Haptic Technology
Haptic technology uses several technologies to imitate the sensation of touch. One of them employs touch as a means of conveying information to and from the user.
We rarely consider how amazing our sense of touch is since we are a visually-oriented species. Only by handling something can we identify hardness, shape, warmth, texture, and weight with our hands.
Even if you aren’t aware of it, you are probably already employing haptic technology in your daily life. Vibration is used as a type of feedback on many smartphones with touch displays. Because touchscreens, unlike keypads, are merely flat plates of glass, the phone’s vibration function is employed to replicate the tactile sense of buttons. Furthermore, certain Android smartphones detect when you pick up the phone and vibrate if you have any unread alerts. Haptic technology is just that.
➔ Types of Haptic Technology
While tiny motors used to create vibrations in mobile phones, game controllers, and wearables are undoubtedly the most well-known form of haptic technology, there are numerous others. Microfluidics, friction modulation, and the use of levers or other mechanical devices to exert force on a user’s body or limbs are examples of these technologies.
Users do not have to be in contact with a surface to use haptic technology. Wearables and controls are no longer necessary thanks to contactless haptic technology. It creates tactile sensations in mid-air using technologies like ultrasonic or lasers.
➔ How Haptic Sensors Work
Haptic technologies, in addition to combining force, vibration, and motions, use a force feedback loop to modify the user’s movement and go beyond a simple vibration alert. A haptic sensor’s primary principle is to generate an electric current that drives a response to produce a vibration. Where the various technologies differ is in how this occurs.
Not all haptic sensors, however, require touch to function. Non-contact haptics uses technologies like ultrasound and focused air pockets to create an interactive three-dimensional area surrounding the user. The user can thus interact with the environment around a gadget without having to touch it.
We’ll take a closer look at the three most prevalent varieties in this section. While they all operate on the same basic premise, the manner they work and operate differs greatly.
1. ERMVs
ERMVs work in the same way as a DC motor does. An electric current is used to generate a magnetic field in ERMVs. An object is rotated in a circle by a magnetic field with an off-center bias from the point of rotation. The magnetic field acting on the rotating mass produces an unequal centripetal force, causing the motor to move forward and backward as well as vibrate laterally. The intensity of ERMV vibrations is frequently determined by the current provided to the device. When the drive circuit is simple, a cheap cost is necessary, and haptic resolution is not a top priority, ERMVs are frequently the haptic sensor of choice.
2. LRAs
LRAs provide an oscillating force along a single axis by combining magnetic fields and electrical currents. LRAs, unlike ERMVs, use an AC voltage rather than a DC voltage. A voice coil is forced against a moving mass by this current. The moving mass is connected to a spring, and a magnetic field is created when the voice coil resonates at the same frequency as the spring. The actuator vibrates with a force that can be felt by humans as a result of the magnetic field. The AC input can readily be changed to modify LRAs, but the actuator must always be powered at its resonant frequency. When the start/stop time is crucial, the circuit can use a driver chip, or the vibrational amplitude needs to be modified independently, LRAs are the ideal choice.
3. Piezo Haptics
To generate a vibration, piezo haptic sensors use the piezo effect. The piezo effect is a well-known phenomenon that occurs when a material is mechanically pressured and generates an electrical current. A piezo haptic sensor will vibrate when subjected to various stresses such as bending and deformation. Because they vibrate at a larger range of frequencies and amplitudes than inertia-based sensors, piezo haptic sensors are more precise. Unlike LRAs and ERMVs, which only vibrate in one direction, piezo haptic sensors vibrate in numerous directions. Piezo haptic sensors require a greater voltage to operate, but their current usage is better than, or comparable to, that of other haptic sensors. When a bigger space is available to integrate the actuator, the frequency and amplitude need to be altered independently, or the circuit can include a driver chip and produce waveforms, piezo haptic sensors are frequently utilized.
➔ Implementation
There are various kinds of feedbacks and all have their own working which is as follows:
1. Vibration
● The majority of haptic feedback electronics use vibrations, and the majority of them use an eccentric rotating mass (ERM) actuator, which consists of an unbalanced weight attached to a motor shaft. The actuator and the attached device wobble when the shaft rotates due to the spinning of this uneven mass.
