Delving into the world of affective haptics, or the study of the relationship between physical touch and human emotions and responses, can make one feel as if they were Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. The idea of affective haptics blurs a thin line between science and art because the term is contextual. This is because the physical action behind touch can be very personal and depending on its execution it can elicit a variety of emotional responses no matter what its intention.

While a phycologist would analyze how tactile touch can make a person respond mentally and emotionally, a neuroscientist or physical therapist would be more intrigued on how it would make the brain or physical body react. On the other hand, an engineer or a technologist would be more captivated in building a device or creating an algorithm to artificially simulate a touch or physical action. 

The manner in which something as natural as human touch can be perceived and replicated through artificial means is a great inquiry. It is for this reason I believe both the artistic and science-based research behind affective haptics should be further explored, especially in the world we live in now when physical touch for some individuals is next to none and much of our social interactions take place through a screen. I believe the issues that have come to fruition from the lack of social interaction during the pandemic will fully open the door for the field of affective haptics to be explored to its full potential.