Multisensory Displays
Future public telecommunications systems are expected to support many of the current activities of daily life. In the presentation of these services, analogies with and metaphors from real world objects will be necessary in order to provide easy command and control of the technology being used. Typically, this is expected to be via virtual objects within virtual worlds. Haptic display has a vital role to play in the creation of these virtual objects to provide a physical tactile presence.
Desktop haptic display systems have the potential to enhance human computer interaction to:
- Improve telepresence in human interactions across public networks.
- Increase ease of operation and efficiency for user interfaces.
- Facilitate teleoperation.
- Improve the finesse with which machinery can be remotely controlled.
- Improve access for blind people to virtual worlds.
- Support training in manual skills.
- Increase the reality of virtual environments.
This project at BT Labs is researching into the integration of computer generated tactile information within telematics services to enable people to feel the objects they are interacting with.
'Haptic' is a scientific word meaning the sense of touch. It includes both 'tactile' (from the nerves in the skin) and 'kinesthetic' (from the positioning of the joints) feelings.
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