New Materials and Technologies for Haptics that Enhance VR and AR

Virtual Reality (VR) has witnessed significant growth over the years. With advances in computer graphics, sensors/tracking technologies, and integrated circuit manufacturing techniques, VR became one of the vibrant emerging technologies in today's interactive computing. With continually evolving cutting-edge VR technologies, haptics becomes an integral part of bridging humans and VR experiences as a new dimension to VR. In addition, the emergence of wearable haptics, such as gloves, vests, and shoes, allows users to perceive realistic tactile and kinesthetic feedback that enhances the user experience and presence, engaging the users with real and virtual worlds.

Researchers have explored the feasibility of using new materials and technologies beyond the vibrotactile-based haptic actuators (e.g., ERM, LRA, piezo) to deliver more comfortable and natural VR interactions with richer haptic feedback. Smart materials like magnetorheological fluid showed a promising direction to adapt smart fluid into VR applications to create ground textures and deformation sensations for walking scenarios using haptics shoes. A soft tactile interface based on Electro-Active Polymer has been investigated to deliver different types of tactile stimuli in wearable and skin-attachable fashion. Microfabrication technology using an elastic form factor has been studied to provide high-fidelity haptic feedback. Finally, mid-air haptics technology has shown a great potential to deliver natural haptic feedback for free-form finger and hand interactions.

In this Research Topic, we seek innovative, next-generation haptics technologies and interfaces for VR and AR. We are particularly interested in emerging haptics technologies that incorporate new materials and technologies to provide enriched haptics and multi-sensory experiences in immersive environments. We welcome submissions of original research and reviews on the following topics:

- Advanced functional material-based haptic technologies for VR and AR
- Multimodal Interaction with new haptic actuators and interfaces
- Perception-based approaches and methods for novel haptics technologies
- Methods and applications of VR interaction using novel haptics technologies
- Data collection and haptic rendering using novel sensors and actuators
- Human-Computer Interaction involved in novel haptics technologies
- Use of haptic technologies in artistic settings (e.g., musical haptics)

Keywords: Haptics, Haptic Interfaces, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Musical Haptics, Active Materials, Human-Computer Interaction

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.