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  • Review Article
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Wearable multi-sensory haptic devices

Nature Reviews Bioengineering volume 3, pages 288–302 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Haptic devices enable communication via touch, augmenting visual and auditory displays, or by offering alternative channels of communication when vision and hearing are unavailable. Because of the different types of haptic stimuli that are perceivable by users — vibration, skin stretch, pressure and temperature, among others — devices can be designed to communicate complex information by delivering multiple types of haptic stimuli simultaneously. These multi-sensory haptic devices are often designed to be wearable and have been developed for use in a wide variety of applications, including communication, entertainment and rehabilitation. Multi-sensory haptic devices present unique challenges to designers because human perceptual acuity can vary widely depending on the wearable location on the body and/or the heterogeneity in human perceptual performance, particularly when multiple cues are presented simultaneously. Additionally, packaging haptic systems in a wearable form factor presents its own engineering challenges such as cue masking, device mounting and actuator capabilities, among others. Thus, in this Review, we discuss the state-of-the-art and specific obstacles present in the field to produce multi-sensory devices that enhance the human capacity for haptic interaction and information transmission.

Key points

  • The translation of wearable multi-sensory haptic devices relies on a robust understanding of human haptic perception so that feedback modalities can be combined to optimally enhance user performance in a given application domain.

  • The contact mechanics at the haptic interface between device and skin varies between users with an unknown effect on haptic perception.

  • In addition to traditional electromechanical actuation, new methods, such as polymeric, fluidic and thermal actuation, now exist.

  • When designing wearable haptic devices, body location, the device interface to the body, user comfort and preserving the integrity of the haptic feedback must be considered.

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Fig. 1: Wearable haptic device locations.
Fig. 2: Selected wearable multi-sensory haptic devices.
Fig. 3: Applications of wearable haptic devices in various domains.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of NSF grants CMMI-2144809 (D.J.P.) and CMMI-1830146 (M.K.O.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Joshua J. Fleck, Daniel J. Preston & Marcia K. O’Malley

  2. Oregon Health & Science University, Department of Neurological Surgery, Portland, OR, USA

    Zane A. Zook

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Janelle P. Clark

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA

    Darren J. Lipomi

  5. CNRS, Univ Rennes, Inria, IRISA, Rennes, France

    Claudio Pacchierotti

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Contributions

J.J.F. and M.K.O. contributed substantially to the discussion, writing, and editing of this manuscript and managed the submission process. J.J.F., Z.A.Z. and M.K.O. developed figures for the manuscript. J.P.C., D.J.P., D.J.L., C.P. and Z.A.Z. contributed substantially to the writing and editing of this manuscript.

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Fleck, J.J., Zook, Z.A., Clark, J.P. et al. Wearable multi-sensory haptic devices. Nat Rev Bioeng 3, 288–302 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00274-w

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