Evaluating ALPHAN: A Communication Protocol for Haptic Interaction

In our previous work we introduced a novel application layer protocol, named ALPHAN, for haptic data communication. The protocol is characterized by three distinguished features: first, it is designed at the application layer to enable the application to define and control the networking parameters. Second, it is made highly customizable using XML-based descriptions. Finally, the protocol supports multi-buffering mechanisms to prioritize the communicated information. In this paper, we present a thorough evaluation of the protocol using a collaborative haptic game; the balance ball game that we developed is for this purpose. The performance metrics and the test bed of the protocol evaluation are also discussed. Finally, we comment on our findings and provide directions for prospective research.