XR-HAP-Enabling Haptic Interaction in Extended Reality: Challenges, Directions, and Opportunities

In the current digital era, virtual artefacts and immersive technologies have become integral tools in users’ daily lives. These technologies enable interaction with digital worlds through immersive wearable systems (such as VR headsets and XR solutions) or screen-based three-dimensional artefacts. Within this context, haptics plays a crucial role as the primary means of allowing users to "touch" virtual objects in digital environments. Despite its symbiotic relationship with visual XR technology in digital interfaces, haptics has followed a distinct path, presenting unique challenges, opportunities, and solutions. This tutorial aims to provide the audience with an overview of haptic technology in digital scenarios. We will explore current development directions in haptic technology in XR, existing limitations and challenges in haptic interaction, and the diverse ways in which haptic technology intersects with digital interaction. By examining these aspects, we hope to foster a deeper understanding of the potential and constraints of haptic technology in enhancing user experiences in virtual environments.