Synth-A-Modeler Designer

Tool Summary

General Purpose Information
Year of First Releaseⓘ The year a tool was first publicly released or discussed in an academic paper.	2012
Platformⓘ The OS or software framework needed to run the tool.	Windows, macOS, Linux
Availabilityⓘ If the tool can be obtained by the public.	Available
Licenseⓘ Tye type of license applied to the tool.	Open Source (GPL 2)

Hardware Control Information
Haptic Categoryⓘ The general types of haptic output devices controlled by the tool.	Force Feedback
Hardware Abstractionⓘ How broad the type of hardware support is for a tool. Bespoke: Hardware is custom built, including open hardware. Consumer: Support is limited to a specific commercial device or a family of devices. Class: Any device with the same affordances can be used, possibly with some configuration required.	Class (1 DoF)

Interaction and Interface Information
Driving Featureⓘ If haptic content is controlled over time, by other actions, or both.	Action
Effect Localizationⓘ How the desired location of stimuli is mapped to the device. Device-centric: No spatial information is taken into acccount. Actuators are directly controlled. Target-centric: Stimuli are placed on the body or are assigned to a virtual object to be triggered through interaction. The tool handles how the device will display the effect. Location-aware: The desired location of an effect is taken into account to some extent, but is ultimately presented in context of the output device.	Device-centric
Media Supportⓘ Support for non-haptic media in the workspace, even if just to aid in manual synchronization.	Audio
Iterative Playbackⓘ If haptic effects can be played back from the tool to aid in the design process.	No
Design Approachesⓘ Broadly, the methods available to create a desired effect. Direct parametric control (DPC): low-level parameters are directly modifiable. Process: parameters are controllable by an abstract process. Sequencing: reusable effects are ordered in time to create complex effects. Library: a library of pre-existing effects is available for use or re-use. Description: a natural language description of the experience is used to find an appropriate effect, often through searching a library.	Process
Interaction Metaphorsⓘ Common UI metaphors that define how a user interacts with a tool. Track: a timeline represents an interactive channel containing effects. Keyframe: key points of the effect are set and behavior between them is interpolated. Score: an adaptation of a musical score or notation represents haptic effects. Dataflow: a dataflow programming model is used to control haptic output. Demonstration: physical actions or other data are mapped simply to effects or parameters. Generic Menu: typical GUI elements (e.g., sliders) are used to control effects with the absence of other metaphors.	Dataflow

Additional Information

The Synth-A-Modeler Designer is designed for physical modeling for sound synthesis and can be connected to force-feedback devices as inputs. Models can be constructed using mass-interaction and waveguide modeling through graphical elements. A special “port” object provides 1 DoF of input through a supported haptic device to allow physical control over the model. When a model is complete, the Designer can export it to a Faust DSP file that can be compiled to run on various targets, such as on the Web, mobile devices, and desktop computers.

For more information, consult the 2012 Linux Audio Conference paper, the 2016 Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications paper, and the both the GitHub repository for the designer and the one for the compiler.