Haptic Reconfigurable Artifact Toolkit for VR Kinesthetic Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current virtual reality (VR) controllers struggle to simulate realistic hand-grasping interactions and provide accurate kinesthetic feedback, as they often restrict hand postures and are either expensive or lack reusability, limiting the representation of virtual objects' shape and weight effectively.
Innovation Solution
The HapTwist toolkit provides a system of reconfigurable artifacts and haptic hardware components, along with a software platform for generating and assembling interactive haptic proxies that can be reused across various VR scenarios, offering a wide range of hand-grasp postures and improved kinesthetic feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If active haptic instruments with fine controlled mechanical and electrical systems are used, then haptic feedback quality is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates digital 3D models that serve as virtual copies of physical objects, allowing users to interact with accurate geometric representations without needing complex physical haptic instruments for each object. The system renders haptic feedback by calculating interactions between the user's hand and the digital model, eliminating the need for physical copying of every object.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical haptic instruments with a computational approach using a physics engine. Instead of using fine-controlled mechanical systems to simulate haptic feedback, the patent uses real-time physics calculations on digital models to generate haptic sensations, substituting mechanical complexity with computational processing.
2Device complexity
If passive haptic instruments using existing physical objects are used, then device complexity is reduced, but reusability and adaptability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal system where a single platform can represent any 3D model as a haptic proxy. The system is designed to work with diverse objects across different VR scenarios by using standardized physics engine calculations and a library of material properties, allowing one system to serve multiple functions rather than requiring dedicated instruments for each object type.
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves adaptability by changing parameters such as material properties, geometry, and physical characteristics in the digital model rather than physically modifying instruments. By adjusting these parameters in software, the same haptic proxy system can accurately represent different objects with varying properties, enabling high reusability without physical reconfiguration.
3Manufacturing precision
If custom physical objects are fabricated for each VR experience, then haptic accuracy is improved, but manufacturing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of fabricating physical objects, the system creates accurate digital 3D models that copy the geometric and physical properties of target objects. These digital copies serve as haptic proxies, providing accurate haptic representation without any physical fabrication process, thus eliminating manufacturing time while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system substitutes the physical fabrication process with computational modeling. Rather than manually or mechanically creating physical haptic objects, the patent uses software-based physics engine calculations to generate haptic feedback from digital models, replacing time-consuming manufacturing with rapid computational processing.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods which provide for interactive haptic proxies for hand-graspable virtual reality (VR) objects using reconfigurable artifacts and facilitated through use of a haptic reconfigurable artifact toolkit are described. Embodiments provide a haptic reconfigurable artifact toolkit including a set of reconfigurable artifacts for use in forming reconfigurable artifact-based haptic proxies, a set of haptic hardware components for use with respect to reconfigurable artifact-based haptic proxies, and a haptic reconfigurable artifact software platform configured to facilitate generation of reconfigurable artifact-based haptic proxies using items of the set of reconfigurable artifacts and the set of haptic hardware components. Reconfigurable artifacts may be shaped to form reconfigurable artifact-based haptic proxies covering a wide range of hand-grasp postures.