http://www.computer.org/toh The IEEE Transactions on Haptics will address the science, technology and applications associated with information acquisition and object manipulation through touch. Haptic interactions relevant to this journal include all aspects of manual exploration and manipulation by humans, machines and interactions between the two, performed in real, virtual, teleoperated or networked environments. Research areas of relevance to this publication will include, but not be limited to, the following topics: a) Human haptic and multi-sensory perception and action b) Haptic interactions via passive or active tools and machines c) Devices that sense, enable, or create haptic interactions locally or at a distance d) Haptic rendering and its association with graphic and auditory rendering in virtual reality e) Algorithms, controls, and dynamics of haptic devices, users, and interactions between the two f) Human-machine performance and safety with haptic feedback g) Haptics in the context of human-computer interactions h)Systems and networks using haptic devices and interactions, including multi-modal feedback i) Application of the above, for example in areas such as education, rehabilitation, medicine, computer-aided design, skills training, computer games, driver controls, simulation and visualization en-us Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:00:02 GMT http://csdl.computer.org/common/images/logos/toh.gif List of recently published journal articles http://www.computer.org/toh http://opac.ieeecomputersociety.org/opac?year=2009&volume=2&issue=04&acronym=toh IEEE Transactions on Haptics http://www.computer.org/portal/site/toh/ http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.50 Real-time simulation of haptic interaction with deformable objects is computationally demanding. In particular in finite-element (FE) based analysis of such interactions, a large system of equations must be solved at an update rate of 100-1000Hz for simulation fidelity and stability. A new hardware-based parallel implementation of a Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient (PCG) algorithm is proposed for solving the linear systems of equations arising from FE-based deformation models. Concurrent utilization of a large number of fixed-point computing units on a Field-Programable Gate Array (FPGA) device yields a very fast solution to these equations. Quantization and overflow errors in the fixed-point implementation of the iterative solver are minimized through dynamic scaling and preconditioning. Numerical accuracy of the solution, the architecture design, and issues pertaining to the degree of parallelism and scalability of the architecture are discussed in detail. The implementation of the solver on an Altera EP3SE110 FPGA device has enabled realtime simulation of three-dimensional linear elastic deformation models with 1500 nodes at an update rate of up to 2500 Hz. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.50 http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.49 Participants learned through feedback to haptically classify the identity of upright vs. inverted vs. scrambled faces depicted in simple 2D raised-line displays. We investigated whether identity classification would make use of a configural face representation, as is evidenced for vision and 3D haptic facial displays. Upright and scrambled faces produced equivalent accuracy, and both were identified more accurately than inverted faces. The mean magnitude of the haptic inversion effect for 2D facial identity was a sizable 26%, indicating that the upright orientation was “privileged” in the haptic representations of facial identity in these 2D displays, as with other facial modalities. However, given the effect of scrambling, we conclude that configural processing was not employed; rather, only local information about the features was used, the features being treated as oriented objects within a body-centered frame of reference. The results indicate a fundamental difference between haptic identification of 2D facial depictions and 3D faces, paralleling a corresponding difference in recognition of non-face objects. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.49 http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.48 Available passivity-based robust stability methods for bilateral teleoperation control systems are generally conservative, as they consider an unbounded range of dynamics for the class of passive operators and environments in the complex plane. In this paper, we introduce a powerful 3D geometrical robust stability analysis method based on the notions of wave variables and scattering parameters. The methodology, which was originally a 2D graphical method used in microwave systems for single frequency analysis [1], is further developed in this paper for teleoperation and haptic systems. The proposed method provides both mathematical and visual aids to determine bounds or regions on the complex frequency response of the passive environment impedance parameters for which a potentially unstable system connected to any passive operator is stable, and vice-versa. Furthermore, the method allows for the design of bilateral controllers when such bounds are known, or can even be utilized when the environment dynamics are active. The geometrical test can also be replaced by an equivalent mathematical condition, which can easily be checked via a new stability parameter. The proposed method results in less conservative guaranteed stability conditions compared to the Llewellyn's criterion; thus, promising a better compromise between stability and performance. The new method is numerically evaluated for two bilateral control architectures. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.48 http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.47 It is believed that the use of haptic sensors to measure the magnitude, direction, and distribution of a force will enable a robotic hand to perform dexterous operations. Therefore, we develop a new type of finger-shaped haptic sensor using GelForce technology. GelForce is a vision-based sensor that can be used to measure the distribution of force vectors, or surface traction fields. The simple structure of the GelForce enables us to develop a compact finger-shaped GelForce for the robotic hand. GelForce that is developed on the basis of an elastic theory can be used to calculate surface traction fields using a conversion equation. However, this conversion equation cannot be analytically solved when the elastic body of the sensor has a complicated shape such as the shape of a finger. Therefore, we propose an observational method and construct a prototype of the finger-shaped GelForce. By using this prototype, we evaluate the basic performance of the finger-shaped GelForce. Then, we conduct a field test by performing grasping operations using a robotic hand. The results of this test show that using the observational method, the finger-shaped GelForce can be successfully used in a robotic hand. