an investigation into different visual/tactual feedback modes for a virtual object manipulation task
This paper describes the study of an object manipulation task in real, virtual and augmented environments using the VisiTact system, a virtual reality system that facilitates the integration of various immersed or desktop vision feedback devices with a three degree-of-freedom haptic force-feedback interface. VisiTact has a relatively large working volume and enables virtual objects to take on user-specified dynamic properties such as mass, gravity, viscous and drag force, and buoyancy. The VisiTact system is also capable of providing augmented reality applications with the aid of a chromakeying facility. The manipulation task adopted for the study involves picking up a surrogate object, placing it against a vertical surface, sliding it along the surface and inserting it into a horizontal hole. The time taken to complete the task is used as a measure of performance comparison. It has been found that for the same force feedback modes, the type of visual feedback and the position of cameras and monitors had little effect on the results. Modes employing virtual force feedback have up to 45\% greater completion times compared with the task undertaken manually. The reasons for this are discussed, and preliminary analysis suggests that the discrepancies are greatest during the first parts of the task, in which large motions take place and are least during the most constrained parts of the task.
augmented environment (ae) force/visual feedback display mode virtual environments (ve)