Comparative Study of APIs and Frameworks for Haptic Application Development

TL;DR

This paper reviews and compares popular haptic APIs and frameworks for medical training simulators, culminating in the development of a prototype for liver diagnostics based on the best platform identified.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of haptic development tools and demonstrates their application in creating a medical training prototype.

Findings

Identified key features of haptic APIs and frameworks

Classified platforms based on 11 criteria

Developed a visual-haptic liver diagnostics prototype

Abstract

The simulation of tactile sensation using haptic devices is increasingly investigated in conjunction with simulation and training. In this paper we explore the most popular haptic frameworks and APIs. We provide a comprehensive review and comparison of their features and capabilities, from the perspective of the need to develop a haptic simulator for medical training purposes. In order to compare the studied frameworks and APIs, we identified and applied a set of 11 criteria and we obtained a classification of platforms, from the perspective of our project. According to this classification, we used the best platform to develop a visual-haptic prototype for liver diagnostics.