WoodenHaptics

Abstract

Spatial haptic interfaces have been around for 20 years. Yet, few affordable devices have been produced, and the design space in terms of physical workspace and haptic fidelity of devices that have been produced are limited and discrete. In this paper, an open-source, open-hardware module-based kit is presented that allows an interaction designer with little electro-mechanical experience to manufacture and assemble a fully working spatial haptic interface. It also allows for modification in shape and size as well as tuning of parameters to fit a particular task or application. Results from an evaluation showed that the haptic quality of the WoodenHaptics device was on par with a Phantom Desktop and that a novice could assemble it with guidance in a normal office space. This open source starting kit, uploaded free-to-download online, affords sketching in hardware; it "unsticks" the hardware from being a highly-specialized and esoteric craft to being an accessible and user-friendly technology, while maintaining the feel of high-fidelity haptics.

Kinematic design of linkage-based haptic interfaces for medical applications: a review

“…Due to utilizing serial kinematic chains in the design, 3D Systems Inc. has succeeded in producing large-workspace haptic devices, but the force and torque feedback of these devices is inferior to that of haptic devices designed with parallel kinematic chains. Forsslund et al [94] designed an open-hardware Do it yourself (DIY) kit for novices to produce a spatial haptic interface equal to a PHANToM Desktop with some guidance and without specialized knowledge or tools, meant to be alterable by designers without the need for electromechanical expertise.…”

Kinematic design of linkage-based haptic interfaces for medical applications: a review

“…Due to utilizing serial kinematic chains in the design, 3D Systems Inc. has succeeded in producing large-workspace haptic devices, but the force and torque feedback of these devices is inferior to that of haptic devices designed with parallel kinematic chains. Forsslund et al [94] designed an open-hardware Do it yourself (DIY) kit for novices to produce a spatial haptic interface equal to a PHANToM Desktop with some guidance and without specialized knowledge or tools, meant to be alterable by designers without the need for electromechanical expertise. Virtuose (Haption, Soulgé-sur-Ouette, France) is also a haptic device family with a serially-chained kinematic design that can sense the position with 6 DOFs [69][70][71][72][73] (see figure 4).…”

Haptipedia

“…SimpleHaptics by Moussette et al is a canonical example, adapting the then-emerging 3D fabrication and maker movements to facilitate rapid sketching with haptic hardware [34,35]. More recently, projects like Wood-enHaptics [23] and Haply [24] have provided haptic novices with open-source, customizable starting points for design exploration; however, these few examples cannot span the almost infinite space of historical device invention.…”