Touch enabled sensation and actuation is expected to be one of the most promising, straightforward and important uses of the next generation communication networks. In B5G/6G need for low latency, the infrastructure should be reconfigurable and intelligent to be able to work in real time and interoperable with the existing wireless network. It has a drastic impact on the society due to its high precision, accuracy, reliability and efficiency and the ability to connect a user from far away or remote areas. Such a touch-enabled interaction is primarily concerned with the real time transmission of the tactile based haptic information over the internet, in addition to the usual audio, visual and data traffic, thus enabling a paradigm shift towards establishing a real time control and steering communication system. The existing system latency and overhead creates delays and limits the usability of the future applications. This study proposes an intelligent touch-enabled system for B5G/6G and IoT based wireless communication network that incorporates the AR/VR technologies. The tactile internet and network slicing serve as the backbone of the touch technology which incorporates intelligence from techniques such as AI/ML/DL. The survey introduces a layered and interfacing architecture complete with its E2E solution for the intelligent touch based wireless communication system. It is anticipated for the next generation system to provide numerous opportunities for various sectors utilizing AR/VR technology in robotics and healthcare facilities, all with the intention of helping in addressing severe problems faced by the society. Conclusively the article presents a few use cases concerning the deployment of touch infrastructure in automation and robotics as well as in intelligent healthcare systems, assisting in the diagnosis and treatment of the prevailing COVID-19 cases.

54 pages, 22 figures, in IEEE Access (2022)