Adding a sense of touch to online shopping: does it really help?

Haptic feedback has always been a missing link in online shopping. In this project, we study whether a commonly-used haptic device with only one Haptic Interface Point (HIP) can be used in online shopping for compensating lack of physical touch. A user study was conducted in which data-driven haptic weight, shape and texture information was simulated and provided to the users. Despite the limitations of the device, the results have shown positive effects of providing haptic feedback in enhancing users' understanding of physical properties of a product. 1