● Some contemporary products, such as Apple’s Mac-Books and iPhones with the “Haptic Engine,” use a linear resonant actuator (LRA), which uses a magnetic voice coil to move a mass in a reciprocal fashion, similar to how AC electrical signals are translated into motion in a loudspeaker cone.
● LRAs have faster response times than ERMs, allowing them to communicate more precise haptic imagery.
● Piezoelectric actuators are used to create vibrations, and they provide even more precise motion than LRAs, with less noise and a smaller platform, but they require higher voltages than ERMs and LRAs.
2. Force feedback
● Motors are used in some gadgets to control the movement of an item held by the user. Automobile driving video games and simulators, in which the steering wheel is turned to imitate forces experienced when cornering a real vehicle, are typical applications.
● The Falcon, Novint’s first consumer 3D touch device with high-resolution three-dimensional force feedback, was released in 2007. This enabled the haptic simulation of things in games, including texturing, recoil, velocity, and the physical existence of items.
3. Air vortex rings
● Donut-shaped air pockets made up of intense gusts of air make air vortex rings. From a few yards away, concentrated air vortices can be powerful enough to blow out a candle or unsettle papers.
● Air vortices have been employed to offer non-contact haptic feedback by both Microsoft Research (AirWave) and Disney Research (AERIAL).
4. Ultrasound
● Without contacting any actual item, focused ultrasound rays can be utilized to create a localized feel of pressure on a finger. Individually regulating the phase and intensity of each transducer in an array of ultrasound transducers generates the focal point that generates the impression of pressure.
● These beams can also be employed to offer vibrational sensations and allow users to sense virtual three-dimensional things.
➔ Applications
1. Video games
● Arcade games, particularly racing video games, frequently employ haptic feedback. Moto-Cross, also known as Fonz, was the first game to employ haptic feedback, causing the handlebars to vibrate following a collision with another vehicle, and was released in 1976 by Sega. In 1983, Tatsumi introduced force feedback to automobile driving games with the TX-1.
● Game controllers, joysticks, and steering wheels are all examples of simple haptic devices.
● Many console controllers and joysticks, such as Sony’s DualShock technology and Microsoft’s Impulse Trigger technology, have built-in feedback devices, which are motors with unbalanced weights that spin, causing it to vibrate.
● For example, some car steering wheel controllers are programmed to produce a “feel” for the road. The steering wheel reacts to the user’s turning or acceleration by resisting turns or falling out of control.
2. Personal computers
● Apple Inc. began adding a “Tactile Touchpad” design with button functionality and haptic feedback onto the tracking surface of its MacBook and MacBook Pro computers in 2008. The Synaptics Click-Pad was one of the first.
● Apple introduced “Force Touch” trackpads on the 2015 MacBook Pro 2015, which uses a “Haptic Engine” to imitate clicks.
3. Mobile devices
● In cellular devices, tactile haptic feedback is ubiquitous. Most of the time, this manifests itself as a vibrating reaction to contact. The creation of varied forces on a user’s finger as it interacts with a surface such as a touchscreen is referred to as surface haptics.
● On many of their touch-screen automotive navigation and radio devices, Alpine Electronics uses a haptic feedback technology called Pulse-Touch.
● Apple Inc. was granted a patent in 2013 for a haptic feedback system that works with multitouch surfaces. A system where at least two actuators are positioned beneath a multitouch input device, delivering vibratory feedback when a user makes contact with the unit, is described in Apple’s U.S. Patent for a “Method and equipment for localization of haptic feedback.”
● The patent specifies that one actuator will generate a feedback vibration, while at least one other actuator will use its vibrations to localize the haptic experience by preventing the first set of vibrations from spreading to other parts of the device. The patent uses a “virtual keyboard” as an example, but the concept can be used to any multitouch interface, according to the patent.
4. Virtual reality
● Haptics, which adds the sense of touch to previously visual-only interfaces, is gaining mainstream acceptance as a major component of virtual reality systems. Haptic interfaces are being developed for 3D modeling and design, including systems that allow holograms to be seen and felt.
● Several businesses are developing full-body or torso haptic vests or haptic suits to allow users to feel explosions and gunshot hits in immersive virtual reality.
