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XR Research

aasurjyaBhaptics — Touch Haptics Lab

What you can do with the 3D Systems Touch in this app

Move the real stylus and a virtual pen follows it in every scene: touch and pick things up, operate controls, trace a groove, push into study walls. Every scene explains itself as you go.

Device
3D Systems Touch
Scenes
08
Recorded
2026-10-22 · 30 fps
Force output
Off
Full walkthrough — scripted demoMuted · plays in place

Contents

S0–P3 playgrounds · Q1–Q4 study rigs
  1. S0Touch Sandboxplayground
  2. P1Effect Studioplayground
  3. P2Haptic Controlsplayground
  4. P3Tool Surfaceplayground
  5. Q1Z-width Rigstudy rig
  6. Q2Stiffness C/Dstudy rig
  7. Q3Latency Tolerancestudy rig
  8. Q4Path Guidancestudy rig

Get started

Windows · one app holds the Touch at a time

01Run it

  • Close Touch Smart Setup and any other haptic app: only one program can hold the Touch.
  • Start aasurjyaBhaptics.exe. Without a Touch, the mouse drives the pen.
  • Follow the menu's “Getting started” list, then open S0 Touch Sandbox.

02Stylus

  • Front button (dark): grab, select, open a card.
  • Both buttons ~1 s: back to the menu.
  • C re-centres the pen; Backspace puts moved objects back.

03Keys

  • F1 scene guide · M menu · PgUp / PgDn scenes
  • H hide the HUD · F11 fullscreen
  • Settings (bottom bar): pen size, sound, helpers, replay the tour

04Record a session

  • Double-click record_session.bat next to the exe: it starts the app and records its window to recordings\ until you quit. Untested so far.
  • Re-run the scripted demo: aasurjyaBhaptics.exe -demo, then make_showcase.py to refresh the showcase page.

Scenes

in clip = check fired during recording

S0

playground

Touch Sandbox

Free play: touch, pick up and turn real objects with the pen.

Learn the pen: how contact, grabbing and the ghost hand position behave before you meet real haptic effects.

What you can interact with

  • in clip

    Lift the pen out of the inkwell. The virtual pen follows your hand and turns with your wrist.

  • in clip

    Touch an object. It lights up teal and clicks, and the pen rests on its surface.

  • in clip

    Hold the FRONT (dark) button while touching to grab it. Move and turn the pen to carry it.

  • in clip

    Let go of the button to drop it. Press Backspace to put everything back.

  • note

    The shadow under the pen shows its height above the table.

Controls

Front button
grab
Backspace
reset objects
C
re-centre the pen
Q / E
turn a held object

Terms

Proxy
Where the pen is drawn. It stops on surfaces, while your hand (the device position) can keep going. The gap between them is what a force would push back on.
Device position
Where the stylus tip really is, measured about 1000 times a second. Shown as a faint ghost when the drawn pen is held back by a surface.
Workspace
The space the Touch can reach comfortably: about 16 × 12 × 7 cm around its centre. Press C to re-centre the pen on the scene.

P1

playground

Effect Studio

Six haptic effects on one plinth, with live tuning sliders.

These six effects are the building blocks of most haptic interfaces. Tuning them live shows how parameters change the feel.

What you can interact with

  • in clip

    Six effect zones sit on the plinth: spring, damper, friction, detent rail, snap point and keep-out fixture.

  • in clip

    Move the pen into a zone. The panel on the right shows that effect's parameters, and you can drag its sliders.

  • in clip

    The force arrow and the hum show the force each effect would make. Force output is OFF, so you see and hear it but don't feel it.

  • in clip

    Hold the FRONT button inside a zone to slide that whole exhibit to a new spot on the plinth.

  • try it

    G toggles the pseudo-haptic gain. Esc is the force kill switch and F12 re-arms it.

Controls

Front button
move an exhibit
G
pseudo-haptic gain
Esc
force kill
F12
re-arm
C
re-centre the pen

Terms

Detent
A small click position, like the steps of a volume knob.
Keep-out
A zone the tool must not enter, such as a nerve in surgery. A halo warns you before the wall.
Pseudo-haptics
Making something feel different through vision alone, for example by moving the drawn pen less than your hand so a surface seems stiffer.
Force OFF
This build never drives the motors. Every 'force' is computed and displayed (arrow, hum, numbers) but not sent, until the safety path is verified on hardware.

P2

playground

Haptic Controls

A knob, a toggle, a slider and a push-button you operate with the pen.

Physical-style controls rendered with force could replace real knobs and switches in VR and remote work.

What you can interact with

  • in clip

    Knob (left): put the pen on the knob and circle it. It clicks through its detents.

  • in clip

    Toggle (centre): push the lever over until it snaps.

  • in clip

    Slider (front): rest the pen on the cap and drag it along the track.

  • in clip

    Push-button (right): press down on the cap until it clicks.

