WE KNOW about virtual reality and the myriad environments it can simulate, from the inside of supermarkets to the inside of a human body. But what if you could touch that pure wool top you saw on sale on the Internet before buying it, or 鈥� g it, or 鈥� if you were a surgeon using telemedicine to examine a patient on the other side of the world 鈥� feel a damaged organ before operating? Welcome to the world of haptics.
Haptics is the science of touch. Haptic devices for virtual environmeee virtual environments consist of a hand-held implement such as a glove or a baton that interacts with a three-dimensional image on a computer screen. The computer communicates sensations through the glove or baton via force-exerting motors that stimulate touch-sensitive nerpress against the user鈥檚 hand.
Haptics has been around for a few years. But it has now come of age and is starting to produce a whole range of useful 鈥� and fun 鈥� technologies.
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At the 2003 Haptics Symposium in Los Angeles last month, scientists from the University of British Columbia unveiled the world鈥檚 first digital haptic turntable, which allows DJs to play digital music from CDs and MP3s yet control them as they鈥檇 control vinyl records on a traditional turntable. Called 鈥淒鈥橤roove鈥�, the system links up a computer, which plays the music, with a haptic turntable that DJs can manipulate with their hands to allter the speed of the music or 鈥渇eel鈥� the rhythm in songs to match up their beats. The idea is to give DJs access to more music while retaining the 鈥渉ands-on鈥� approach of traditional DJing.
What about scientific applications? Restions? Res applications? Researchers at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in College Station recently revealed that they are using virtual-reality haptic technology to get a better idea of molecules鈥� structure by 鈥渇eeling鈥� them. They claim it will help them work out more accurately how molecules fit together, and design more effective drugs.
But the most useful application of haptics is likely to be in medicine. Researchers at Stanford University鈥檚 computer science department and elsewhere are developing simulators that use 3D computer models of the human body coupled with a haptics device. These enable students to practise intricate surgery on virtual mock-ups of organs such as kidneys without endangering life. Similar tools are being developed for dental students.
Where will it all end? Work has already started on haptic telesurgery for the battlefield; 鈥渢elemanipulation鈥� of inaccessible environments, such as the deep ocean; and the virtual clearing of minefields. The options seem endless. On the fun side, we鈥檝e already got Haptic Battle Pong, a form of virtual ping-pong developed by students at Stanford computer science department. But games manufacturers are unlikely to stop there.