The world of haptics is catapulted to the forefront of VR and teleoperation research as it holds the potential to fill the existing missing pieces of haptic perception such as texture, compliance, temperature, and more for an immersive experience. The current technology is limited by bridging the gaps with visual-auditory modalities and often compensating a wide spectrum of haptic experiences with vibration stimulus or force feedback. As expected, this approach does come with its own limitations and compromises. Being one of the early adopters of research in haptics, Irene Kuling and her team are venturing into smart materials in creating a richer haptic experience. The enquiry has led to a Ph.D. research topic Smart materials in Haptics.
As a Ph.D. candidate, Krishna Dheeraj Kommuri is taking the first steps of the research towards smart materials like liquid crystal polymers for presenting users with roughness and compliance haptic experience. In his research, Krishna is working on answering the questions such as, how can the physical properties of smart material be controlled to create a haptic experience? Is the proposed smart material able to simulate haptics with a good level of realism? The crux of the research lies in bringing together the finding in material science, mechanical modelling, fabrication, human factors and control in building an immersive haptic device.