This is an open access book. In this third edition of Engineering Haptic Devices the software
part was rewritten from scratch and now includes even more details on tactile and texture
interaction modalities. The kinematics section was improved to extend beyond a pure knowledge
explanation to a comprehensive guideline on how to actually do and implement haptic kinematic
functions. The control section was reworked incorporating some hands-on experience on control
implementation on haptic systems. The system actuator and sensor design chapters were updated
to allow easier access to the content. This book is written for students and engineers faced
with the development of a task-specific haptic system. Now 14 years after its first edition it
is still a reference for the basics of haptic interaction and existing haptic systems and
methods as well as an excellent source of information for technical questions arising in the
design process of systems and components. Following a system engineering approach it is
divided into two parts with Part I containing background and reference information as a
knowledge basis. Typical application areas of haptic systems and a thorough analysis of haptics
as an interaction modality are introduced. The role of users in the design of haptic systems is
discussed and relevant design and development stages are outlined. Part II presents all related
challenges in the design of haptic systems including general system architecture and control
structures kinematics actuator principles and all types of sensors you may encounter doing
haptic device development. Beside these hardware and mechanical topics further chapters
examine state-of-the-art interfaces to operate the devices and hardware and software
development to push haptic systems to their limits.
