Accession Number:

ADA342328

Title:

Force/Tactile Feedback System for Virtual Reality Environments

Descriptive Note:

Final rept.

Corporate Author:

COMPUTER GRAPHICS SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT CORP MOUNTAIN VIEW CA

Personal Author(s):

Report Date:

1998-04-03

Pagination or Media Count:

51.0

Abstract:

TOPIT- Touch Objects Positioned In Time, is a vitural reality system that allows a user, wearing a head mounted display HMD to actuate control knobs or dials on a cockpit instrument panel appearing in users HMD. The actual knobs, dials, and control are delivered to the user by an x-y-z robot. The instrument panel can be reconfigured entirely in software. A tracker and data glove continually provide the position of users hand and finger to a computer, and the computer commands the servomechanism system to place the correct type of control in the correct position to be actuated. The servo system has a touch panel that contains examples of a dozen or so different types of controls, such as toggle switches, knobs, and push buttons, that are used repeatedly to represent any number of instrument panel controls. One key aspect of the system is building a servo system that moves fast enough to put the knobs, dials, and control in place at the time when the user reaches for it. Another key aspect is achieving precise low-latency tracking of both users head and users hand.

Descriptors:

• *ROBOTICS
• *VIRTUAL REALITY
• *HELMET MOUNTED DISPLAYS
• COCKPITS
• MAN MACHINE SYSTEMS
• MAN COMPUTER INTERFACE
• MULTISENSORS
• SERVOMECHANISMS
• HEAD UP DISPLAYS
• INSTRUMENT PANELS
• CONTROL KNOBS
• CONTROL STICKS

Subject Categories:

• Cybernetics
• Human Factors Engineering and Man Machine Systems

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE