The feelware project has investigated the development of a software middleware prototype to enable simple and modular integration of diverse haptic actuation technologies into VR and HCI applications. The baseline for the project started with novel optimization-based haptic rendering algorithms developed within the ERC Consolidator Grant 'TouchDesign'. These algorithms take as input detailed contact information from a virtual environment, and pose haptic rendering as the estimation of device degrees of freedom to optimize the touch sensation received by the user. Within feelware, we have designed a software architecture that simplifies the inclusion of novel haptic devices within this optimization-based rendering methodology, by defining the degrees of freedom of the device and the contact interaction with the user. The project has tested the integration of the methodology with several different types of haptic devices, and it has also explored the connection with various stakeholders (both for device development and for application development).
