of pressing a
button or sliding a lever.
“There’s no muscle memory associated
with operating the flight instruments,” says
Jake Rubin, founder and CEO of HaptX, a
Seattle-based leader in haptic technology.
“By removing touch, the brain discounts the
authenticity of the experience.”
HaptX has developed a haptic glove that
provides 130 points of feedback to a person’s
hand to feel the shape, texture, and motion of
objects. In the context of VR flight simulators,
when the trainee visualizes a button and
goes to press it, the glove creates
the feeling of pressure on the
person’s finger at exactly the
moment the button is pushed.
HaptX also is engaged in a
partnership with Nissan to produce
PHOTO COURTESY OF HAPTX