EAGER: Haptics for Large Scale Virtual Environments to Assess Assembly Tasks

这一奖项的目的是评估用户在配备触觉交互的大空间虚拟环境中的表现，以实现更逼真的装配工作空间模拟。为了实现这一目标，将开发并测试一种在大空间虚拟环境中使用触觉设备的新方法。在大型空间虚拟环境中提供触觉交互的方法是将六自由度触觉设备与移动动力平台相结合。大空间虚拟环境可以包括支持位置跟踪和立体观看的大屏幕投影系统的布置，或者具有结合了头盔显示器的大面积跟踪的房间。将触觉设备放置在移动平台上，将允许调查人员在投影屏幕环境和大面积跟踪房间中使用该触觉设备。移动平台将被定位跟踪，以便调查人员可以控制触觉设备相对于用户的相对运动。这样做的目的是用户不会在空间中主动移动平台，而是移动平台将足够智能，以便在用户在空间中移动时跟随用户。这项研究的成功完成对改进产品设计具有很大的潜力。随着力反馈扩展到装配工位的整个区域，制造工程师可以使用虚拟现实技术来制作零件装配过程中人类与产品交互的原型，远在第一个零件到达装配工位之前。通过在大规模虚拟环境中使用CAD模型和触觉设备，产品设计团队可以探索影响工人人体工效学、夹具和工装设计的人/产品/工作站交互。其他产品设计师可以在设计安全措施和开发维护方法时探索人/产品交互。在设计过程早期使用CAD模型进行深入评估可以避免重复工作和重新设计，这会给最终产品增加不必要的成本。作为该奖项的一部分，PIS将邀请来自多个学科的学生参与研究。因此，这些学生将体验一个有意义的多学科设计项目，并带着对来自不同学科的人可以贡献的知识的理解和欣赏离开。

The objective of this EAGER award is to assess the performance of users in a large space virtual environment equipped with haptic interaction in order to achieve a more realistic assembly workspace simulation. To achieve this objective, a new method of using a haptic device in a large space virtual environment will be developed and tested. The approach to providing haptic interaction in a large space virtual environment is to combine a six-degree-of-freedom haptic device with a mobile powered platform. Large space virtual environments can consist of arrangements of large screen projection systems that support position tracking and stereo viewing or rooms that have large area tracking combined with head mounted displays. Placing the haptic device on a mobile platform will allow the investigators to use this haptic device in the projection screen environment as well as the large area tracked room. The mobile platform will be position tracked so that the investigators can control the relative movement of the haptic device with respect to the user. The intent is that the user would not actively move the platform around the space, but that the mobile platform would be intelligent enough to follow the user as he/she moves around in the space. The successful completion of this research has great potential to improve product design. With the expansion of force feedback to encompass the full area of an assembly workstation, virtual reality technology can be used by manufacturing engineers to prototype how humans interact with products during part assembly, long before the first part reaches the assembly station. Using CAD models and haptic devices in a large scale virtual environment, product design teams can explore the human/product/workstation interaction that affects worker ergonomics, fixture and tooling design. Other product designers can explore human/product interaction as they design safety measures and develop maintenance methods. In-depth evaluations using CAD models early in the design process can save re-work and re-design which add unnecessary costs to the final product. As a part of this award, the PIs will engage students from multiple disciplines in the research. As a result, these students will experience a meaningful multidisciplinary design project and leave with an understanding and appreciation for the knowledge that can be contributed from people who come from different disciplines.