HCC: Medium: Collaborative Research: Haptic Display of Terrain Characteristics and its Application in Virtual and Physical Worlds

在这项研究中，PI的目标是在沉浸式虚拟现实(VR)移动界面中逼真地显示地形，该界面基于修改的脚/地形交互以及地形的图形和听觉显示以及用户交互。项目成果将包括能够感知和修改穿戴者在每一步感知到的地形的新型“智能鞋”技术，从而可以主动控制地形坡度、表面硬度、高度变化、滑移和平衡。该方法基于仪表化鞋底，具有方向顺应结构，使用可控的膀胱和嵌入式传感器来调节用户行走时的地形效果。鞋子的设计和控制将基于动态生物力学和地形相互作用模型。主题数据将为系统的设计、验证和确认提供基线。机器人试验台将在主题评估之前验证鞋子响应特性。这项工作的平台将是现有的TadPort主动风洞(TPAWT)，它能够逼真地显示不同坡度上的运动环境，并提供可控的风、热和气味显示。TPAWT的洞穴状显示将转换为具有无缝地面投影的三维立体图形系统，以呈现当地的地形特征，如形状、高度变化和表面纹理。将考虑图形和物理人工制品的组合表示、解释和协调，目的是创建身临其境和逼真的移动体验，最终目标是实现实际应用。这一组合系统被称为TPAWT地形显示系统(TPAWT-TDS)。这项新技术的目标测试群体将是帕金森氏病(PD)患者，对他们来说，VR培训已经显示出在改善步态特征和降低跌倒可能性方面的一些有希望的结果。帕金森病患者的调查数据将激励对特定地形的选择。普通用户和PD用户将首先在地形的物理模型上进行评估，然后在VR环境中的后续试验中重新创建和评估。一旦验证，VR地形显示将用于PD训练。用户将再次接受身体模型的评估，以评估步态和平衡性能，这也将与未经训练的受试者进行比较。布罗德影响：该项目将创建的“智能鞋”技术将允许探索新的复杂方法，将3D图形地形线索与动态变化的物理地形结合在一个新的VR界面中。由此产生的环境作为康复和训练工具将有无数潜在的应用，其中最重要的是改善运动和预防跌倒(因为跌倒是当今最昂贵的一种伤害形式)。这项新技术的开发将与严格的人类参与者研究相结合。研究成果将通过网站和主要会议传播，并将整合到机器人、虚拟现实、人体工程学和物理治疗课程中。

The PIs' goal in this research is to realistically display terrain in an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) locomotion interface, based upon modification of the foot/terrain interaction coupled with graphical and auditory display of the terrain and user interaction. Project outcomes will include novel "smart shoe" technology capable of sensing and modifying the terrain perceived by the wearer at each step so that terrain slope, surface stiffness, height variations, slip and balance can be actively controlled. The approach is based upon an instrumented shoe sole with a directionally compliant structure using controllable bladders and embedded sensors to regulate terrain effects as the user walks. The design and control of the shoe will be based upon dynamic biomechanical and terrain interaction models. Subject data will provide a baseline for design, verification, and validation of the system. A robotic test-bed will validate shoe response characteristics prior to subject evaluations.The platform for this work will be the existing TreadPort Active Wind Tunnel (TPAWT), which is capable of realistically displaying locomotion environments on varying slopes as well as providing controllable wind, heat, and odor display. The cave-like display of the TPAWT will be converted to a three dimensional stereo graphics system with seamless floor projection in order to present local terrain features such as shape, height variations, and surface texture. Combined representation, interpretation, and coordination of the graphical and physical artifacts will be considered with the aim of creating an immersive and realistic locomotion experience with the end goal of achieving practical application. This combined system is termed the TPAWT Terrain Display System (TPAWT-TDS).The target test group for the new technology will be patients with Parkinson's Disease, (PD), for whom VR training has already shown some promising results for improving gait characteristics and reducing the likelihood of falls. Survey data from PD patients will motivate selection of the specific terrain. Regular and PD users will first be evaluated on physical mockups of the terrain, which will then be recreated and evaluated in follow-up trials in the VR environment. Once validated, the VR terrain display will be used for PD training. Users will again be evaluated on the physical mockups to evaluate gait and balance performance, which will also be compared to untrained subjects.Broader Impacts: The "smart shoe" technology to be created in this project will allow exploration of new and sophisticated methods for combining 3D graphical terrain cues with an actively changing physical terrain in a novel VR interface. The resulting environment will have myriad potential applications as a rehabilitation and training tool, not the least of which is improved locomotion and fall prevention (since falls are the single most costly form of injury today). Development of the new technology will be combined with rigorous human participant studies. Research findings will be disseminated via websites and at major conferences, and also integrated into the robotics, virtual reality, ergonomics, and physical therapy curricula.