Haply Demonstrates Realistic Force Feedback in Digital Environments
A CES 2026 video feature demonstrated how our haptic technology allows users to physically interact with virtual objects and simulated materials.
Using our Inverse3 haptic interface, visitors could move through a three-dimensional environment and experience forces generated by the digital application.
The demonstration showed how touch can transform a digital experience from something that is only seen into something that can also be physically explored.
More than vibration
Many consumer devices use vibration to notify users or add a simple physical response.
Force feedback works differently.
Our haptic interfaces apply directional forces based on the user’s position, movement, and interaction with the digital environment. This makes it possible to represent boundaries, surfaces, resistance, and other physical behaviours.
The result is a responsive interaction rather than a predetermined vibration pattern.
Feeling virtual materials
The CES demonstration included simulated materials with different physical characteristics.
As users moved through the experience, the device responded according to the behaviour programmed into the virtual environment. Some materials felt soft or flexible, while others produced firmer resistance or changes in surface response.
These demonstrations help make haptics easier to understand.
A digital material does not have physical substance, but the software can define how our haptic interface should respond when the user interacts with it.
This creates the sensation of contact with an object that exists only in the application.
Why virtual-material simulation matters
Virtual-material demonstrations are visually engaging, but the underlying technology can support much broader applications.
Developers can use force feedback to represent how tools, objects, and environments respond to physical interaction.
Simulation and skills training
Digital sculpting
Medical and procedural research
Product-development workflows
Robotics
Education
Haptics research
Spatial interfaces
Our device provides the physical interface, while the software determines what the user feels.
A platform for developers and researchers
Inverse3 is designed to support programmable haptic applications.
Developers can define the forces, boundaries, and interaction behaviours required for a specific experience. This makes the device suitable for projects that require more flexibility than a preconfigured controller.
We provide development tools and integrations that allow teams to incorporate force feedback into compatible software and research environments.
The same underlying interface can therefore support very different experiences, from simple demonstrations to specialized technical applications.
Making digital interaction more understandable
Touch gives people information that can be difficult to communicate through visuals alone.
A user may see a digital boundary, but force feedback allows them to physically recognize when they have reached it. A simulated object may appear solid on screen, but haptics can communicate resistance when the user presses against it.
By adding this physical information, our force-feedback interfaces can make digital environments feel more immediate and intuitive.
Watch the original video
The original CES 2026 video demonstrates Haply’s force-feedback technology and a selection of virtual-material experiences.
Original source
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6fp1sUROi3U
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