TECHNOLOGY

Haptics technology is appearing in ever more gadgets, but what is it? And why is it useful? Read on, as we get all touchy-feely with our phones…

A USER’S GUIDE TO HAPTICS

WHAT IS IT?

Haptics technology is anything that gives tactile feedback to a user, usually via small vibrations. It’s not a new idea; Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel Brave New World featured people watching movies called ‘feelies’, which gave viewers feedback through their chairs. Today it’s becoming more widely used both in research and the gadgets you buy on the high street.

WHAT’S IT USED FOR?

One of the earliest uses was in flight simulators. As pilots approach a stall, the controls vibrate, alerting them to the danger. It’s also used in medical training, with programmes such as Virtual Veins made by UK Haptics. This computer simulation provides feedback for virtual procedures, making them feel more real, so that when trainee surgeons make an incision, it will feel like actually cutting skin.

WHAT ABOUT ON THE HIGH STREET?

Most people know about haptics from video games. For years computer game controllers have rumbled and vibrated to correspond with what’s happening on screen. This has been taken a step further with the FPS gaming vest, designed for use with first person shooters on the PC. When you’re shot in the shoulder, you’ll feel it thanks to haptics (though less severely than in real life!) It even comes with a helmet that does the same for headshots. In short, haptics makes gaming much more immersive.

Mobile phones have also harnessed haptics, most simply through the vibrate function, but new phones use it another way, too. With the success of the iPhone, touchscreens are ever more prevalent, and buttons are increasingly looking old-fashioned. But without actually being able to press a button, people often complain of having to wait to see if the phone has recognised their prod.

The solution is haptics. The LG Viewty and the Motorola Z10’s touchscreen controls give a tiny vibration when you press them, reassuring you that they’ll actually perform the function you want. Hey presto – you get the tactile feeling of pressing a button with the larger displays and modern looks of a touchscreen device.

AND FUTURE USES?

The next step in haptics is recreating not just touch, but feeling. Currently it uses motors that prod or vibrate the skin. But if you stretch the skin, a range of shapes and sensations can be simulated. That’s because touch depends more on how skin is manipulated than the degree of pressure exerted. It’s like the human eye being fooled into thinking there are lots of colours on the TV, when it’s just a mass of red, green and blue dots. By stretching the skin, researchers have made a flat surface feel sharp. It’ll also soon be possible to create the feeling of a range of surfaces and materials, such as fur and silk.

And in the future, phones could convey icons to the user by touch alone, like a form of cyber Braille. Imagine: you could tell who’s calling by just touching your phone. And the International Society for Haptics predicts that the Haptic Internet could be reality within the next 10 years. So, if you’re considering buying a suit, you could feel its fabric on your monitor first. It seems the ‘feelies’ of Brave New World weren’t so far fetched after all.

JOE SVETLIK IS NEWS EDITOR OF T3 MAGAZINE

WORDS BY JOE SVETLIK