Editorial - Introduction to the special issue on multimodal interaction through haptic feedback

Multimodal interfacesarecharacterizedbythe(possi- bly simultaneous)useofmultiplehumansensorymod- alities andcansupportcombinedinput/outputmodes. Modern multimodalinterfacesaimatemulatingthe naturalmulti-sensorialformsofhuman–humandialogue, relyingontheintegrationofadvancedinteractionmodes, rangingfrompen-basedinput,tohandgestures,toeye gaze, tohead/bodymovements,tohapticinput/output. Multimodal interactionenhancedbyhapticfeedbackis increasinglybeingexperiencedinsuchdomainsas industry,medicine,andbiotechnology,wherenewpoten- tialities canbeachieved.Thankstotheuseofhaptic devices. Multimodalhapticinterfaceshavealsobeen conceivedtoaddressmajorsocietalneeds,e.g.,byvisually impairedpeopleorwheelchairusers.Therefore,agreat deal ofattentionisbeingdevotedtoresearchesaimingto investigatethepotentialofmultimodaldialoguesallowed by advancedinteractiondevices,andinparticularto evaluatethepossibleenhancementachievedbytradi- tional visualinteractionsystemsthroughtheuseofsuch additional communicationmodalities.Followingthis trend, thefocusofthisspecialissueisonhaptic-enhanced multimodal interactionandonresearchchallenges,and innovativeideasandapproachesthathavebeenexperi- mentedandvalidatedinthisspecificresearchfield