CHS: Small: Creating a VR Workspace for Design by Physical Manipulation

CHS：小：通过物理操作创建用于设计的 VR 工作空间

• 批准号: 2008800
• 负责人: Vinayak Krishnamurthy
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2008800&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CHS; Small; Creating; VR; Workspace

From an early age, humans learn to see, touch, hold, manipulate, and alter their physical surroundings using both of their hands and tools. A sculptor holds clay in one hand and precisely carves out material to create an intricate work of art. A mechanic uses hands and tools to reach the most inaccessible nooks of a car’s engine to make repairs. All who work their hands, threading needles, carving soap sculptures, or wiring electrical wall sockets know the extraordinary dexterity and precision they possess when working in the space within the near reach of both hands. The project investigates a new class of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) environments that allow designers to be more creative in this workspace. Existing AR/VR systems only allow users to interact at an arm’s length making it impossible to leverage the innate human ability to use hands and tools for precise actions close to the body. As a result, the original promise of AR and VR in facilitating creative thinking and problem-solving is still unrealized. Towards this, a workspace is designed in this project to enable designers to create virtual designs in three-dimensional (3D) space by mirroring the intricate, complex, and precise actions that humans can perform in daily life. The research team will develop AR/VR technology and approaches that will enable users to directly “sketch” 3D digital objects, precisely control those objects, and assemble them to create physically feasible designs. The research team will integrate the new technology and tools from this project to promote geometric reasoning in K-12 students, undergraduate, and graduate curriculum. The project has the potential to make a long-term contribution to the future of creative work and may positively impact U.S. competency in design, manufacturing, and education by enabling small businesses to innovate effectively and economically.In order to enable the creation of a new class of AR and VR interfaces for 3D design, this research investigates precise spatial manipulation of virtual objects to facilitate 3D digital design. The research team will systematically explore new spatial interactions by leveraging the perceptual-motor sweet spot, i.e., a portion of frontal space in the immediate vicinity of the human body where highly precise interactions are possible through the confluence of visuo-tactile perception, proprioception, and fine bi-manual motor control. Through a series of iterative design-prototype-evaluate cycles, the research team will (1) study the visuo-motor and biomechanical aspects of tangible bi-manual interactions in the workspace for spatial object manipulation; (2) develop digital workflows for 3D design and modeling of virtual mechanical artifacts based on the those interactions; and (3) expand the digital workflows to enable physics-based design powered by haptics. First and foremost, the project will contribute to the understanding of how inherent human dexterity can be leveraged to enable precise spatial interactions. Second, the project will reveal how precise spatial interactions promote design creativity and enable creators to design functional artifacts. Finally, the research will provide tested methods for operationalizing the perceptual-motor sweet-spot through new interactive methods that integrate user intent, design feasibility, and physical realization of functional products.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.

从很小的时候起，人类就学会了用双手和工具来观察、触摸、握住、操纵和改变他们的物理环境。雕塑家一只手拿着粘土，精确地雕刻出材料，创造出一件错综复杂的艺术品。机械师用手和工具接触到汽车发动机最难接触到的角落进行维修。所有在双手、穿线针、雕刻肥皂雕塑或接线墙上插座工作的人都知道，当他们在双手触手可及的空间工作时，他们拥有非凡的灵活性和精确度。该项目研究了一类新的增强和虚拟现实(AR/VR)环境，使设计师能够在这个工作空间中更具创造力。现有的AR/VR系统只允许用户在一臂远的距离内进行互动，因此不可能利用人类与生俱来的能力，在靠近身体的地方使用手和工具进行精确的动作。因此，AR和VR在促进创造性思维和解决问题方面的最初承诺仍然没有实现。为此，本项目设计了一个工作空间，使设计师能够通过反映人类在日常生活中可以执行的复杂、复杂和精确的动作，在三维(3D)空间中创建虚拟设计。研究团队将开发AR/VR技术和方法，使用户能够直接绘制3D数字对象的草图，精确控制这些对象，并将它们组装起来，以创建物理上可行的设计。研究团队将整合这个项目的新技术和工具，在K-12学生、本科生和研究生课程中推广几何推理。该项目有可能对未来的创造性工作做出长期贡献，并可能通过使小企业进行有效和经济的创新，对美国在设计、制造和教育方面的能力产生积极影响。为了能够创建用于3D设计的新型AR和VR接口，本研究研究了虚拟对象的精确空间操作，以促进3D数字设计。研究小组将通过利用知觉-运动最佳部位，即人体附近的一部分额叶空间，通过视觉-触觉知觉、本体感觉和精细的双手运动控制的融合，系统地探索新的空间相互作用。通过一系列迭代设计-原型-评估周期，研究团队将(1)研究空间对象操纵工作空间中有形的双手交互的视觉-电机和生物力学方面；(2)开发基于这些交互的虚拟机械部件的3D设计和建模的数字工作流；以及(3)扩展数字工作流，以实现由触觉驱动的基于物理的设计。首先，该项目将有助于理解如何利用人类固有的灵活性来实现精确的空间互动。其次，该项目将揭示精确的空间互动如何促进设计创造力，并使创作者能够设计功能文物。最后，这项研究将提供经过测试的方法，通过整合用户意图、设计可行性和功能产品的物理实现的新交互方法来实现感知-运动的最佳状态。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。

项目成果

Spatial Manipulation in Virtual Peripersonal Space: A Study of Motor Strategies

• DOI: 10.1115/1.4054277
• 发表时间: 2022-04
• 期刊: J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng.
• 作者: Ronak R. Mohanty;Abhijeet S. Raina;Subhrajyoti Chaudhuri;Francis K. H. Quek;S. Sueda;Vinayak R. Krishnamurthy

Pointing Tasks Using Spatial Audio on Smartphones for People With Vision Impairments

• DOI: 10.1115/1.4062426
• 发表时间: 2024-02-01
• 期刊: JOURNAL OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING
• 影响因子: 3.1
• 作者: Raina，Abhijeet Singh;Mohanty，Ronak R.;Krishnamurthy，Vinayak R.
• 通讯作者: Krishnamurthy，Vinayak R.

QuickProbe: Quick Physical Prototyping-in-Context Using Physical Scaffolds in Digital Environments

QuickProbe：在数字环境中使用物理支架进行快速物理原型设计

• DOI: 10.1115/detc2022-91023
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: ASME 2022 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference
• 作者: Raina, Abhijeet Singh;Vyas, Shantanu;Ebert, Matthew;Krishnamurthy, Vinayak R.
• 通讯作者: Krishnamurthy, Vinayak R.