Shaking hands with a virtual world
Haptic technology is moving from joysticks and phone buzzers to more ubiquitous applications.
Already in use by movie animation studios and astronauts in training, tactile technology is taking off. Touch screens, cell phone vibrations, and joystick shudders are just barely the beginning. From device interface to complex surgery, haptics translates human touch into electronic action.
For a broad introduction to haptics, read the Popular Mechanics story here: "How haptics will change the way we interact with machines"