Haptics in augmented reality

An augmented reality system merges synthetic sensory information into a user´s perception of a three-dimensional environment. An important performance goal for an augmented reality system is that the user perceives a single seamless environment. In most augmented reality systems the user views a real world augmented only with visual information and is not provided with a means to interact with the virtual objects. We describe an augmented reality system that, in addition to visual augmentation, merges synthetic haptic input into the user´s perception of the real environment. Our system uses a PHANToM^TM haptic interface device to generate the haptic sensory input in real-time. The system allows user interactions such as moving or lifting a virtual object, and demonstrates interactions between virtual and real objects. Methods to provide proper visual occlusion between real and virtual objects are also described