Implementing Haptic Feedback in a Projection Screen Virtual Environment

Andrew G. Fischer
Virtual Reality Applications Center
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011

Judy M. Vance
Virtual Reality Applications Center
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011-2160

7th Phantom User’s Group Workshop Proceedings, Santa Fe, NM, October 26-29, 2002.

Abstract
Haptics refers to the sensing of force, weight, or other physical properties through feeling and touch. The additional information from haptic feedback makes certain engineering design tasks, such as part assembly, much easier than with a traditional computer interface. Haptic feedback, when used in a virtual reality application, is most often combined with either a stereo monitor or head mounted display. In this research, the PHANToM 1.5 haptic device is combined with a projection screen virtual environment, the C6 at Iowa State University, in order to explore the benefits haptic devices bring to this type of immersive environment. To achieve this goal several concepts are presented including: the design of a stand to support the PHANToM in the environment, a virtual volume to scale the PHANToM’s physical workspace to a user defined portion of the virtual world, and an application to integrate the PHANToM’s GHOST software with the vrJuggler virtual environment software. Two example uses of haptic feedback in the virtual environment are presented: a NURBS surface and a virtual assembly application. The assembly example uses Boeing’s Voxmap PointShell (VPS) software to interface with the GHOST software and control the PHANToM. The benefits of haptic feedback in the virtual environment for these examples and some guidelines for using them are presented.

For more information on this project, see the research project Implementing Haptic Feedback in a Projection Screen Virtual Environment