Editorial Tactile displays: present and future

Abstract This special issue of the journal is concerned with the subject of tactile displays. The interest in the subjects follows on from an Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) colloquium entitled ‘Developments in Tactile Displays’, held in London on 21 January, 1997. Some of the authors present at the IEE colloquium have expanded on their work in the papers presented in this issue. A range of different tactile mechanisms are presented, e.g. shape memory alloy, electrorheological fluids and a trackball, results from experiments on tactile recognition are presented, and some uses for the technology discussed, such as in music or WWW access for the visually impaired. All of which should give an excellent review of developments in tactile displays. It is clear, however, that modern tactile display technology does not come close to the resolution that is available in the skin's touch receptors. I wish to use this editorial to expand on a possible role for tactile displays that is way into the future: that of providing simulation of touch sensations in a virtual reality environment. The issues involved in this, the mechanisms involved and the potential applications, are all discussed below.