What are the two main types of haptic devices taught in the course?

The course covers force feedback devices (like a manipulandum you hold) and tactile devices that provide distributed skin stimulation. These devices are used in labs with virtual environments and teleoperated robots. (Timestamp: 44)

How is the course structured between labs and projects?

The course has two phases: an initial lab phase where students develop and program existing haptic devices, followed by a project phase where students design something new with guidance. (Timestamp: 122)

Can students participate remotely or teleoperate during the course?

Yes. The course includes remote experiences such as teleoperating a remote robot and experiencing haptic environments online, enabling participation from anywhere. (Timestamp: 168)

What outcomes have past students pursued after taking the course?

Past students have gone on to work for teleoperated surgical robotics companies, pursued PhDs in robotics, or used the knowledge as a key toolkit in their robotics careers. (Timestamp: 188)

What happens at the end of the course?

The course culminates in a highly interactive open house where projects are displayed and experienced by attendees, highlighting the hands-on culmination of the work. (Timestamp: 166)

Key Moments

Course Overview: Design and Control of Haptic Systems (ME327)

Stanford Online

Education3 min read4 min video

Feb 25, 2026|1,249 views|38|3

Stanford Stanford Online Robotics Haptics

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Stanford ME327 teaches how to design and control haptic systems, blending perception, devices, and teleoperation.

Key Insights

Interdisciplinary foundation: understanding human touch (receptors and brain processing) is essential before designing haptic devices.

Two main device categories: force feedback (joystick-like) and tactile (skin-stimulation) devices, each with unique uses.

Hands-on labs: students build, program, and experiment with haptic devices in virtual and teleoperation contexts.

Two-phase course structure: initial device development and tooling, followed by student-led innovative projects.

Remote access: projects can be teleoperated or experienced remotely, enabling global participation.

Career relevance: graduates pursue robotics roles, PhD research, and teleoperation-focused industries, including surgical robotics.

COURSE FOCUS AND INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

The course centers on the core question of how to give humans touch feedback, a problem that spans multiple disciplines. The instructor highlights twenty-five years of experience teaching haptics and explains that success requires combining insights from human sensory perception—how mechanoreceptors in the skin and the brain interpret touch—with engineering design of devices. Students begin by studying the human sense of touch, including the biology of receptors and neural processing, before shifting to the engineering side of creating devices that can convey tactile information back to a user. This interdisciplinary progression ensures that device capabilities align with human tactile experience, enabling more natural and effective human–robot interaction.

HAPTIC DEVICES: FORCE FEEDBACK AND TACTILE SYSTEMS

The course distinguishes two primary classes of haptic devices, each serving different interaction paradigms. Force feedback devices resemble manipulanda or joysticks that provide resistive forces to simulate object interactions, allowing users to feel weight, resistance, and contact forces in a controlled way. In contrast, tactile devices deliver distributed stimulation directly to the skin, enabling high-resolution, surface-level feedback such as textures and fine slippage cues. The curriculum examines how these devices are chosen for specific tasks and integrated into experiments where participants interact with virtual environments or teleoperated robots, mirroring real-world surgical robotics setups.

UNDERSTANDING TOUCH: SENSORY PERCEPTION AND BRAIN PROCESSING

A foundational element of the course is building a deep understanding of touch from a biological and perceptual perspective. Students explore the mechano-receptors embedded in the skin and investigate how the brain processes tactile information to form a coherent sense of touch. This knowledge informs device design, ensuring that the stimuli delivered by a haptic system match human perceptual capabilities and limitations. By grounding engineering choices in human physiology, the course aims to produce haptic experiences that feel natural and intuitive rather than artificial.

LABORATORY EXPERIENCE: BUILD, PROGRAM, EXPLORE

The course structure includes a robust laboratory component with two complementary phases. In the first phase, students work with existing haptic devices, learn their components, and program them to interact with virtual environments or teleoperation scenarios. This hands-on phase emphasizes understanding the hardware, software, control loops, and feedback mechanisms that enable realistic haptic experiences. In the second phase, students pursue projects that push beyond the baseline, guided by the instructor and assistants. The goal is to cultivate creativity and practical engineering skills to develop novel haptic ideas and implementations.

PROJECT PHASE AND REMOTE DEMONSTRATIONS

During the latter half of the course, project work takes center stage. Students select or co-create innovative ideas, receiving mentorship to scope, design, and realize a tangible haptic contribution. A standout feature is the emphasis on open demonstrations: at the course’s end, projects are showcased in an interactive open house where attendees can experience the work firsthand. Importantly, demonstrations can be remote, leveraging teleoperation or remote access to haptic environments so participants outside Stanford—or with limited on-site access—can engage with the projects.

REAL-WORLD IMPACT AND CAREER PATHS

The transcript emphasizes clear pathways from ME327 into real-world robotics careers. Alumni have gone on to work with teleoperated surgical robotics companies, pursue PhDs in robotics, or incorporate haptic knowledge as a critical tool in broader robotic practice. The course is presented as a foundational step that equips modern roboticists with essential skills in touch, safety, and human–robot interaction. The emphasis on tactile feedback and teleoperation aligns with growing industry needs for safe, intuitive, and capable human-robot interfaces across fields.

Course overview: practical cheat sheet

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Engage in both the lab phase (building/programming a haptic device) and the project phase (developing something new).

Take advantage of remote participation options (teleoperation and online experiences) to showcase your work.

Leverage the final open house to demonstrate and experience projects with others.

Avoid This

Don’t rely on lectures alone; skip the hands-on labs and project work.

Don’t overlook safety considerations when handling haptic devices or performing teleoperation.

Common Questions

The course concentrates on how to give humans touch feedback, covering the science of touch from skin receptors to brain processing, and then examining the devices that deliver haptic feedback (force and tactile devices) and their use in virtual environments and teleoperation. (Timestamp: 14)