  Multimodal simulations augment the presentation of abstract concepts
facilitating theoretical models understanding and learning. Most simulations
only engage two of our five senses: sight and hearing. If we employ additional
sensory communication channels in simulations, we may gain a deeper
understanding of illustrated concepts by increasing the communication bandwidth
and providing alternative perspectives. We implemented the sense of touch in 3D
simulations to teach important concepts in introductory physics. Specifically,
we developed a visual/haptic simulation for friction. We prove that interactive
3D haptic simulations, if carefully developed and deployed, are useful in
engaging students and allowing them to understand concepts faster. We
hypothesize that large scale deployment of such haptic-based simulators in
science laboratories is now possible due to the advancements in haptic software
and hardware technology.
