The Importance of Haptics in Virtual Reality 

This introductory paragraph of this paper can be read here:

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With recent development, virtual reality (VR) has gone from a high-tech research tool to a common household item. The development of headsets that use smartphones, in addition to the cost-down of dedicated VR headsets, has given VR stake in daily life. While VR provides the visuals in general use, there are no products on the market currently that sync the visuals with the sense of touch. This creates a rift between the visuals of VR and the bodily sensations of the users, which is where haptics comes into play. According the Springer Handbook of Robotics, “Haptics is the science and technology of experiencing and creating touch sensations in human operators” (1064). It is clear that haptics is the necessary link between the visuals of VR and natural human touch. I will argue that the development of high-fidelity haptics systems is vital for integrating virtual reality into daily life, especially in industry-related use.

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