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 Immersive Insights: Key Takeaways from the IEEE Haptic Symposium 2024 

IEEE Haptic Symposium

There’s always a constant demand for innovation in the haptics industry, and the 2024 IEEE Haptic Symposium certainly showed us some new, innovative tech. 

The IEEE Haptic Symposium is a yearly event where psychophysicists, engineers and designers of applications and interactions come together to share advancements, spark new collaborations and envision a future that benefits from physical interactions between humans and computers, made possible through haptic devices that offer force and tactile feedback. This year, the event was held on April 7-10, 2024, in Long Beach, California.

Keynote Presentations

Following its successful launch in 2018, the Cross-Cutting Challenges track returned at the 2024 Haptic Symposium. The Cross-Cutting Challenges track aims to create a space where researchers come together to tackle interdisciplinary challenges and call for united solutions from the haptics community.

The first keynote presentation, entitled “Cross-Cutting Challenges – Frontiers of Softness in Science and Engineering”, delved into the fascinating world of softness perception in engineering applications. Speakers included Gregory Gerling from the University of Arizona, Allison Okamura from Stanford University, Frederico Carpi from the University of Florence, Ingvar Birzneiks from UNSW Sydney, and Shogo Okamoto from the Tokyo Metropolitan University.

The second keynote presentation, entitled “Cross-Cutting Challenges – Haptics for Impact: Consumer Value, Ethics, Diversity,” shed light on the ethical implications of haptics, such as consent and privacy. It also emphasized the industry’s need to cater to diverse users. Speakers included Margot Racat from IDRAC BS, David Parisi from New York University, Sara Price from University College London, and Carey Jewitt from University College London.

Oral Sessions and Poster Sessions

The Symposium’s second day marked the beginning of oral sessions, covering a wide array of topics such as wearables and handheld devices, haptics in gaming and VR, medical haptics, and haptic rendering.

The event also featured poster sessions, providing a visually engaging platform for presenting research and concepts. Themes included the Work-in-Progress poster session, which invites authors to share late-breaking results with the research community in a non-archival format, and IEEE Transactions on Haptics poster session.

Demos

Perhaps the most exciting thing about a haptics symposium is experiencing the technology firsthand. Numerous haptic demos were prepared and showcased during the event, offering attendees a sneak peek into the future of haptics technology. 

One of the demos was a showcase on haptic permeability, where experts highlighted the benefits of incorporating miniature holes into electrotactile films. They suggested that this not only facilitates direct user interaction in virtual environments but also enhances haptic permeability.

Another notable demo was on Stick&Slip, an innovative approach that modifies the friction between the fingerpad and various surfaces by applying liquid droplets that form a coating on the fingerpad. 

Conclusion

The 2024 IEEE Haptic Symposium served as a vibrant showcase of technological ingenuity, offering a peek into a future shaped by the power of haptic technology. Participants were granted the unique opportunity to not only discover the latest academic breakthroughs in haptics, but also to experience its potential firsthand during interactive demonstrations. Additionally, the in-depth oral sessions and insightful keynote presentations from industry leaders shed light on the hurdles and considerations facing the haptics industry as it continues to grow. 

To learn more about the IEEE Haptic Symposium 2024, click here.

 

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