OpenHaptics®  - System Requirements
Last Updated - July 2010

It is our policy to continually evaluate and qualify new computer systems and hardware subsystems as they become available. For up to date hardware compatibility and qualification notes, please revisit this page or contact us or your local SensAble reseller.

Product
OpenHapitcs toolkit

Versions
OpenHaptics v3.0 with QuickHaptics for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista and XP.
OpenHaptics v3.0 with QuickHaptics for Linux.
OpenHaptics v2.0 for Mac OS X on PowerPC

This page contains the following sections:

OpenHaptics for Windows, System Requirements
OpenHaptics for Linux, System Requirements
OpenHaptics for Mac OS on PowerPC, System Requirements

OpenHaptics v3.0 for win32 and x64 Windows Vista and XP

• Hardware
  • Intel Pentium 4 or higher
  • 512 MB free disk space
  • 1 GB RAM
  • Depending on PHANTOM model: Parallel Port (EPPMode port built into the motherboard is recommended) or FireWire 1394a*
  • Laptop Computers
    • Interfaces have not been fully tested on laptop computers
    • In general, PCMCIA cards seem to retain connectivity better than Express cards
    • Please make sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions and use the most up-to-date driver for whichever card is chosen
• Software: Windows® XP (SP2) or Vista; win32 or x64
• Compilers: Microsoft®  Visual C++ 2005 or Visual C++ 2003 (supports 32-bit only)
  • May require recompiling HDU and HLU Utility libraries
• Drivers: PHANTOM Device Driver v4.2.B122 or above
• One of the supported PHANTOM haptic devices. Please note that PCI-based PHANTOM Premium devices are not supported.
  • PHANTOM Omni (FireWire IEEE 1394a)*
  • PHANTOM Desktop (Parallel Port)
  • PHANTOM Premium 1.0, 1.5, 1.5 High Force, 3.0 (Parallel Port)
  • PHANTOM Premium 1.5/6DOF, 1.5HF/6DOF, 3.0/6DOF (Parallel Port)
  • NOTE: the PHANTOM Communication Converter (PCC) is available for Parallel Port devices to be used with a FireWire interface.

OpenHaptics v3.0 for Linux

• Hardware:
  • Intel® Pentium® 4 or higher. To interface with the SensAble Desktop or Premium devices, EPP mode parallel-port built into the motherboard is required.
  • 512 MB disk space and 1 GB RAM.
• Software:
  • Most Linux® distributions are supported
  • Kernel 2.6.30 or higher
  • raw1394 kernel module
  • Mesa—OpenGL® with GLX interface to the X Window System®. Make sure that “glxgears” runs on your system
  • GLUT—OpenGL Utility Toolkit
  • MesaGLw—Mesa Widget Library . Requires the Motif bindings (built with ./configure --enable-motif)
  • FreeType2—Portable font engine (http://www.freetype.org)
• Compilers: gcc 4.x
• Drivers:    PHANTOM Device Drivers v 4.3-2 or above
• One of the Supported PHANTOM Models.
  • PHANTOM Omni (FireWire IEEE 1394a)*
  • PHANTOM Desktop (Parallel Port)
  • PHANTOM Premium 1.0, 1.5, 3.0 (Parallel Port)
  • PHANTOM Premium 1.5/6DOF, 3.0/6DOF (Parallel Port)
• Please note that the following configurations are NOT Supported
  • High Force PHANTOM Premium devices
  • PHANTOM Communication Converter
  • Dual PHANTOM Configurations
  • PCI-based PHANTOM Premium devices
• Available for Download at SensAble's Developer Support Center (DSC)

 OpenHaptics v2.0 for Mac OS X

• Hardware:
  • PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
  • 256MB of physical RAM
  • Built-in FireWire 1394a*
• Software:   Mac OS X 10.3 or 10.4, Xcode 1.5 or 2.1
• Compilers:  gcc 3.x
• Supports only the PHANTOM Omni (FireWire IEEE 1394a)*

Note:  No separate PDD is required for OpenHaptics for Mac OS X.

*  The PHANTOM Omni device is IEEE 1394a compliant. However, SensAble is aware of customers that have experienced performance difficulties with the PHANTOM devices. with certain IEEE 1394a chipsets such as those from Texas Instruments, Agere, and NEC.

Proper operation and control of the Haptic Servo Loop requires sufficient "realtime" performance of the host computer.  Under Windows, to measure the system latency on your computer, please use the DPC Latency Checker, available at TheSyCon website. If the red bars appear regularly more often than every 5-7 seconds, please consider upgrading your BIOS, System devices or other device drivers.

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