MetamorphX produces ungrounded 3D force feedback with adjustable properties
MetamorphX: An Ungrounded 3-DoF Moment Display that Changes its Physical Properties through Rotational Impedance Control
Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
People can tell how heavy or sticky something is by how it feels when they move it around. The authors created a device called MetamorphX that uses spinning wheels to push back against your hand in different ways, without needing to be fixed to anything. This device can quickly change how hard or sticky it feels to move, making virtual objects feel more real. They tested it and showed how it can work in virtual reality to simulate changing weights and resistance.
What this means in practice
- •For virtual reality developers: Create more realistic virtual objects by providing users with realistic changing feel of inertia and resistance without fixed hardware.
- •For haptic device manufacturers: Design new untethered force feedback gadgets that simulate physical object properties through 3D rotational forces.$Commercial implications: Enables the sale of novel handheld haptic devices with dynamically adjustable physical feedback for gaming and training.
Authors
Takeru Hashimoto, Shigeo Yoshida, Takuji Narumi
Abstract
Humans can estimate the properties of wielded objects (e.g., inertia and viscosity) using the force applied to the hand. We focused on this mechanism and aimed to represent the properties of wielded objects by dynamically changing the force applied to the hand. We propose MetamorphX, which uses control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) to generate ungrounded, 3-degrees of freedom moment feedback. The high-response moments obtained from CMGs allow the inertia and viscosity of motion to be set to the desired values via impedance control. A technical evaluation indicated that our device can generate a moment with a 60-ms delay. The inertia and viscosity of motion were varied by $0.01\,\mathrm{kg\,m^2}$ and $0.1\,\mathrm{N\,s}$, respectively. Additionally, we demonstrated that our device can dynamically change the inertia and viscosity of motion through virtual reality applications.