ForceHost: an open-source toolchain for generating firmware embedding the authoring and rendering of audio and force-feedback haptics

Abstract

ForceHost is an opensource toolchain for generating firmware that hosts authoring and rendering of force-feedback and audio signals and that communicates through I2C with guest motor and sensor boards. With ForceHost, the stability of audio and haptic loops is no longer delegated to and dependent on operating systems and drivers, and devices remain discoverable beyond planned obsolescence. We modified Faust, a highlevel language and compiler for real-time audio digital signal processing, to support haptics. Our toolchain compiles audio-haptic firmware applications with Faust and embeds web-based UIs exposing their parameters. We validate our toolchain by example applications and modifications of integrated development environments: script-based programming examples of haptic firmware applications with our haptic1DFaust library, visual programming by mapping input and output signals between audio and haptic devices in Webmapper, visual programming with physically-inspired massinteraction models in Synth-a-Modeler Designer. We distribute the documentation and source code of ForceHost and all of its components and forks.

Challenges and Opportunities of Force Feedback in Music

“…Our review has been accompanied by examples of our recent work, which includes the development of an affordable, open-source and self-contained 1-DoF rotary force-feedback device for musical applications, known as the TorqueTuner, as described by Kirkegaard et al (2020). Furthermore, we have also embedded audio and haptic processing/authoring in module firmware through ForceHost, as presented by Frisson et al (2022).…”

“…ForceHost, developed by Frisson et al (2022), is a firmware generation toolkit for the TorqueTuner, as proposed by Kirkegaard et al (2020). This toolkit expands the functionality of the Faust programming language toolkit to include modules for haptics, mappings, scriptable web-based user interfaces and sound synthesis, as illustrated in Figure 3.…”

“…Authoring tools for designing for both audio and haptic modalities are scarce. To our knowledge, only GENESIS by Villeneuve et al (2015), Synth-A-Modeler Designer by Berdahl et al (2016), and ForceHost by Frisson et al (2022) exist, which propose physical modelling metaphors or signal-based approaches. When authoring tools support only one modality, either audio or haptic, designers must devise strategies to synchronize streams, which often requires ad hoc development.…”

“…To address challenges related to replicability and usability, we propose the integration of audio and haptic processing and authoring in microcontrollers. This involves embedding haptic loops, as demonstrated in the TorqueTuner by Kirkegaard et al (2020), as well as embedded drivers and web-based control panels, as illustrated in ForceHost by Frisson et al (2022). By embedding these software components directly into microcontrollers that interface with hardware components, audio-haptic DMIs no longer depend on thirdparty operating systems to maintain and synchronize audio and haptic loops.…”

“…Audio-coupled haptic-authoring tools should facilitate the design of audio and haptic feedback with a unified system, sharing one scripting language or one visual programming metaphor for the designs for both modalities. For instance, ForceHost by Frisson et al (2022) explored how the Faust DSP programming language could be employed to unify the description of audio and haptic applications, including their control through auto-generated web-based user interfaces (see Section 2.2.1).…”