Haptics, or the sense of touch, is increasingly being incorporated into the connected experience to enhance communications, services, and entertainment, and was spotlighted in a new white paper commissioned by the research and development company InterDigital and produced by Futuresource.
The report has revealed, for the first time, how haptics is being considered as a first order media type, alongside audio and video, opening the doors of perception to help consumers not only hear and see their content – but feel it too.
The white paper, Haptics: The Next Modality in Immersive Entertainment, examines the current inflection point in the haptic technology development lifecycle that now has haptics being regarded as an essential element in modern entertainment systems.
The research suggests that this shift can be attributed to digital devices becoming ever more ubiquitous, and with it, haptic technology has become more accessible to the wider public.
From a commercial standpoint, many within the diverse ecosystem of innovators, device makers and content creators have high hopes for haptics: advancements in standards and innovations such as advanced actuators, improved tactile sensors, and more realistic feedback mechanisms are propelling market growth.
The addressable market for haptics is growing rapidly, across audio/visual, personal electronics, and wearables, and forecasts suggest that there will be 4.1 billion haptic-enabled consumer devices in use by the end of 2024. This is expected to rise to 53% of all consumer devices being haptic enabled by 2028, according to the report.
While the smartphone is the natural starting point for haptic use cases, it is expected that greater device variety will characterise the market in the future and will see haptics used in areas like gaming consoles, tablets, headphones, smartwatches, and virtual reality (VR) headsets
Extended Reality (XR) is a key market for haptics as the sense of touch heightens the experience of the user. By 2028, worldwide shipments of XR devices are forecasted to increase threefold from today, topping 60 million units.
Haptics hardware is improving too and at a fast pace, with haptic gloves being a noteworthy point of focus. The main use case for this hardware is gaming, which accounts for 75% of the total XR unit shipments.
Historically, the absence of standards has stymied progress towards interoperability between platforms and vendors across the haptics ecosystem and this has meant protracted development cycles, proprietary methods, incompatible solutions and low adoption – all factors which the industry seeks to avoid during nascent stages in deployment of new technology.
The report suggests that several leading standards organisations, including MPEG, IEEE and Khronos Group, are now engaging with industry and collaborating to determine the mechanisms and modalities for coding haptic content and experiences. In fact, the collaborative work within standards is proving to be instrumental in enabling seamless integration across devices and platforms globally.
“This white paper comes at moment when haptic technology is greatly benefitting from advancements in electronics, material science, and consumer demand for immersive experiences,” said Lionel Oisel, VP, Head of Video Lab at InterDigital. “We see haptics as the next seismic shift in the way societies interact with technology, providing the opportunity for deeper levels of engagement with content and services through immersive visuals and sensory experiences. Looking ahead, the commercial viability of new services will rely on the standards that are now starting to be defined, and we hope to continue playing a key role in giving shape to this nascent and exciting industry.”
To read the white paper follow the link below.