Haptic Aspects

Abstract

The term haptics originates from the 19th century, where it was used mainly in relation to psychophysics research. It is derived from the Greek word haptikos, which means “able to touch/grasp”. Today it is used to describe all tactile (related to skin deformation), kinesthetic (related to muscle forces) and proprioceptive (related to joint positions) sensations in the body. An important aspect to note about haptics is that it involves both a passive receptive and an active explorative component, thus, requiring bi-directional input and output.