CHS: Small: Large Workspace Haptic Interaction for Mixed Reality Locomotion Interfaces

走到门前，转动门把手，转动门进入房间，对我们来说是一种自然的动作。我们如何在混合/虚拟现实(VR)环境中研究这一运动？这项研究的目的是更好地了解人们如何与日常生活中的重要物体互动，然后利用这些知识设计一套VR系统和一套触觉设备，使人们能够在模拟环境中体验这些互动。对人类受试者的研究将被用来建立一个对象库，描述对象应该如何对用户交互做出物理反应。在这些研究的基础上，将设计一套触觉设备来模拟与现实世界对象(如门把手)的互动，即当用户操作这些触觉设备时，这些设备的行为将像机器人提供力反馈。所提出的VR系统通过在虚拟环境的墙上和地板上投影来提供物体的3D立体图像，带有线束和系绳的跑步机来模拟行走，以及触觉设备来模拟与真实世界物体的交互。用户可以走到虚拟世界中的这些对象面前，抓住触觉设备末端的手柄或旋钮，这些手柄或旋钮与他们的图形表示融合在一起，然后在他们继续在虚拟世界中行走时操作这些对象。一些活动将合并为双手操作。触觉设备和VR系统将允许用户在跑步机附近的大范围内与物体互动。人体研究将评估该系统对模拟不同对象的有效性，并改善用户在环境中的感觉。这些活动为使用VR培训急救人员奠定了基础，为治疗师提供了治疗帕金森氏症或中风等健康问题的新工具，并创造了新的娱乐技术。这项研究项目贡献了新设计的触觉设备、VR模型和控制算法，构成了一个巨大的工作空间触觉环境。为了实现上述目标，该项目将致力于设计、控制和集成具有VR运动接口的大型工作空间触觉设备，例如允许用户在具有不同地形和环境条件的不同环境中导航的TreadPort。这项研究将调查大型工作空间触觉交互重要的实践活动。这类活动的例子包括推手推车；提或拉手提箱或公文包；打开、关闭和通过门；操作独轮车；使用拐杖。将构建一个结合运动学、静力学和动力学的模型库，并通过对物理模型的人体主题研究进行验证。然后，这些人体研究的结果将被用于设计触觉界面，重点是提供一系列运动和触觉反馈，以逼真地使用手和手臂呈现任务。提出的触觉界面由大型平面机械手组成，定向在手部水平附近的水平面上，在提供总体运动的同时避免了重力补偿问题。专门的手末端执行器接口将允许用户的手与物理接口交互，并提供更灵活的运动。移动底座将允许平面机械手重新定位，以适应用户运动和大型工作空间触觉显示。鉴于这个问题的工作空间很大，将开发新的算法来规划触觉设备的运动，以便有效地显示这些特征，并将该运动关联起来，以控制触觉设备表现出的有效阻抗，从而创建稳定和真实的人类与虚拟世界的物理交互。研究还将涉及机械手、跑步机和躯干反馈系统的协调和控制，以提供对虚拟世界中显示的模拟特征的操纵。人体受试者研究将评估该系统在真实展示大规模触觉交互以及沉浸质量方面的有效性。这些研究结果将为其他努力将此类研究应用于新疗法开发的人提供基础。这项研究创建的身体互动和挑战性情景库将为研究人员开发与衰老和退行性疾病(如帕金森氏病)相关的治疗方法提供工具；展示新的培训工具；并说明潜在的娱乐活动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Walking to a door, turning the door knob, and turning the door to get into a room is a natural motion for us. How do we study this motion in a mixed/virtual reality (VR) environment? The goal of this research is to develop a better understanding of how people interact with important objects from daily living, and then use this knowledge to design a VR system and a set of haptic devices, enabling people to experience these interactions in a simulated environment. Studies with human subjects will be used to establish a library of the objects, describing how the objects should physically respond to user interaction. Based on these studies, a set of haptic devices will be designed to simulate interactions with real-world objects (such as a door knob), i.e., the haptic devices will behave like robots offering force feedback when users operate them. The proposed VR system provides 3D stereo images of the objects by projecting on the walls and floor of the virtual environment, a treadmill with a harness and tethers to simulate walking, and the haptic devices to simulate the interactions with the real-world objects. Users can walk up to these objects in the virtual world, grasp handles or knobs on the end of the haptic devices that are merged with their graphical representation, and then operate the objects as they continue to walk through the virtual world. Some activities will be combined for two-handed operation. The haptic devices and the VR system will allow the user to interact with objects over a large area near the treadmill. Human subject studies will evaluate the effectiveness of the system to imitate the different objects and to improve the user's sense of being in the environment. These activities lay a foundation for using VR for training first responders, providing therapists with new tools for treating health problems such as Parkinson's Disease or stroke, and for creating new entertainment technology. This research project contributes newly designed haptic devices, VR models, and control algorithms comprising a large workspace haptic environment. To accomplish the above objectives, this project will target the design, control, and integration of a large workspace haptic devices with VR locomotion interfaces, such as the TreadPort that allow users to navigate different environments with varied terrain and environmental conditions. The research will investigate practical activities where large workspace haptic interaction is important. Examples of such activities include pushing a cart; carrying and or pulling a suitcase or briefcase; opening, closing, and walking through a door; operating a wheelbarrow; and using a cane. A library of models combining kinematics, statics, and dynamics will be constructed and validated by human subject studies on physical mockups. The results of these human subject studies will then be used to design the haptic interfaces, focusing on providing a range of motion and haptic feedback to realistically render tasks using the hands and arms. The proposed haptic interface consists of large planar manipulators oriented in the horizontal plane near hand level, providing gross motion while avoiding problems with gravity compensation. Specialized hand end-effector interfaces would allow the user's hands to interact with physical interfaces and provide more dexterous motion. Mobile bases will allow the planar manipulators to reposition to accommodate user motion and large workspace haptic display. Given the large workspace nature of this problem, new algorithms will be developed for planning the motion of a haptic device for effectively displaying these features, and for correlating this motion to control the effective impedance exhibited by the haptic device to create stable and realistic physical human interaction with the virtual world. Research will also address coordination and control of the manipulators, treadmill, and torso feedback systems to provide manipulation of the simulated features displayed in the virtual world. Human subject studies will evaluate both the effectiveness of the system to realistically display large scale haptic interactions as well as the immersion quality. These study results will provide a basis for others striving to apply such research in the development of new therapies. The library of physical interactions and challenging scenarios created by this research will provide tools for researchers developing therapies related to aging and degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's Disease; demonstrate new tools for training; and illustrate potential activities in entertainment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.