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

走到一扇门前，转动门把手，转身进入一个房间，这对我们来说是一个自然的动作。我们如何在混合/虚拟现实（VR）环境中研究这种运动？本研究的目标是更好地理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个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。以人类为研究对象的研究将用于建立一个对象库，描述对象应该如何对用户交互做出物理反应。基于这些研究，将设计一套触觉设备来模拟与现实世界物体（如门把手）的交互，即，当用户操作它们时，触觉设备将像机器人一样提供力反馈。提出的虚拟现实系统通过投影在虚拟环境的墙壁和地板上提供物体的3D立体图像，一个带有线束和绳索的跑步机来模拟行走，触觉设备来模拟与现实世界物体的交互。用户可以在虚拟世界中走近这些物体，抓住与它们的图形表示相结合的触觉设备末端的手柄或旋钮，然后在他们继续在虚拟世界中行走时操作这些物体。有些活动将合并为双手操作。触觉设备和虚拟现实系统将允许用户与跑步机附近大面积的物体进行交互。人类受试者研究将评估该系统模仿不同物体的有效性，并提高用户在环境中的存在感。这些活动为使用VR培训急救人员，为治疗师提供治疗帕金森病或中风等健康问题的新工具以及创造新的娱乐技术奠定了基础。该研究项目提供了新设计的触觉设备，VR模型和控制算法，包括一个大型工作空间触觉环境。为了实现上述目标，该项目将针对具有VR运动接口的大型工作空间触觉设备的设计、控制和集成，例如TreadPort，允许用户在不同地形和环境条件下导航不同的环境。该研究将调查实际活动，其中大型工作空间触觉交互是重要的。此类活动的例子包括推手推车；手提的：提着或拉着手提箱或公文包的；开门，关门，走过一扇门；驾驶独轮手推车的；用拐杖。结合运动学，静力学和动力学的模型库将通过对物理模型的人体主题研究来构建和验证。这些人类受试者研究的结果将用于设计触觉界面，重点是提供一系列运动和触觉反馈，以真实地呈现使用手和手臂的任务。提出的触觉界面由大型平面机械手组成，在接近手水平的水平面上定向，在提供大运动的同时避免了重力补偿问题。专门的手端执行器接口将允许用户的手与物理接口交互，并提供更灵巧的运动。移动基座将允许平面机械手重新定位，以适应用户的运动和大的工作空间触觉显示。考虑到该问题的大工作空间性质，将开发新的算法来规划触觉设备的运动，以有效地显示这些特征，并将该运动与触觉设备显示的有效阻抗相关联，以创建稳定和逼真的物理人类与虚拟世界的交互。研究还将涉及操纵器、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显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人努力将此类研究应用于新疗法的开发提供基础。本研究创建的物理相互作用和具有挑战性的场景库将为研究人员开发与衰老和退行性疾病（如帕金森病）相关的疗法提供工具；展示新的培训工具；并说明潜在的娱乐活动。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.