Haptic Ring Lets You Feel Objects in Augmented Reality

A vibrating ring allows you to feel like you are touching a virtual teddy bear.

The first thing that we often give children to hold is a stuffed animal so it makes sense that the first virtual object that you touch will be a teddy bear. At the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo, developers demonstrated a ring that uses vibrations to let you feel what you see on a screen. This augmented reality touchy-feely experience is the brainchild of Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Electro-communications. The cute and cuddly teddy bear the ring lets you interact with is known as a Virtual Creature (VC) and is as much of the focus of the research as the ring itself. Check out the videos after the break.

When we talk about haptics, the transfer of sensation from the digital world to the real world, we often discuss the next generation of human-computer interfaces. Future hardware and software could become more intuitive when you can actually feel what you are working with. However, haptics are also a key point of entry into full sensory virtual reality. Augmented reality, with its blend of digital and real-world images, is a sort of VR-lite and it’s a good testing ground for a haptics device. While not nearly complex enough to give you the sensation of being immersed in a virtual environment, the haptics ring is a good first step into that realm.

full review: http://mikemartoccia.posterous.com/haptic-ring-lets-you-feel-objects-in-augmente

Popularity: 70% [?]

Ghost Glove Haptic Device

GhostGlove delivers haptic sensations to the entire hand (each finger and the palm), and it integrates the haptic sensations with visual sensations to enable recognition of the definite existence of the virtual world. This method is based on a novel technology that provides significantly realistic sensations of touch and the dynamics of virtual objects by reproducing perceived cutaneous stresses, and it provides highly realistic experiences in the virtual world.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Immersive Workbench for dual haptics

SenseGraphics H3DAPI and 3D Immersive Workbench. This video shows an example of using dual ForceDimension Omega with H3DAPI demos in real 3D environment. 3D-IW setup and H3DAPI software also supports SensAble, Moog and Novint haptics hardware.

More information, software download (GNU/GPL) and developers forum available at www.H3D.org. Products at www.SenseGraphics.com

Popularity: 17% [?]

PerioSim: Haptics-Based Periodontal Simulator

This program provides a visual overview of the haptics-based virtual reality periodontal training simulator application. A realistic 3-dimensional model of the human mouth is explored in real-time; the interface allows a user to adjust the model position, viewpoint, and transparency level, while using a haptics device providing force-feedback to realistically interact with the ‘virtual’ mouth.

Various periodontal procedures are explored for the purpose of training – such as examining calculi on the tooth root, measuring pocket depth, detecting calculus, applying treatment through post-surgical evaluation by a dentist.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Telepresence Robotics – Haptics, Pebbles, Virtual Surgery

The Gadget Show in the UK covers telepresence robotics including a haptic glove that gives real physical feedback for virtual objects, Pebbles the telepresence robot, and telesurgery among other topics.

For more information on telepresence visit http://www.TelepresenceOptions.com, the Internet’s most comprehensive on the telepresence revolution

Popularity: 37% [?]

Virtual turntable with haptic feedback

Virtual Reality ’scratching’ simulation running on the tHRIL multi-finger simulator at the University of Reading.
Haptic devices provide force feedback to three fingers individually so that the shape and weight of virtual objects can be felt.
Stereo Vision, Sound and haptics are combined to create a realistic virtual experience.

Popularity: 35% [?]

Novint Falcon Haptics Controller Could Be Wii 2.0

Videogames and force feedback have been fair-weather friends for years, from motorized steering wheels that go spastic when you slam into a wall, to entire seats that tilt and lurch as your F-16 banks out of harm’s way. But playing with the Novint Falcon feels like nothing you’ve tried before. For more videos from Popular Mechanics visit: www.popularmechanics.com Everything from the World of Popular Mechanics: www.popularmechanics.com Subscribe to Popular Mechanics: subscribe.hearstmags.com -…

Popularity: 15% [?]

tHRIL: Virtual Wine Glass and Bottle

simulator at the University of Reading. Haptic devices provide force feedback to three fingers individually so that the shape and weight of virtual objects can be felt. The user can feel the weight of the glass and bottle and the forces produced when the objects collide. Stereo Vision, Sound and haptics are combined to create a realistic virtual experience. Virtual Reality Haptics Physics Computer Games Simulation Touch Physics … Virtual Reality Haptics Physics Computer Games Simulation Touch …

Popularity: 15% [?]

Touch Virtual Objects With Refined Force Feedback

We’ve seen interesting 3D peripherals like the Novint Falcon combine multi-axis movement and force feedback to create immersive experiences in the past, but a new research project called the H.VR Editor takes the idea to the next level, allowing you to “touch” and interact with CGI objects. Objects respond according to a pre-programmed graph of hardness values, and the system is capable of simulating texture and events like button presses. That should make the system a hit with product developers everywhere, but we’re waiting to see if the folks at DeviceAnywhere pick this up to build the ultimate cellphone testing lab.

http://www2.nict.go.jp/x/x172/index.html

Popularity: 14% [?]

Immersion CyberTouch

CyberTouch features small vibrotactile stimulators on each finger and the palm of the CyberGlove. Each stimulator can be individually programmed to vary the strength of touch sensation. The array of stimulators can generate simple sensations such as pulses or sustained vibration, and they can be used in combination to produce complex tactile feedback patterns. Software developers can design their own actuation profile to achieve the desired tactile sensation, including the perception of touching a solid object in a simulated virtual world.

CyberTouch Feedback Option

The CyberTouch tactile feedback option is essential to anyone serious about using their hands to interact with objects in a virtual world. Finally, there is a product that lets you feel a virtual object and know it is in your hand without having to look.

Product Specifications:

Vibro-tactile Stimulators: Six (one on each finger, one on the palm).
Vibrational Frequency: 0-125 Hz.
Vibrational Amplitude: 1.2 N peak-to-peak @ 125 Hz (max).
CyberGlove: One size fits most; 5 oz; 10 ft glove cable standard. (Sensor Technical Specifications same as the standard CyberGlove.)
Instrumentation Unit: 10.00″ x 6.25″ x 2.75″; 30 oz. Interface: RS-232 (115.2 kbaud max).

http://www.inition.co.uk/inition/product.php?URL_=product_glove_vti_touch&SubCatID_=26

Popularity: 14% [?]

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