Our modes of communication are evolving to empower immersive content and increasingly incorporate haptics, or the sense of touch, into our connected experiences. This new modality extends our sensory engagement beyond our sight and hearing and unlocks an opportunity to add more depth and sense of immersion within connected communications, experiences, and services.

At the IEEE World Haptics conference in 2011, it was predicted that advanced tactile capabilities would be generally available by 2020, anticipating that users would not only touch and manipulate what they saw on screens, but also feel shape, texture, and softness. But it takes time for organisations to coalesce around practical mechanisms, for technologies to evolve, and for standardised approaches to be agreed; so today we have the foundations in place.

Currently, haptics exist in multiple form-factors and disparate device segments, such as smartphones and wearables. The experience they provide today is often an enhancement to the content, not fully immersive, yet this position is destined to change as standards for haptics are ratified and published. In XR, haptics provide an opportunity to create realistic scenarios where the user can utilise all their senses to boost their virtual presence. In the near future, it should be feasible to broadcast or stream fully immersive experiences using existing protocols and network infrastructure, to products incorporating technologies that precisely replicate tactile and sensory experiences.

This paper introduces the wide ecosystem of innovators, device makers, and content creators, all of whom must collaborate to reveal the pathway towards haptic-enhanced content, while highlighting the important work within standards to understand and support the delivery of immersive XR and haptic-enhanced content across devices worldwide.