Wearable haptic display to present virtual mass sensation

Abstract

In recent times, there have been a number of computer user interface devices that have some haptic feedback functions, such as the DUALSHOCK controller [Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. 1997] or the Wii Remote [Nintendo Co., Ltd. 2006]. However, their haptic feedback is limited to only the vibration function since there is no other method to provide haptic feedback that can be implemented with a small and inexpensive device. On the other hand, there is an increasing demand for realistic haptic feedback; thus, a simple and inexpensive method for a highly realistic haptic display is required. To meet this requirement, we propose a wearable haptic display to present the mass of a virtual object as shown in Figure 1. We focused on the mass of a virtual object, which contributes to the weight and the inertia mass in haptic interaction. If the virtual mass is presented by a haptic device, the user can perceive a more realistic sensation of the virtual object by grasping than the vibration feedback.