The latest trailer for F1:The Movie, when viewed in the Apple TV+ App on an iPhone running iOS 18.4 or later, uses haptic feedback to provide the feel of the car engine as it rumbles into life in the pitlane. Keep watching because additional feedback synchronizes with gear changes and tire squeals as the car races around the track. 

You’re familiar with haptic feedback by how your smartphone buzzes when someone calls and how game controllers shake, buzz, and rumble to make your experience feel more real. Haptic feedback has been around since the 1970s and is the feedback used on surgical robots so that doctors can maintain their feel of what’s going on during surgery. For this reason, the technology is also used in training simulators where soon-to-be doctors can experience how tissues, veins, and organs feel without using a human body.

The automotive industry has incorporated haptic feedback as part of their Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for safety reasons—such as alerting drivers to potential hazards like lane departure and collision warnings. 

In manufacturing, haptics is used as feedback on robots allowing them to detect when there are product inconsistencies. Subtle variations in the texture of specific products can alert the robot to send an alarm to the supervisor to employ a human to inspect the anomaly. 

Even interactive product displays are using haptic feedback to allow customers to feel the texture, weight, or other physical properties of a product in a virtual setting. This adds to the information companies can now provide a customer before a purchase is made. 

The haptic technology market is estimated to be worth over $3.9 Billion. As companies like Apple explore its many applications, this market will only grow larger. And to that end, the new F1: The Movie trailer may be the start of a new experiential way to enjoy all sorts of entertainment. 

For more information:

Apple

F1: The Movie