Motivation and application of haptic systems

Abstract

Haptics describes the sense of touch and movement. An engineer tends to describe haptics in terms of forces, elongations, frequencies, mechanical tensions and shearforces. This of course makes sense and is important for the technical design process. However haptics is more than that. Haptic perceptions range from minor interactions in everyday life, e.g., drinking from a glass or writing this text, to a means of social communication, e.g. shaking hands or giving someone a pat on the shoulder, and very personal and private interpersonal experiences. This chapter deals with the spectrum and influence haptics has on the human being beyond technological descriptions. It is also a hint for the development engineer, to be responsible and conscious when considering the capabilities to fool the haptic sense. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.