MPEG-7 Description of Haptic Applications Using HAML

The continuous evolution of computer haptics, as well as the emergence of a wide range of haptic interfaces has recently boosted the haptics domain. Even though efficient tools that support the developer's work exist, little attention is paid to the reuse and compatibility of haptic application constituents. In response to these issues, we propose an XML-based description language, namely Haptic Application Meta Language - HAML. HAML is designed to provide a technology-neutral description of haptic models. It contains ergonomic requirements and specifications for haptic hardware and software interactions. The envisioned goal is to allow for the creation of plug-and-play environments in which a wide array of supported haptic devices can be used in a multitude of virtual environments, with the compatibility issues being handled by automated engines instead of programmatically by the user. As per implementation, MPEG-7 standard has been used to instantiate HAML schema through the use of description schemes (DS). Our preliminary experimentation demonstrates the suitability of HAML for solving the compatibility issue