The hapticon editor: a tool in support of haptic communication research

We define haptic icons, or "hapticons", as brief programmed forces applied to a user through a haptic interface, with the role of communicating a simple idea in manner similar to visual or auditory icons. In this paper we present the design and implementation of an innovative software tool and graphical interface for the creation and editing of hapticons. The tool's features include various methods for creating new icons including direct recording of manual trajectories and creation from a choice of basis waveforms; novel direct-manipulation icon editing mechanisms, integrated playback and convenient storage of icons to file. We discuss some ways in which the tool has aided our research in the area of haptic iconography and present an innovative approach for generating and rendering simple textures on a low degree of freedom haptic device using what we call terrain display.