The word haptic refers to something that is associated with the sense
of touch. Computer haptics is concerned with the techniques and processes
associated with generating, displaying, and studying haptic stimuli presented
to the human user through or at a computer.
Our haptic system is more than just 'touch' in the conventional sense.
The haptic system consists of the entire mechanical, sensory, motor, and
cognitive components of the body-brain system. Haptics relates to the cutaneous
sense (skin), the kinesthetic sense (movement of muscles, joints, and tendons)
and the vestibular sense (balance). Our cutaneous and kinesthetic senses
combine to provide us with tactiliokinesthetic information which is commonly
referred to as 'touch'. Our kinesthetic and vestibular senses combine to
provide us with proprioceptive information which relates to the positioning
of our body and limbs.
Haptic interaction is one of the most fundamental ways in which people
perceive and effect changes in the real world around them. The haptic system
might also be of great use when interacting with computers. It is likely
that the integration of touch input and output to human computer interfaces
is one of the major solutions to the problem of developing the best multimodal
interfaces.
This is a force feedback device called The PHANToM by SensAble Technologies
Inc.
It is a haptic device which specifically utilizes our kinesthetic sense.
It works by monitoring the position of a users fingertip or hand through
optical encoders attached to the device. The geometric, material, kinematic,
and dynamic properties of the world we wish to represent can be modeled
and stored. Haptic rendering methods can then be used to determine the
forces that result when the user interacts with these objects. A set of
motors then actuate the appropriate forces to the user evoking the sensation
of touching the objects.
This is me with a student at Careers 2000 in the SECC.
Ian and I took some time to show students this new
technology to convince them to pursue a career
in computing!
Andrew Crossan (far left) and myself (in pink!) talk to a prospective
Glasgow University Computing student at an open day in September 2000.
Here we introduce him to the field of haptics and the PHANToM device
and software by SensAble Technologies.
Although haptics is still very much an area in its infant years, there
are many people involved in the field and so I have included a few of my
favourite haptic links at the following web page:
