Tactile Feedback Definition

Tactile feedback is a term meaning the sensation of touch and the information gathered through it. The word tactile comes from the Latin tactilus, meaning physically tangible and possible to touch.

Daily Use

When you suspect a fire may be on the other side of a door, you check the doorknob for radiant heat. When you do so, you are checking for tactile feedback in the form of the sensation of warmth. To read braille, you must interpret tactile feedback received by your fingers from feeling the page. Feeling the wall for the light switch in a dark room is seeking tactile feedback as to the location of the switch.

Virtual Tactile Feedback

Some devices manipulate your instinct to gather tactile feedback. The TeleTact Glove uses small air bags to make "feeling" a virtual object possible. The airbags, which line the inside of the glove, inflate and deflate in arrangements particular to the position of the hand in relation to the virtual object, simulating the sensation of touching the real thing.

Synonym

Haptic feedback, a term common in robotics and engineering, has the same meaning as tactile feedback. The word haptic comes from the Greek haptesthai, meaning to touch.

References

• Online Etymology Dictionary: Tactile
• University of Washington: Force and Tactile Feedback
• Merriam-Webster's Dictionary: Haptic