Haptic Rendering of Virtual Hand Moving Objects

The paper proposes a method of haptic rendering for virtual hand moving an object in virtual environments, which would not only improve the immersion and authenticity of the virtual reality system, but also help operators predict virtual objects´ natural behavior and direct their interaction with virtual environments. By tracking the position of the grasped object, the posture change of the grasped object is detected. An algorithm is used to calculate the distribution of the external force imposed on the grasped object in arbitrary posture, and the static grasp force of the virtual hand is regenerated according to the physically-based general force model of virtual hand grasp. Based on the theories of kinematics and dynamics, the resultant force which causes the variation in motion of the grasped object can be obtained. Further, the grasp force of the virtual hand is regenerated by combining the posture change and the resultant force. The solution has been experimentally implemented using an exoskeleton force-feedback glove. A special series of experimental results show that the static grasp force rendering approach for the virtual hand moving an object is computationally efficient while retaining a well level of realism.