Augmented vision for a haptic dental simulator/trainer

牙科学生/实习生的临床培训和技能评估面临挑战，因为被牙科学校录取的学生人数急剧增加，而教师人数仍然有限。因此，牙科学校采用单一培训者/多名受训者的教学设置。传统的牙科培训系统价格昂贵，仅限于少数临床场景，缺乏重复性，并且不跟踪学生的进度以进行病例排练。我们的工业合作伙伴Tactile Robotics正在开发一种新系统-Smart DenTool-用于培训和评估卫生/牙科学生或国际牙科毕业生。这主要是因为牙科学校对培训和评估的成本效益和时间效益的需求不断增加，以便学生能够更快地进步，教师可以有效地跟踪学生的进步。触觉机器人公司正在开发的解决方案包括为教师提供物理牙科模拟器，该模拟器为学生提供网络物理模拟器。触觉机器人面临的问题是，网络物理模拟器需要包括增强现实(AR)显示，以增强真实感和丰富的学生体验。我们能够提供公司所需的AR技术。在AR中，诸如计算机生成的牙齿模型之类的虚拟对象被集成到用户工作空间的物理环境中。我们的技术将允许学生通过AR在相对于学生的工具的几何正确的位置和方向上看到教师工具和口腔的数字再现。为了实现增强现实，将利用投影映射将数字构建的对象(即口腔的重建模型)投影到真实世界环境中。完整的牙科培训系统将包括一个投影仪，一个用于创建虚拟环境的虚拟现实引擎，一个供教师使用的仪器工具，一个为学生配备可控触觉执行器和传感系统的工具，以及一个用于在3D场景中实现头部跟踪的深度传感器。

Clinical training and skill assessment of dental students/trainees face challenges as the students admitted to dental schools increase dramatically in numbers while the number of instructors is still limited. Hence, dental schools utilize single-trainer/multiple-trainee pedagogical settings. Classic dental training systems are expensive, limited to a small number of clinical scenarios, lack repetitiveness, and do not keep track of a student's progress for case rehearsal. Our industrial partner Tactile Robotics is developing a new system - Smart DenTool - for training and assessment of hygiene/dental students or international dental graduates. This is primarily due to the increasing demand for the cost- and time-effectiveness of training and assessment in dental schools so that students can progress faster and instructors can track the students' progress efficiently. The solution under development at Tactile Robotics encompasses a physical dental simulator for the instructor, which informs a cyber-physical simulator for the student. Tactile Robotics has faced the problem that the cyber-physical simulator needs to include an augmented-reality (AR) display for enhanced realism and richness of the students' experience. We are able to supply the AR technology needed by the company. In AR, virtual objects such as computer-generated teeth models are integrated into the physical environment in the user's workspace. Our techniques will allow the student to see digital recreations of the instructor's tool and the oral cavity through AR in a geometrically-correct position and orientation with respect to the student's tool. For implementing AR, projection mapping will be utilized to project digitally constructed objects (i.e., a reconstructed model of the oral cavity) onto the real-world environment. The complete dental training system will comprise a projector, a virtual-reality engine to create the virtual environment, an instrumented tool for the instructor, a tool equipped with vibrotactile actuators and a sensory system for the student, and a depth sensor to implement head tracking in 3D scenarios.