Getting
a feel for haptics
The word is haptics and according to Professor Saeid Nahavandi we will not only hear more about it over the next decade, we will be benefiting enormously from this new and exciting science.
Excited soon-to-be parents turning up for their already much-anticipated ultrasound will not only be able to see their unborn baby, but “feel” it.
Medical and dental students will be able to fine-tune their skills to the highest level before trying them out on patients.
Cars will be more easily made safer, with design flaws discovered earlier.
And in the world of games, you will not only be able to play a game of “virtual” tennis with someone on the other side of the world, but feel the weight of the ball on the racquet.
So what is this thing called haptics?
It comes from the Greek work haptesthai, meaning to touch.
One dictionary definition calls it the science of applying tactile sensation to human inter-action with computers.
Essentially, by using custom designed input/output devices - joysticks, data gloves or other innovations - users can get feedback from computer applications in the form of felt sensations.
Professor
Navahandi believes the next 10 years will re-define the place of haptics
in the lives of every day people.
He says it will have applications in everything from engineering to medicine, art to anthropology.
"Haptics will allow people to interact and get a real feel for virtual objects,” he said.
“These objects can be created from imaging technologies such as ultrasound, so hence the relevance to parents," he said.
"Haptics will also become a great tool for training in fields where delicate hand-eye co-ordination is required.
“Dental students will be able to get, to feel, exactly the same response from a computer as they would from a person.
“The same will apply to surgeons. They can hone their skills to the highest levels using haptics before they work with a patient.
“They can even administer an anaesthetic using haptics and see and feel the whole experience without the need for a patient.”
Other areas where haptics will stand out in the future include aerospace and the design of motor vehicles. Cars can be crash-tested on computer before under-going final “crash-test dummy” tests.
“There will be a significant saving to the motor industry because they won’t have to crash so many cars as they try to improve safety aspects of a new model,” Professor Navahandi said.
“It will also speed up the development of safer cars, which is a real benefit for the motoring public.”
The haptics laboratory at Deakin is the first in Australia having capability to manipulate robots via haptic devices, playing distributed haptic games over the Internet and to integrate ultrasound with haptics.
It is yet another sign of the leading edge research being undertaken at the university, research that will have a positive impact on the well being of the broader community.