PropelWalker: A Leg-Based Wearable System With Propeller-Based Force Feedback for Walking in Fluids in VR.
PropelWalker: A Leg-Based Wearable System With Propeller-Based Force Feedback for Walking in Fluids in VR.
复制标题
PropelWalker：一种基于腿部的可穿戴系统，具有基于螺旋桨的力反馈，可在 VR 中的流体中行走。
DOI：
10.1109/tvcg.2022.3205181
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发表时间：
2022
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Kening Zhu
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Pingchuan Ke;Shaoyu Cai;Haichen Gao;Kening Zhu
越来越多的人关注虚拟现实(VR)的触觉界面，以支持高质量的触摸体验。然而，在不同的流体介质中以触觉方式模拟真实世界的行走体验仍然是具有挑战性的。为了解决这个问题，我们提出了PropelWalker，这是一对小腿佩戴的触觉设备，用于模拟人类在VR中与不同流体和材料交互时的浮力和阻力。通过使用四个管道风扇，每个小腿上安装两个，该系统可以实时控制气流的强度和方向，以提供不同级别的力。我们的技术评估表明，PropelWalker可以在0.85秒内在两个方向(即向上和向下)产生高达27N的垂直力。此外，该系统还可以稳定地保持所产生的力，且湍流较小。我们进一步进行了三项用户感知研究，以了解PropelWalker产生可区分的力刺激的能力。首先，我们进行了刚刚可察觉的差异(JND)实验，以考察人体对腿部空气流力反馈的感知阈值。我们的第二个感知研究表明，用户可以区分PropelWalker生成的四种力量级别来模拟不同的行走介质(即旱地、水、泥土和沙子)，平均准确率为94.2%。最后，我们的VR用户研究表明，PropelWalker可以显著提高用户在VR中的临场感。
There has been an increasing focus on haptic interfaces for virtual reality (VR), to support a high-quality touch experience. However, it is still challenging to haptically simulate the real-world walking experience in different fluid mediums. To tackle this problem, we present PropelWalker, a pair of calf-worn haptic devices for simulating the buoyancy and the resistant force when the human's lower limbs are interacting with different fluids and materials in VR. By using four ducted fans, two installed on each calf, the system can control the strength and the direction of the airflow in real time to provide different levels of force. Our technical evaluation shows that PropelWalker can generate vertical forces up to 27 N in two directions (i.e., upward and downward) within 0.85 seconds. Furthermore, the system can stably maintain the generated force with minor turbulence. We further conducted three user-perception studies to understand the capability of PropelWalker to generate distinguishable force stimuli. Firstly, we conducted the just-noticeable-difference (JND) experiments to investigate the threshold of the human perception of on-leg air-flow force feedback. Our second perception study showed that users could distinguish four PropelWalker-generated force levels for simulating different walking mediums (i.e., dry ground, water, mud, and sand), with an average accuracy of 94.2%. Lastly, our VR user study showed that PropelWalker could significantly improve the users' sense of presence in VR.