Development of real-time virtual reality haptic application: real-time issues

Touch is very important to human, as demonstrated by any child who, when asking to `see´ an item, will reach out its hand to palpate and get the `feel´ of the object of interest. The ability to simulate sense of touch, using computers, has finally arrived. Human haptics is the sense of touch. Computer haptics is simulating human haptics via a device. This ongoing research focuses on developing a PC/NT based real-time, virtual reality haptic application. Our main goal is to resolve the real-time issues in order to frame a technical envelope for a stable haptic application. Some real-time issues based on scoping the applications are: 1) Interprocess communication 2) Synchronization of graphics and haptics interface and 3) finding application size limits for achieving high haptic rendering rates with stable haptic interactions