Computer simulations just don't feel right for every kind of training. In fact, they don't feel like anything.



Haptic technology — from the Greek haptikos, to touch — may change that. For example, the FEELit mouse from San Jose, Calif.-based Immersion Corp. (www.force-feedback.com) allows users to feel a bump sensation as they cross over toolbars, or feel resistance as they stretch the corners of windows.



That kind of sensory feedback could make the experience of virtual reality more real and improve the quality of training. Greta Green, sales representative at SensAble Technologies (www.sensable.com), in Cambridge, Mass., says her company's PHANTOM 3D Touch haptic system is already being used for manufacturing and medical training.



For example, automobile engine designers can use the system to "assemble" a car engine, says Green. The designers use a stylus pen to maneuver engine parts into place onscreen. Touch feedback through the stylus lets them feel how easily a part fits and the best path through which to guide it. They can simulate maintenance, too, explains Green. "Can a mechanic get his arm into this particular position comfortably and with the necessary tool?"



Surgeons, pilots, and chip makers are using similar technology to learn their crafts in safe, simulated environments.



An article originally published in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applica-tions explains haptic technology and discusses applications in more detail. You can download the article at www.sensable.com/haptics/ieee. g5006.pdf.



Full text COPYRIGHT Lakewood Publications Inc. 1999