  • try it

    The panel shows each control's value. Hold the FRONT button on a control to slide it elsewhere on the panel.

Controls

Front button
move a control
Esc
force kill
F12
re-arm
C
re-centre the pen

Terms

Detent
A small click position, like the steps of a volume knob.
Proxy
Where the pen is drawn. It stops on surfaces, while your hand (the device position) can keep going. The gap between them is what a force would push back on.
Force OFF
This build never drives the motors. Every 'force' is computed and displayed (arrow, hum, numbers) but not sent, until the safety path is verified on hardware.

P3

playground

Tool Surface

Sculpted surface, guidance groove and keep-out zone, with condition presets.

A pilot study scene: do walls, warning halos or guidance grooves help people keep a tool on track?

What you can interact with

  • in clip

    Lower the pen onto the sculpted tile and stroke across it. The inset camera shows the contact up close.

  • in clip

    Follow the groove from its start marker to its end. It glows while you stay in it.

  • in clip

    Approach the round fixture. The force arrow shows the keep-out halo pushing back before you reach the wall.

  • try it

    Number keys 0–5 switch the study conditions (visual only, stiffness wall, halo, groove, and combinations).

  • note

    These surfaces are fixed study stimuli: the pen touches them but can't move them.

Controls

0–5
study condition
G
pseudo-haptic gain
Esc
force kill
F12
re-arm
C
re-centre the pen

Terms

Keep-out
A zone the tool must not enter, such as a nerve in surgery. A halo warns you before the wall.
Guidance groove
A channel that pulls the tool along a path, like a ruler for your hand.
Pseudo-haptics
Making something feel different through vision alone, for example by moving the drawn pen less than your hand so a surface seems stiffer.

Q1

study rig

Z-width Rig

Study rig: push into a virtual wall and read the penetration depth.

Measures how stiff a virtual wall this device can render stably, a basic limit for every other scene.

What you can interact with

  • note

    A thin virtual wall stands in front of you.

  • try it

    Push the pen into it. The pen stops on the surface, while the orange ball keeps going to show where your hand really is. The label at the top left shows that depth in mm.

  • note

    The wall stiffness is a planned study parameter. No force is rendered here.

  • note

    Without a Touch the proxy moves by itself (SIMULATED).

Controls

Read-only
study rig, logs a CSV per visit

Terms

Proxy
Where the pen is drawn. It stops on surfaces, while your hand (the device position) can keep going. The gap between them is what a force would push back on.
Device position
Where the stylus tip really is, measured about 1000 times a second. Shown as a faint ghost when the drawn pen is held back by a surface.

Q2

study rig

Stiffness C/D

Study rig: shrinking on-screen motion makes the wall look stiffer.

Tests whether shrinking visual motion makes a wall seem stiffer without any extra force.

What you can interact with

  • note

    The on-screen proxy moves at half your hand's travel (control/display ratio 2).

  • try it

    Push into the wall. The pen stays on the surface, and the orange ball shows the (scaled) device position behind it.

  • note

    This pseudo-haptic trick is what the study measures. No force is rendered.

Controls

Read-only
study rig, logs a CSV per visit

Terms

C/D ratio
Control/display ratio: hand travel divided by on-screen travel. A ratio of 2 means the pen moves half as far as your hand.
Pseudo-haptics
Making something feel different through vision alone, for example by moving the drawn pen less than your hand so a surface seems stiffer.

Q3

study rig

Latency Tolerance

Study rig: the display lags your hand by a set delay.

Finds how much display delay people tolerate before hand and eye stop feeling connected.

What you can interact with

  • note

    The proxy is drawn 80 ms late on purpose.

  • try it

    Move the pen quickly, then slowly, and notice when the lag becomes visible.

  • note

    The label shows the measured lag. No force is rendered.

Controls

Read-only
study rig, logs a CSV per visit

Terms

Latency
The delay between moving your hand and seeing the result. Around 50–100 ms it starts to feel wrong.

Q4

study rig

Path Guidance

Study rig: trace a path while the display gently warps you onto it.

Compares visual guidance with (future) force guidance for learning a movement path.

What you can interact with

  • try it

    Trace the target path with the pen.

  • note

    The display pulls the drawn proxy toward the path (visual warp, gain 0.5).

  • note

    The label shows your cumulative error. No force is rendered.

Controls

Read-only
study rig, logs a CSV per visit

Terms

Guidance groove
A channel that pulls the tool along a path, like a ruler for your hand.
Pseudo-haptics
Making something feel different through vision alone, for example by moving the drawn pen less than your hand so a surface seems stiffer.

Not yet tried with the real stylus

  • —Grabbing and carrying with the real stylus (shown here with the scripted pen only)
  • —Opening scenes with the pen cursor on the menu, and the hold-both-buttons shortcut
  • —The reach box and idle help while a person moves the real pen
  • —Whether the virtual pen's buttons are rolled the same way as the real stylus