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.47 http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.46 This paper is concerned with investigating the factors that contribute to optimizing information-transfer (IT) rate in humans. With an increasing interest in designing complex haptic signals for a wide variety of applications, there is a need for a better understanding of how information can be displayed in an optimal way. Based on the results of several early studies from the 1950’s, a general “rule of thumb” has arisen in the literature which suggests that IT rate is dependent primarily on the stimulus delivery rate and is optimized for presentation rates of 2-3 items/s. Thus, the key to maximizing IT rate is to maximize the information in the stimulus set. Recent data obtained with multidimensional tactual signals, however, appear to contradict these conclusions. In particular, these current results suggest that optimal delivery rate varies with stimulus information to yield a constant peak IT rate that depends on the degree of familiarity and training with a particular stimulus set. We discuss factors that may be responsible for the discrepancies in results across studies including procedural differences, training issues, and stimulus-response compatibility. These factors should be taken into account when designing haptic signals to yield optimal IT rates for communication devices. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.46 http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.45 Temporal discontinuities and delay caused by packet loss or communication latency often occur in multimodal telepresence systems. It is known that such artifacts can influence the feeling of presence [1]. However, it is largely unknown how the packet loss and communication latency affect the temporal perception of multisensory events. In this article, we simulated random packet dropouts and communication latency in the visual modality and investigated the effects on the temporal discrimination of visual-haptic collisions. Our results demonstrated that the synchronous perception of crossmodal events was very sensitive to the packet loss rate. The packet loss caused the impression of time delay and influenced the perception of the subsequent events. The perceived time of the visual event increased linearly, and the temporal discrimination deteriorated, with increasing packet loss rate. The perceived time was also influenced by the communication delay, which caused time to be slightly overestimated. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.45 http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.44 There are many different uses for haptics, such as training medical practitioners, teleoperation or navigation of virtual environments. This review focuses on haptic methods that display data. The hypothesis is that, haptic devices can be used to present information, and consequently the user gains quantitative, qualitative or holistic knowledge about the presented data. Not only is this useful for users who are blind or partially sighted (who can feel line graphs, for instance), but the haptic modality can be used alongside other modalities, to increase the amount of variables being presented, or to duplicate some variables to reinforce the presentation. Over the last twenty years a significant amount of research has been done in haptic data presentation; e.g. researchers have developed force-feedback line-graphs, bar-charts and other forms of haptic representations. However, previous research is published in different conferences, journals and with different application emphasis. This article gathers and collates these various designs, to provide a comprehensive review of designs for haptic data visualization. The designs are classified by their representation: Charts, Maps, Signs, Networks, Diagrams, Images and Tables. This review provides a comprehensive reference for researchers and learners, and highlights areas for further research. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.44 http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.43 In this study we investigate the influence of visual feedback on haptic exploration. A haptic search task was designed in which subjects had to haptically explore a virtual display using a force feedback device and to determine whether a target was present among distractor items. While the target was recognizable only haptically, visual feedback of finger position or possible target positions could be given. Our results show that subjects could use visual feedback on possible target positions even in the absence on feedback on finger position. When there was no feedback on possible target locations, subjects scanned the whole display systematically. When feedback on finger position was present, subjects could make well-directed movements back to areas of interest. This was not the case without feedback on finger position, indicating that showing finger position helps forming a spatial representation of the display. In addition, we show that response time models of visual serial search do not generally apply for haptic serial search. Consequently, in tele-operation systems, for instance, it is helpful to show the position of the probe even if visual information on the scene is poor. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.43 http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.37 This paper addresses the question of strength perception for vibration signals used in mobile devices. Employing devices similar to standard cellphones and using pulsed vibration signals to combat adaptation effects, experiments were performed to study the effect of weight and underlying vibration frequency on perceived strength. Results shows that for the same measured acceleration on the device, a heavier box is perceived to vibrate with greater strength. Furthermore, signals with higher underlying frequency are perceived to be weaker for the same measured acceleration. While our results are consistent with previous studies, they are obtained for the specific condition of ungrounded, vibrating objects held in the hand. Our results suggest the need for a systematic correction law for use by designers to specify the vibratory characteristics of a device as a function of its weight and of the desired operating frequency. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.37 http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.36 The detectability and discriminability of virtual haptic gratings were analyzed in the frequency domain. Detection (Exp. 1) and discrimination (Exp. 2) thresholds for virtual haptic gratings were estimated using a force-feedback device that simulated sinusoidal and square-wave gratings with spatial periods from 0.2 to 38.4 mm. The detection threshold results indicated that for spatial periods up to 6.4 mm (i.e., spatial frequencies > 0.156 cycle/mm), the detectability of square-wave gratings could be predicted quantitatively from the detection thresholds of their corresponding fundamental components. The discrimination experiment confirmed that at higher spatial frequencies, the square-wave gratings were initially indistinguishable from the corresponding fundamental components until the third harmonics were detectable. At the lower spatial frequencies, the third harmonic components of square-wave gratings had lower detection thresholds than the corresponding fundamental components. Therefore, the square-wave gratings were detectable as soon as the third harmonic components were detectable. Results from a third experiment where gratings consisting of two superimposed sinusoidal components were compared (Exp. 3) showed that people were insensitive to the relative phase between the two components. Our results have important implications for engineering applications where complex haptic signals are transmitted at high update rates over networks with limited bandwidths. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TOH.2009.36