HCC: Multi-Finger High Fidelity Haptic Exploration

想象一个如此逼真的虚拟环境，在里面你可以练习小提琴技巧，比如颤音，或者如何给刚捕获的比目鱼切成鱼片，或者使用患者特定的数据进行外科手术。这样的应用，以及无数其他的应用，都需要一种高质量的手触觉设备，通过这种设备，可以施加逼真的力量来令人信服地模拟触摸。今天的触觉界面-支持人类触摸和操纵虚拟或远程对象的信息技术-与人类的触觉能力相比仍处于初级阶段。典型的触觉设备连接到一根手指上，或者支持通过笔状的触笔进行交互。为了显著提高技术水平，PI开发了一种令人兴奋的高分辨率和高带宽的多指设备原型。在这个项目中，他将确定原型的极限，并改进技术，以便在应用中进行评估。为此，PI将探索人类感知对高保真触觉技术的要求。他将测量用户的阈值(即他们用多个手指可以感知到的最小力)，并将研究多指和双手行为以及在探索和操纵物体和材料时的表现。这些数据将使PI能够重新配置他的多指触觉设备，并根据需要进行软件修改，还可以开发新的触觉渲染算法，并研究它如何与人类感知交互。项目成果将包括成功但具有成本效益的触觉设备的工程要求，以及实现未来高质量多指触觉界面应用所需的一些知识Broader Impact：该项目中开发的技术最终将使视障人士能够访问许多只能以电子形式访问的图像、3D数据集和模型。此外，触觉是医学模拟的重要使能技术；更好的医学模拟器将导致更少的医疗错误和更有效的医务人员培训。触觉技术预计将对艺术品的欣赏和保护产生重大影响。在这些领域和其他领域的应用示范将是这项研究的副产品。

Imagine a virtual environment so realistic that within it one could practice a violin technique such as vibrato, or how to filet a freshly caught halibut, or a surgical procedure using patient specific data. Such applications, and countless others, would require a high quality haptic device for the hands through which realistic forces could be applied to convincingly simulate touch. Today's haptic interfaces - information technology that supports human touching and manipulation of virtual or remote objects - are still in their infancy compared to human haptic capabilities. The typical haptic device is connected to a single finger, or supports interaction through a pen-like stylus. In an effort to dramatically advance the state of the art, the PI has developed an exciting prototype multi-finger device of high resolution and bandwidth. In this project he will determine the limits of the prototype and refine the technology so that it is useful for evaluation in applications. To these ends, the PI will explore the requirements on high-fidelity haptic technology imposed by human perception. He will measure user thresholds {i.e., the smallest forces which they can perceive with multiple fingers), and will study multi-finger and bi-manual behavior and performance in exploring and manipulating objects and materials. These data will enable the PI to reconfigure his multi-finger haptic device and create software modifications as necessary, and also to develop a new haptic rendering algorithm and study how it interacts with human perception. Project outcomes will include engineering requirements for successful yet cost-effective haptic devices, along with some of the knowledge necessary to achieve future high quality multi-finger haptic interface applicationsBroader Impacts: The technology to be developed in this project will ultimately give people who are visually impaired access to the many images and 3D datasets and models which are accessible only in electronic form. Additionally, haptics is an important enabling technology for medical simulations; better medical simulators will lead to fewer medical errors and more efficient training of medical personnel. Haptics is expected to have a significant impact on the appreciation and the conservation of works of art. Demonstrations of applications in these and other fields will be byproducts of this research.