Software Architecture for Audio and Haptic Rendering Based on a Physical Model

This paper describes a software architecture solution for rendering audio and haptic sensation. By most of existing 3D sound systems, it is difficult to generate appropriate sounds from virtual objects, depending on the material used and the location of the impact. We developed a method that we named AudioHaptics to generate audio and haptic sensation based on a physical model of the virtual objects. However, audio and haptic devices are specialised pieces of equipment, of which the software is an intrinsic part. So it is difficult to change component parts of the devices and the virtual environment. We propose new software architecture for the synthesis of haptic and auditory senses that we named IOA (Interaction Oriented Architecture). IOA supports various types of interface devices. Any sensors and displays present are easily reconfigured by exchanging modular software. The effectiveness of this architecture is tested by users.