Haptic interaction with fluids in virtual environment: an analytical review

In Virtual Environment (VE), haptic interaction plays an important role in delivering both tactile and kinesthetic sensations, enabling users to perceive the physical properties of virtual objects. These sensory inputs have diverse applications in areas such as medical training, virtual reality (VR) gaming, education, etc. This analytical review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of haptic technologies for fluid interaction developed in the past twenty years. A total of 59 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were identified and examined. The review thoroughly discusses relevant papers on haptic rendering methods as well as haptic devices designed for fluid interaction. In addition, an analytical point of view is presented from four key aspects, including fluid simulation methods, haptic feedback modalities, evaluation approaches, and applications. Finally, this paper highlights the current research gaps and outlines future directions to advance the development of reliable and accurate haptic techniques for interaction with fluids.