This Research Topic is part of a series:
Volume IIMany professions require dexterous manipulation and initial and continuing hands-on training. For example, in the medical context, simulations conducted on animals, cadavers or phantoms have been a convenient way to learn by trial and error for decades. Yet, these training resources are expensive, not widely available, may raise ethical issues, and provide a limited set of study cases to practice on. These difficulties limit the opportunities of trainee populations for hands-on training in their curriculum. Therefore, cost-effective solutions are required to facilitate hands-on training on any study case as often as necessary.
For more than a decade, Virtual Reality (VR) simulators have been used to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks. With such devices, which can be parameterized on-line, it becomes possible to provide an infinite set of study cases and adapt difficulty level to a specific learning curve. VR simulators have been progressively improved to provide trainees with a more realistic environment in 2D and more recently in 3D.
A fundamental building block of haptic training simulators is a haptic interface, typically consisting of a robotic arm or hand-held device with sensors and actuators that can simulate the sensation of touching and manipulating objects. The haptic interface is connected to a computer program that generates a virtual environment that simulates real-world tasks. Haptic feedback is an effective training tool for advanced tasks in some medical contexts. Airplane pilot simulators are an example of a widespread solution for hands-on training on difficult situations with the ability to objectively assess performance. They have become a necessary step before training on real planes.
This Research Topic aims to foster the design of (even more) efficient haptic simulators from the pedagogical and/or usage standpoints.
The simulators studied in this Topic will have a hands-on training purpose in any application field. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Haptic interfaces, in particular the design of haptic interfaces and their use in haptic training simulators
•Design of the virtual modelling tools for robots and environments
• Tactile and/or kinaesthetic haptic rendering
• Computer graphics for virtual, augmented, or mixed reality
• Motion capture/analysis
• Cognitive performance
• Specific types of training, e.g., laparoscopic training
