Haptics in augmented reality

Abstract

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/sup 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.