What is haptics: the introductory guide

Let’s face it: touch may be the most underestimated of human senses, but it’s also almost universally used by humans for exploring and interacting with immediate surroundings right from the moment they’re born, even before they start seeing properly. Touch not only allows us to immerse ourselves fully into certain experiences but also interlinks with expressing and understanding emotions. Visual or sound signals are often not enough – only adding tactile feedback – or simply employing haptic technology, called haptic feedback, to any virtual or real-life experience allows you to have a fully immersive exposure to it.

What is haptic technology, and how does it work?

The term’ haptics’, or ‘haptic technologies’, relates to tactile feedback in device-to-human interactions. Instead of displaying a visual confirmation of completing/failing to complete a certain action, a device can send, i.e., vibrations or mid-air pulsation, to let its users know of the outcome of this action. Haptic devices, such as those used in medical simulations, vehicle dashboards, and game controllers, play a crucial role in providing this feedback. The technology was first used in the aviation industry in the 1970s as an element of a pilot warning system where the controls would shake to alert the pilot about turbulences or unstable weather conditions.

Haptics use touch to provide feedback on user actions and keep users immersed in the experience. Therefore, haptics have been heavily used in sectors where this type of attention is necessary – for safety or engagement reasons – including the automotive and gaming industries.

Haptics vs haptic feedback 

Haptics is a communication model between a device and its operator, with two-way communication carried out through touch. Haptic feedback occurs when tactile feedback (sensory information from the skin, providing the brain with information about touch, pressure, and texture) combines with kinesthetic feedback (information from muscles and joints about the body’s movement and position) to create communicative haptic feedback. Haptic feedback is what’s being communicated to the operator via touch or mid-air sensations.

What are the haptic feedback types? 

Haptic feedback can be divided into five main categories:

• Force feedback where devices move with their users and have an impact on larger areas of the human body;
• Vibrotactile feedback is commonly used in mobile phones and any hand-held devices and refers to sending more subtle vibration signals;
• Electrotactile feedback is a type of signal that uses not only vibrations but also impacts the human body by sending electrical impulses to nerve endings;
• Ultrasound tactile feedback uses high-frequency sound waves to provide haptic feedback;
• Thermal feedback is when a haptic device is in direct contact with human skin and sends signals via subtle changes in heat.

Why are haptics great for accessibility?

Used initially in the gaming industry, haptics has quickly become the go-to technology for increasing accessibility, and its inclusion potential has been discovered. Since then, the human-machine interface industry has employed tactile feedback in all types of devices and applications, including remote (intuitive) surgery, brainwave technology, haptic feedback signals mimicking Braille, and haptics to reduce anxiety and stress.

The use of touch makes haptics truly accessible to almost anyone and instinctive at the same time. You don’t need to be able to see or hear to receive haptic feedback, and responding to it can be enabled through peripheral devices (e.g., a full-body haptic suit and other wearables), even for people with limited or near-non-existent mobility.

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Haptics use cases 

Haptic feedback incorporated is utilised in various applications, such as medical training simulations, vehicle touchscreen control panels, flight controls, arcade games, cellular devices, surface haptics, and virtual reality systems, including full-body haptic vests and haptic suits. Here’s a list of sectors where the usage of haptics is most common:

Automotive 

In modern cars, there are more and more touchscreens and fewer and fewer buttons. Haptic feedback allows us to know if our action was completed. For example, in one of the Audi car models, the haptic feedback mimics pushing a physical button, which is achieved by using small engines that deliver vibrations with the x, y or z axis. Surface haptics, which produce variable forces on a user’s finger as it interacts with a touchscreen, are also being developed for vehicle touchscreens to enhance user experience.

This haptic feedback is crucial in the automotive industry, allowing users to focus on the road ahead rather than checking if they’ve pressed the right button. Haptics is a subtle way of letting you know that your action is completed without interrupting anyone or distracting you from what you’re doing.

Gaming  

Haptics was first used in the gaming industry, and this industry is still going strong. This technology is used in VR goggles and full-body suits that allow players to immerse themselves in the game.
Haptics is also extensively used in virtual reality systems to enhance interactions with humans, making the experiences feel ‘real’.

Healthcare 

Another sector where haptics can be used is healthcare. Adding haptic feedback enhances accuracy and control in healthcare procedures, such as minimally invasive surgery and robotic teleoperations. Remote surgeries have become increasingly common, and it’s easy to imagine a surgeon wanting to get haptic feedback as they carry out a surgical procedure.

Wellness 

As mentioned, haptics can help decrease stress and anxiety, so it’s widely used in wellness – including meditation – apps. Haptic feedback stimulates the somatosensory system to reduce stress and anxiety by conveying calming sensations. According to a research study conducted at the University of Bristol in 2021, haptics can be, in fact, used to ease anxiety and stress. During the study, participants – mostly students – were given a haptic cushion miming the human breathing pattern. They then had to estimate how much interaction with the cushion decreased their pre-exam stress levels. Most of them said that receiving and responding to tactile stimuli made them far less tense, and they could stay calm before and during the exam if it took place directly after the interaction. The study did not explore how long this stress reduction effect could last, so more research is needed in this area.

Augmented reality and virtual reality

Haptics will play a more and more significant role in the modern world, where at least some experiences are virtualised and located in the metaverse rather than a real-life environment. Haptics are crucial in augmented reality, as they facilitate realistic and immersive interactions by allowing users to feel sensations such as resistance, weight, and vibration.

How we approach haptics when working with our customers 

According to our expert, Michal Jasinski, the first rule of haptics implementation is finding out why you want to implement it.

One of the challenges of R&D is how time- and resource-consuming the projects are. You need to spend at least three years to develop something. Adding haptics on top of it is yet another issue. You must consider its mechanics and physical elements, including small engines. Then you have to test these products – again, it’s a lengthy process. With the rise of autonomous driving, we may even move away from haptics, says Michal.

Over to you 

Do you need help developing a haptic feedback device or a system that could be implemented for your product? Contact our team via the contact form on the HMI development and consulting services subpage.