You can now touch, grip and even manipu-late "impossible objects"-like pick up a jumbo jet while standing on an asteroid, play a yo-yo on Mars. Scientists have long been searching for a way to make virtual reality (VR) even more realistic with the sensation of touch. Now, linked with another branch of the computing and engineering sector, Haptics, this exciting possibility has arrived. Haptics is a term for physical sensors that provide a sense of touch at skin level and forces feedback information from muscles and joints.

Training simulations for highly skilled tasks such as surgery are among the new applications, which are being tested. Because virtual models can be created of practically anything-including impossible objects-users can "physically" feel their way around something that could not exist in reality because it does not conform to known natural physical laws.

"Until now the technology has been limited to simulations of single point or probe contact, whereas tactile exploration is often multi-fingered and relies heavily on vision to support the perception," says Dr William Harwin, Department of Cybernetics at Reading University, Southern England. Dr Harwin's team is now exploring a variety of possible applications. For example, it could improve medical training, by allowing surgeons to practice procedures in a virtual environment where mistakes have no terrible consequences. It could also be used for better human/machine interfaces.

From London Press Service

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