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Densitron is developing some new technologies, to be announced next year, which aim to make haptic experiences on screens more lifelike and easily deployed across multiple devices. Again, ease of deployability seems to be key to a future where haptics technologies flourish.

THERE’S AN EVOLUTION GOING ON. DISPLAYS ARE BECOMING MORE ANDMORE INTELLIGENT

“We have seen our competitors try to enter the market with a really nice technology, but the integration into an OM product would be hard. They offered a product, but you couldn’t really slot it into any other applications. They offered the finished thing and it was kind of an enclosed black box. There’s going to be a major shift in the standardisation,” says Gutman. The ballooning demand for presence at a distance – driven now by coronavirus, but also necessary in a low-carbon world where flying will be strictly limited – is going to become a big market, Gutman believes. And there are already fascinating technologies being trialled. “I’ve seen wonderful products that are based on touch – ones that can simulate difference surfaces. Let’s say you are a manufacturer of cloth – you can upload micro structures, and the person on the other side, when they touch the surface, can actually feel the fabric. There’s definitely going to be a physical interaction that we will need to take into account,” he concludes. “We are mastering video communication. In terms of touch and tactile feedback, we’re lagging behind. But I’m sure there’s going to be a genius new way of doing that. There’s been lots of lone wolf development going on for the past decade, but our current situation is definitely going to put haptics in the spotlight. In five or ten years, some crazy projects will come to life, I can guarantee you that.”

HAPTICSHOP The software from Interhaptics allows for easy creation of haptic experiences

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