Virtual touch and feel: a new frontier of digital reality
Had the COVID-19 pandemic happened a few years from now, we might have felt its impact very differently. While digital technologies have helped us connect and communicate remotely, many have experienced touch deprivation as a result of social distancing. New research is on its way to fill the ‘touch gap’ in digital technology. A team of researchers is working towards digital realities we can reach out to and interact with. This tangible, or ‘haptic’ virtual experience is the long-term vision behind the EU-funded H-Reality project. The aim is to achieve high-fidelity sensations through technology that is easy and comfortable to use, for both interactive augmented reality (AR) and immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences. “Nowadays, most VR and AR research is focused on improving the realism of what we see to create a photorealistic virtual experience. Nonetheless, there is no true immersion if we are not able to physically touch and interact with the environment surrounding us,” explains Claudio Pacchierotti, researcher at IRISA and the CNRS, one of the project partners. “Research into haptic technologies is paramount in order to achieve true immersive experiences in the future. This also means having access to effective wearable haptic devices.”
A better understanding of touch
As a first step, the team investigated the mechanics of touch. “The translation of mechanical signals into the perception of touch is still unclear,” Pacchierotti notes. When running a hand along a surface, vibrations travel through the skin and stimulate nerve endings, so-called mechanoreceptors. The nerve endings then convert the vibrations into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain. The H-Reality team assessed whether vibrotaction – touch perception through vibrations – could depend on mechanical waves propagating in the hand. The team also found a universal law explaining the favourable placement of vibration-sensitive mechanoreceptors in many mammals. Building on this work, they identified ways of digitally rendering shapes and textures, using non-contact haptics which rely on ultrasound and contact haptics involving wearable vibrotactile devices. They then began combining contact and non-contact haptics into immersive VR application prototypes to demonstrate the potential and capabilities of this technology.
New ways of connecting remotely
“We believe that our mixed-haptic interaction paradigm has the potential to revolutionise the way users interact with data in a wide range of applications,” Pacchierotti highlights. Ultimately, the team hopes to completely transform online interactions. Examples of concrete applications could include operating dangerous machinery from a safe distance, or carrying out surgery remotely. While H-Reality focuses on basic research, the researchers are already working on the next steps to bring the technology closer to the market. E-TEXTURES, a spin-off project also funded by the EU, will be exploring opportunities in markets spanning from media and entertainment to retail and healthcare. Pacchierotti believes the project highlights the importance of joining forces and breaking down traditional disciplinary boundaries, bringing together actors and expertise from a number of different fields. “Collaborative science is a gateway to great discovery and innovation,” he says.
Keywords
H-Reality, immersive experience, contact haptics, non-contact haptics, virtual reality, VR, haptic technologies, wearable, vibrotaction, mixed-haptic interaction