SGER: Incorporation of Psychological Basis of Haptics in the Design of Assistive Haptic User Interfaces

触觉感知领域的现有研究表明，触觉（基于触摸的）界面在人机交互方面具有潜力。在这个项目中，PI将通过探索在部署这种“自然”和有效的界面之前必须解决的两个关键研究问题，寻求推进为盲人开发辅助触觉用户界面所需的科学基础和技术。首先，他将设计并进行人体实验，以更好地了解触觉感知过程，从而建立辅助触觉的心理基础。触觉物体识别的一个基本问题是维度显著性。普通的物体在大小、形状、质地、重量和材料等方面都有很大的不同。我们几乎不知道哪些维度是触觉物体识别的主要维度，这些信息是如何在记忆中表现出来的，以及与有视力的人相比，不同群体的盲人的保留特性是否遵循质量相似的功能。其次，他将设计新颖的触觉渲染技术，允许人们通过多点接触感觉来“持有”和探索复杂的虚拟物体。普遍的触觉渲染方法并没有结合人类触觉感知系统的细微差别。PI将开发一个表面查询工具库，可以分析给定的虚拟对象并自动分配逼真的触觉特征，并将心理学实验的结果纳入新的实时渲染算法的设计中，该算法支持双手触觉界面，可以通过一副手套在以身体为中心的参照系中传递。PI的目标是取得重要的初步结果，这将为扩大研究计划提供基础，旨在开发一种在真实环境中为盲人提供远端物体感知的辅助系统。更广泛的影响：这项研究将在技术和社会性质上做出贡献。本研究将在协同人机界面、通用存取及辅助装置、触觉渲染、多媒体系统及触觉心理学知识库等领域作出重大的技术贡献。空间感知设备开发的社会影响在于赋予盲人和视障人士权力，使他们能够克服感官限制，提高他们的独立性和人与人之间互动的潜力。

Existing research in the area of tactile perception has shown the potential of haptic (touch based) interfaces for human-machine interaction. In this project, the PI will seek to advance the scientific underpinnings and technology necessary for the development of assistive haptic user interfaces for individuals who are blind, by exploring two key research issues that must be resolved before "natural" and effective interfaces of this type can be deployed.First, he will design and conduct experiments with human subjects to better understand the haptic perception process, so that he can model the psychological basis of assistive haptics. A fundamental issue in haptic object identification is dimensional salience. Common objects differ along a myriad of dimensions, including their size, shape, texture, weight and material. We know little about which dimensions are primary in haptic object identification, how this information is represented in memory, and whether retention properties by various subgroups of individuals who are blind follow qualitatively similar functions compared to the sighted.Second, he will design novel haptic rendering techniques that allow people to "hold" and explore complex virtual objects through multi-point contact sensations. Prevalent approaches to haptic rendering do not incorporate the nuances of the human haptic perceptual system. The PI will develop a library of surface interrogation tools that can analyze a given virtual object and automatically assign realistic haptic features to it, and will incorporate results from the psychological experiments into the design of new real-time rendering algorithms that support a two-handed haptic interface that can be delivered through a pair of gloves in a body-centric reference frame.The PI's goal is to achieve significant preliminary results, which will provide the basis for an expanded research program aimed at developing an assistive system for blind individuals affording distal object perception in real environments.Broader Impacts: This research will make contributions of both a technical and societal nature. Significant technical contributions will be made through this research in the fields of collaborative human computer interfaces, universal access and assistive devices, haptic rendering, multimedia systems and the psychological knowledge base of haptics. The social impact of development of spatial perception devices lies in the empowerment of individuals who are blind and visually impaired to overcome their sensory limitationss, increasing their independence and potential for huamn-human interaction.