Cutting, Deforming and Painting of 3D meshes in a Two Handed Viso-haptic VR System

We describe M4, the multi-modal mesh manipulation system, which aims to provide a more intuitive desktop interface for freeform manipulation of 3D meshes. The system combines interactive 3D graphics with haptic force feedback and provide several virtual tools for the manipulation of 3D objects represented by irregular triangle meshes. The current functionality includes mesh painting with pressure dependent brush size and paint preview, mesh cutting via drawing a poly-line on the model and two types of mesh deformations. We use two phantoms, either in a co-located haptic/3D-stereo setup or as a fish tank VR setup with a 3D flat panel. In our system, the second hand assists the manipulation of the object, either by ";holding"; the mesh or by affecting the manipulation directly. While the connection of 3D artists and designers to such a direct interaction system may be obvious, we are also investigating its potential benefits for landscape architects and other users of spatial geoscience data. Feedback from an upcoming user study will evaluate the benefits of this system and its tools for these different user groups.