GPU methods for real-time haptic interaction with 3D fluids

Abstract

Real-time haptic rendering of three-dimensional fluid flow will improve the interactivity and realism of applications ranging from video games to surgical simulators, but it remains a challenging undertaking due to its high computational cost. Humans are very familiar with the look and feel of real fluids, so successful interactive simulations need to obey the mathematical relationships of fluid dynamics with high spatial resolution and fast temporal response. In this work we propose an innovative GPU-based approach that enables real-time haptic rendering of high-resolution 3D Navier-Stokes fluids. We show that moving the vast majority of the computation to the GPU allows for the simulation of touchable fluids at resolutions and frame rates that are significantly higher than any other recent real-time methods without a need for precomputations. Based on our proposed approach, we build a haptic and graphic rendering system that allows users to interact with 3D virtual smoke in real time through the Novint Falcon, a commercial haptic interface. Abstract-Real-time haptic rendering of three-dimensional fluid flow will improve the interactivity and realism of applications ranging from video games to surgical simulators, but it remains a challenging undertaking due to its high computational cost. Humans are very familiar with the look and feel of real fluids, so successful interactive simulations need to obey the mathematical relationships of fluid dynamics with high spatial resolution and fast temporal response. In this work we propose an innovative GPU-based approach that enables real-time haptic rendering of high-resolution 3D Navier-Stokes fluids. We show that moving the vast majority of the computation to the GPU allows for the simulation of touchable fluids at resolutions and frame rates that are significantly higher than any other recent real-time methods without a need for pre-computations. Based on our proposed approach, we build a haptic and graphic rendering system that allows users to interact with 3D virtual smoke in real time through the Novint Falcon, a commercial haptic interface. Disciplines Engineering | Mechanical Engineering

Ultrasound Rendering of Tactile Interaction with Fluids

“…The advent of GPUs as computational platforms has allowed richer interactive methods. Yang et al [27] leveraged this technology, and implemented methods to accumulate grid forces on the simulated tool directly on the GPU. Cirio et al [4] performed a particle-based simulation of the fluid on the GPU, and used a virtual coupling method to transfer fluid forces on the simulated tool to the haptic device.…”

“…where u corresponds to the velocity of the fluid, p is the pressure, ρ is the (constant) density, and f accounts for external body forces such as gravity. We solve these equations following the standard advection-projection scheme used in computer graphics [24], [7], [5], [27]. First, we compute an intermediate velocity field u * by solving the self-advection equation in ( 5) using a semi-Lagrangian advection scheme [24] and integrating the external body forces f with explicit Euler.…”

Haptic rendering of cell injection task with fluid

“…Fluidic haptic rendering requires more computational resources than rigid and elastomeric haptic rendering. Early studies on haptic fluid interaction methods focused on 3-DOF haptic rendering, nonviscous fluids or 'sliding' interactions on simple objects [1][2][3] . The smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) approach is widely recognized as the primary technique for fluid simulation and haptic interaction.…”

GPU‐based efficient realistic techniques for bleeding and smoke generation in surgical simulators

“…The physical approaches offer the most accurate simulation of the underlying physics. These include techniques based on finite differences11, 12, 30 or smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH)18, 31. These methods are, however, computationally very demanding and the cost increases dramatically with increase in grid size or the number of particles.…”