MorphoHaptics: An Open-Source Tool for Visuohaptic Exploration of Morphological Image Datasets

TL;DR

It is indicated that integrating haptics into the virtual preparation workflow enhances the understanding of the morphology and material properties of working specimens and enhances the understanding of the morphology and material properties of working specimens.

Abstract

Although digital methods have significantly advanced morphology, practitioners are still challenged to understand and process tomographic specimen data. As automated processing of fossil data remains insufficient, morphologists still engage in intensive manual work to prepare digital fossils for research objectives. We present an open-source tool that enables morphologists to explore tomographic data similarly to the physical workflows that traditional fossil preparators experience in the field. We assessed the usability of our prototype for virtual fossil preparation and its accompanying tasks in the digital preparation workflow. Our findings indicate that integrating haptics into the virtual preparation workflow enhances the understanding of the morphology and material properties of working specimens. Our design's visuohaptic sculpting of fossil volumes was deemed straightforward and an improvement over current tomographic data processing methods.

Figures (7)

• Figure 1: Sculpting of an Ornithischian tooth. As a user activates the sculpting function and the virtual probe collides with the tomographic volume, affected voxels are removed.
• Figure 2: MorphoHaptics' UI - Sidebar Menu Items
• Figure 3: Exported model of an Ornithischian tooth sculpted in MorphoHaptics. The application polygonized the user-modified tomographic volume and exported a model file.
• Figure 4: A participant exploring a fossil dataset while a diagram is shown on another display (collage).
• Figure 5: Visuohaptic Morphology Questionnaire (VHMQ): Mean (blue) and Standard Deviation (black) for Likert statements.