Generative Haptics for Virtual and Physical Interaction

Haptics: the science of touch and tactile perception has become a critical interface for interacting with both virtual and physical environments. Recent advances in AI and machine learning are enabling generative approaches that can synthesize, predict, and render tactile experiences, bridging the gap between digital simulations and real-world interactions. These innovations are transforming fields ranging from virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), wearable devices, and robotics, to human–robot interaction and teleoperation. Generative haptics allows systems to adaptively create realistic tactile feedback, simulate complex textures, and support multimodal perception, enhancing immersion and improving task performance. Despite significant progress, challenges remain in integrating data-driven models, real-time rendering, and cross-modal interactions, while ensuring usability and embodiment. This Research Topic seeks to highlight emerging methods, architectures, and applications that advance the field of generative haptics, fostering AI-driven tactile intelligence across both virtual and physical domains.The goal of this Research Topic is to explore and advance generative haptics: the use of AI and computational models to synthesize, predict, and render tactile experiences across virtual and physical domains. We aim to highlight innovative approaches that enhance human–machine perception and interaction, enabling systems that can generate realistic, adaptive, and multimodal tactile feedback. This collection seeks to bring together interdisciplinary contributions from haptics, robotics, wearable technology, virtual and augmented reality, and machine learning, emphasizing both theoretical foundations and practical applications. By showcasing cutting-edge methods, novel architectures, and experimental studies, the Research Topic intends to provide a comprehensive overview of current challenges and emerging opportunities in generative haptics. Ultimately, it aims to foster AI-driven tactile intelligence, inspire collaborative research, and accelerate the development of interactive systems that seamlessly bridge digital and physical touch experiences for both humans and machines.This Research Topic welcomes contributions that advance generative haptics for virtual and physical interaction, emphasizing AI-driven methods, human–machine perception, and multimodal tactile experiences. We invite original research, reviews, and perspective articles covering, but not limited to, the following themes: • Generative AI and computational models for tactile signal synthesis and rendering • Haptic interfaces and wearable devices for immersive virtual or augmented environments • Human–machine interaction, teleoperation, and robotic touch perception • Multimodal perception and integration of touch with vision, audition, and proprioception • Simulation-to-real transfer of haptic feedback and AI-driven tactile learning • Experimental studies on human perception, embodiment, and adaptive haptic experiencesAuthors are encouraged to submit work that spans theoretical development, system design, and practical applications. Submissions should highlight novel approaches, validated experiments, and interdisciplinary relevance, contributing to the growing field of generative haptics and AI-enabled tactile intelligence. Topic editors: Anuradha Ranasinghe, David Reid, Alexander Co Abad Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80304/generative-haptics-for-virtual-and-physical-interaction