5. Teleoperators and simulators
● Teleoperators are robotic tools that can be controlled remotely. Haptic teleoperation is when the operator receives feedback on the forces involved. Medical simulators and aviation simulators, for example, should ideally provide force feedback similar to that experienced in real life. Using haptic operator controls, simulated forces are generated, allowing data describing touch sensations to be preserved or replayed.
● Raymond Goertz designed the first electrically operated teleoperators to remotely handle radioactive chemicals at the Argonne National Laboratory in the 1950s. Force feedback has become more common in various types of teleoperators since then, such as remote-controlled underwater research systems.
6. Robotics
To execute difficult activities via telepresence, haptic feedback is required. This enables chores like typing to be done at a distance. NASA’s collection of humanoid robots, or robonauts, includes an early version (robots to be sent as astronauts).
7. Medicine and dentistry
● Medical simulations using haptic interfaces are being created for teaching in minimally invasive procedures such as laparoscopy and interventional radiology, as well as for dental students.
● A Virtual Haptic Back (VHB) was successfully integrated in the curriculum at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Telepresence surgery, which allows professional surgeons to operate on patients from afar, has been made possible through haptic technology. The surgeon feels tactile and resistive feedback as they make an incision as if they were operating directly on the patient.
● In the elderly and balance-impaired, haptic technology can also give sensory input to alleviate age-related balance control deficiencies and avoid falls.
8. Neurorehabilitation
● Robotic devices with haptic feedback could be employed for neurorehabilitation in people with upper limb motor impairment. End-effectors and both grounded and ungrounded exoskeletons have been developed to aid in the restoration of control over several muscle groups.
● Because of its more immersive character, haptic input provided by these robotic devices aids in the recovery of sensory function.
9. Art
● Virtual arts such as music synthesis, graphic design, and animation have all experimented with haptic technologies. In the Tate Sensorium display in 2015, haptic technology was employed to augment existing art pieces. Teenage Engineering, a Swedish synthesizer company, specializes in music production.
● The Haptic Subwoofer module for Engineering’s OP-Z synthesizer allows performers to feel the bass frequencies directly on their instrument.
10. Aviation
● Force-feedback can be utilized to improve adherence to a safe flight envelope, reducing the possibility of pilots entering harmful states of flight outside of operational borders while keeping the pilots’ final authority and boosting situation awareness.
11. Space
● The use of haptic technologies may be useful in space exploration, including visits to the planet Mars, according to news reports.
12. Automotive
Haptic feedback technology is utilized in automobile dashboards with big touchscreen control panels to provide confirmation of touch commands without requiring the driver to take their eyes off the road. Additional contact surfaces, such as the steering wheel or seat, can also give the driver haptic feedback, for example, a warning vibration pattern when close to other vehicles.
➔ Why It Matters
● The incorporation of haptics into media may give information objects a new descriptive property, forcing libraries to rethink their systems for describing, classifying, and even retrieving resources.
● Learning may benefit from the use of haptic technologies. New research suggests that children’s physical engagement with screens, as well as the feedback they receive, are crucial variables in their knowledge acquisition. For more advanced students, haptic technology has the potential to transform online or distant learning by allowing students to engage in tactile activities or exercises, as well as replicate actual locations.
● Haptic technologies could become an important aspect of accessibility as libraries attempt to make text-based or image materials accessible to a wider audience, including individuals with visual or hearing challenges.
● Haptic technologies could become a key component of wearable technology, which users would most likely bring inside the library with them. Patrons may expect wearables and the haptic input they provide to be integrated into their library experiences, such as search, navigating of the library space and stacks, and even reading time.
➔ THE POTENTIAL OF HAPTICS IS LIMITLESS
● Touch is a completely new way for humans and machines to communicate, and the possibilities of haptics are endless. Touch is a language that we all understand instinctively, but no one has yet developed a dictionary for it.
● It’s thrilling to be a part of something so dynamic and cutting-edge that has the potential to revolutionize system communication and feedback.
➔References
https://www.ultraleap.com/company/news/blog/what-is-haptics/
https://virsabi.com/everything-about-haptic-technology/
http://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/haptic
Contributors:- Nikhil Sontakke, Shivansh Rastogi, Shriraj Sonawane, Nishant Tekale.