Where’s the feedback? (Image: Maurice Tsai/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

YOUR eyes tell you that your hand is locked in a vice-like mechanical device, but your fingertips tell you you’re stroking fur. Welcome to the world of haptics, where nothing is quite how it feels.

As neuroscientists decode how we process signals from nerves that sense touch, engineers are beginning to use their discoveries to dupe us into feeling something that isn’t there. Given the right kind of manipulation, a smooth surface can be made to mimic the feel of a range of materials, and a solid slab can be made to feel …