The haptic interface is the interface in which humans interact with a machine or computer using his/her sensory receptors.
It is generally used in virtual reality environment. This can help people interact with virtual objects and elements.
To execute a processor command computer interprets the signal given by each human being. This is how haptic interface works. In all gaming industry and 3D creative world haptic interface works wonder. Whenever the gaming icon in any virtual or electronic game fails or hit a wrong place the reception is sent to the computer via computer reading the rapid motion or some other sensation of human sensory organ.
So we can say that it enables manual interaction with the virtual environment. Some common examples of the haptic interface are trackballs, keyboards and mice. Few more are gloves; exoskeletons and joysticks are also haptic interfaces, which are widely used in gaming and virtual reality environment.
The human sensory system can only sense the visual and auditory senses available around. The haptic interface can both sense and act on the sensation available in the surrounding environment.
In general, the haptic interface is designed to be used by human hands.
We can explain some of the haptic interfaces like trackballs, keyboards, mice, gloves, exoskeletons and joysticks.
Trackballs:
A Trackball is generally a hand-held tool. It is based on the touch-haptic interface. Some of the trackballs are also known as TouchBall, as it is based on the sensation of touch.
Keyboards:
Musical keyboards are a classic example of a haptic interface. Here active damping system based on magneto-rheological (MR) fluids helps in changing a normal musical behaviour of a piano into a dynamic one.
Mice:
Haptic mouse also provides programmable feedback or result based on the sense of touch. So, we can easily say that it a good example of a haptic interface where the sense of touch is directly converted into the programmable desired result.
Gloves:
Gloves or external arms are such types of the haptic interface where through the aid of sensation the computer, which provides a certain degree of flexibility to the arms or gloves, in operation. So such gloves are used to undertake a tough or difficult task they are going to perform.
Exoskeletons
In the virtual environment, the haptic interface exoskeletons are developed for certain functional training.
Joysticks
Through haptic interface-aided joysticks sense of touch can be used to transfer information to some moveable devices like drones to execute programmed command and work.
In the past 20 years, the haptic interface system worldwide has taken a significant way forward in the development of software and hardware to provide services and gadgets with the difference to the users!
By:-Alpana Saha