Feel the Solid Walls in Virtual Reality?
 |
Haptic has come a long way, but virtual reality remains above all a visual and auditory medium. New technologies offer more immersive solutions that simulate the sensation of hard objects, but they also suggest that virtual reality could, at least in the near future, be a heavy and difficult technology to integrate into the life of the average consumer.
The research comes from Carnegie Mellon, an important source in human-machine interface technologies, which have applications in areas such as robotics and immersive reality. The device in question uses multiple ropes attached to the user’s hand to simulate the sensation of obstacles and heavy objects.
The sudden stop we feel when our fingers rest on a wall or hit a hard object is a familiar sensation that, until now, could not be reproduced in virtual reality. Rather, the developers have managed with substitutions, most often in the form of haptics that give a jerky vibration to warn the user that he has passed through a wall.
The ropes are able to block, forming a hard stop for the fingers. More nuanced applications include the sensation of 3D curvature of objects or the detection of resistance when something moves.
"Elements such as walls, furniture and virtual characters are essential to building immersive virtual worlds, yet contemporary VR systems do little more than vibrate hand-held controllers," says Chris Harrison, Assistant Professor at the CMU’s Institute for Human-Machine Interaction (HCII), who worked with a team of CMU researchers and students on the device.
The machine uses spring ropes, which reduces weight, consumes less energy and keeps costs low. Co-authors Chris Harrison, as well as Cathy Fang, a student in mechanical engineering and human-machine interaction, Matthew Dworman, an engineer at the Institute of Robotics, and Yang Zhang, a doctoral student at HCII, found that the shoulder mounted device was more realistic than other haptic techniques according to user reviews.
"I think the experience creates surprises, like when you interact with a ramp and you can wrap your fingers around it," said Cathy Fang. "It’s also fun to explore the feel of irregular objects, like a statue."
Nevertheless, a piece of clothing to wear on the shoulder can be a difficult task for most home applications. Virtual reality already suffers from a problem of overloading equipment that has contributed to slower than expected adoption in the market.
This is not to say that there will not be excellent uses for the devices resulting from the CMU team’s research. These are, for example, control applications where a user equipped with a VR drives a robot. Fang also said the system would be suitable for virtual museums or virtual purchases, where smelling furniture, for example, could add value to the experience.
New device simulates feel of solid walls in VR.
The research comes from Carnegie Mellon, an important source in human-machine interface technologies, which have applications in areas such as robotics and immersive reality. The device in question uses multiple ropes attached to the user’s hand to simulate the sensation of obstacles and heavy objects.
The sudden stop we feel when our fingers rest on a wall or hit a hard object is a familiar sensation that, until now, could not be reproduced in virtual reality. Rather, the developers have managed with substitutions, most often in the form of haptics that give a jerky vibration to warn the user that he has passed through a wall.
The ropes are able to block, forming a hard stop for the fingers. More nuanced applications include the sensation of 3D curvature of objects or the detection of resistance when something moves.
A less energy-intensive and less expensive device
"Elements such as walls, furniture and virtual characters are essential to building immersive virtual worlds, yet contemporary VR systems do little more than vibrate hand-held controllers," says Chris Harrison, Assistant Professor at the CMU’s Institute for Human-Machine Interaction (HCII), who worked with a team of CMU researchers and students on the device.
The machine uses spring ropes, which reduces weight, consumes less energy and keeps costs low. Co-authors Chris Harrison, as well as Cathy Fang, a student in mechanical engineering and human-machine interaction, Matthew Dworman, an engineer at the Institute of Robotics, and Yang Zhang, a doctoral student at HCII, found that the shoulder mounted device was more realistic than other haptic techniques according to user reviews.
What Virtual Reality?
"I think the experience creates surprises, like when you interact with a ramp and you can wrap your fingers around it," said Cathy Fang. "It’s also fun to explore the feel of irregular objects, like a statue."
Nevertheless, a piece of clothing to wear on the shoulder can be a difficult task for most home applications. Virtual reality already suffers from a problem of overloading equipment that has contributed to slower than expected adoption in the market.
This is not to say that there will not be excellent uses for the devices resulting from the CMU team’s research. These are, for example, control applications where a user equipped with a VR drives a robot. Fang also said the system would be suitable for virtual museums or virtual purchases, where smelling furniture, for example, could add value to the experience.
- Shero King
Thanks Visit Channel Guide Officially Web Portal.
