Hands on virtual clay

Gouis

2017 IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces (3DUI)

et al. 2017

3D interaction in virtual reality often requires to manipulate and feel virtual objects with our fingers. Although existing haptic interfaces can be used for this purpose (e.g. force-feedback exoskeleton gloves), they are still bulky and expensive. In this paper, we introduce a novel multi-finger device called "FlexiFingers" that constrains each digit individually and produces elastic forcefeedback. FlexiFingers leverages passive haptics in order to offer a lightweight, modular, and affordable alternative to active devices. Moreover, we combine Flexifingers with a pseudo-haptic approach that simulates different levels of stiffness when interacting with virtual objects. We illustrate how this combination of passive haptics and pseudo-haptics can benefit multi-finger interaction through several use cases related to music learning and medical training. Those examples suggest that our approach could find applications in various domains that require an accessible and portable way of providing haptic feedback to the fingers.

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

FlexiFingers: Multi-finger interaction in VR combining passive haptics and pseudo-haptics

Gouis

2017 IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces (3DUI)

et al. 2017

“…A second definition is proposed by Swanson (2002) Pihuit, Kry, and Cani (2008) used foam balls as proxies to simulate the grasping of objects and Achibet, Marchal, Argelaguet, and Lécuyer (2014) used hand exercisers. Hoang, Smith, and Thomas (2013) proposed to use a passive deformable glove to perform 3D modeling tasks.…”

Section: Passive Haptic Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging Passive Haptic Feedback in Virtual Environments with the Elastic-Arm Approach

Girard

Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments

et al. 2016

International audienceHaptic feedback is known to improve 3D interaction in virtual environments but current haptic interfaces remain complex and tailored to desktop interaction. In this paper, we describe an alternative approach called “Elastic-Arm” for incorporating haptic feedback in immersive virtualenvironments in a simple and cost-effective way. The Elastic-Arm is based on a body-mounted elastic armature that links the users hand to his body and generates a progressive egocentric force when extending the arm. A variety of designs can be proposed with multiple links attached tovarious locations on the body in order to simulate different haptic properties and sensations such as different levels of stiffness, weight lifting, bimanual interaction, etc. Our passive haptic approach can be combined with various 3D interaction techniques and we illustrate the possibilities offered by the Elastic-Arm through several use cases based on well-known techniques such as the Bubble technique, redirected touching, and pseudo-haptics. A user study was conducted which showed the effectiveness of our pseudo-haptic technique as well as the general appreciation of the Elastic-Arm. We believe that the Elastic-Arm could be used in various VR applications which call for mobile haptic feedback or human-scale haptic sensations

“…For example, passive haptic feedback leverages input devices that benefit from enough internal elasticity to let users get relevant haptic cues when deforming them themselves. Pihuit et al [24] proposed an elastic device taking the form of a foam ball equipped with pressure sensors under each finger to perform sculpting tasks. Kry et al [18] proposed the HandNavigator, another passive device that allows users to control a virtual hand by slightly displacing the fingers inside of deformable thimbles.…”

Section: Alternative Haptic Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Virtual Mitten: A novel interaction paradigm for visuo-haptic manipulation of objects using grip force

2014 IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces (3DUI)

Argelaguet

et al. 2014

Figure 1: Visuo-haptic manipulation as enabled by our novel approach called the "Virtual Mitten". Each hand holds an elastic device to control a corresponding virtual mitten (in gray) and to grasp virtual objects in a bimanual scenario. The grip force applied by the user is measured to generate pseudo-haptic feedback. ABSTRACTIn this paper, we propose a novel visuo-haptic interaction paradigm called the "Virtual Mitten" for simulating the 3D manipulation of objects. Our approach introduces an elastic handheld device that provides a passive haptic feedback through the fingers and a mitten interaction metaphor that enables to grasp and manipulate objects. The grasping performed by the mitten is directly correlated with the grip force applied on the elastic device and a supplementary pseudo-haptic feedback modulates the visual feedback of the interaction in order to simulate different haptic perceptions. The Virtual Mitten allows natural interaction and grants users with an extended freedom of movement compared with rigid devices with limited workspaces. Our approach has been evaluated within two experiments focusing both on subjective appreciation and perception. Our results show that participants were able to well perceive different levels of effort during basic manipulation tasks thanks to our pseudo-haptic approach. They could also rapidly appreciate how to achieve different actions with the Virtual Mitten such as opening a drawer or pulling a lever. Taken together, our results suggest that our novel interaction paradigm could be used in a wide range of applications involving one or two-hand haptic manipulation such as virtual prototyping, virtual training or video games.