Envisioning Haptic Design for Immersive Virtual Environments

PubDate: July 2020

Teams: German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence；Saarland University

Writers: Donald Degraen；Anna Reindl；Akhmajon Makhsadov；André Zenner；Antonio Krüger

PDF: Envisioning Haptic Design for Immersive Virtual Environments

Abstract

Current techniques for haptics in immersive virtual environments (IVEs) allow users to perceive materials while exploring virtual surfaces. However, these experiences are usually restricted to the properties defined during the design phase of the IVE. Analogous to drawing in virtual reality (VR), we propose the concept of haptic design by granting users the ability to (re-)configure haptic feedback in their IVEs through changes of virtual objects’ material properties. To study this concept, we considered how fabric sample books provide insights of material configurations by allowing us to explore different visual-haptic combinations. As an initial approach, we created the Haptic Palette, a dynamic passive haptic feedback controller where visual augmentations on top of physical textures allow users to experience mixed material perceptions. In this work, we posit the notion of haptic design for VR and present the results of an initial study using our Haptic Palette controller.