Physics-based s-Adaptive Haptic Simulation for Deformable Object

Accurate and fast haptic simulations of deformable objects are desired in many applications such as medical virtual reality. In the haptic interactions with a coarse model, the number of nodes near the haptic interaction region is too small to generate detailed deformation. Thus local refinement techniques need to be developed. Many approaches have employed purely geometric subdivision schemes but they are not proper in describing deformation behavior of deformable object. This paper presents a continuum mechanics-based finite element adaptive method to perform a haptic interaction with a deformable object. It is accomplished by superimposing a local fine mesh upon a global coarse model which consists of the entire deformable object. The coupling between the local mesh and the global mesh is achieved by s-version finite element method (s-FEM) which is generally used to enhance more accurate solutions near the target points. The employment of s-FEM demonstrates the reliable deformation to users in real-time manner.