Abstract
A virtual prototype is a fully digital computer model
that simulates a product's visual appearance, sound
properties, the functionality of the user interface and
its behaviour as closely as possible. Touch interaction,
however, is one of the main information sources when we
explore objects and interact with our environment. For
this reason a haptic rendering system that enables the
user to receive force and tactile feedback from 3D
graphical models is studied. Haptic rendering gives the
user the ability to sense the virtual prototype's
physical properties such as shapes, materials and button
properties. Haptic rendering with a stereographic view
provides a realistic and comprehensive simulation of the
physical user interfaces of products. An experimental
haptic rendering system is developed for virtual
prototypes of small-sized handheld electronic and
telecommunication devices. The system provides tactile
and force feedback from user-to-product interaction
through a simulated user interface of the target product.
The developed haptic rendering system is based on
distributed architecture. The visual rendering process is
executed on a separate computer from the haptic rendering
process, which leaves more computational power for these
processes. The haptic rendering system implemented is
evaluated by haptically rendering a virtual prototype of
a future cellular phone. The process for creating such a
virtual prototype starts by designing a CAD model. The
model is then converted to Open Inventor format which is
the format used with haptic and visual rendering. The
functionality and haptic properties are added to the
converted model with a special tool to produce a
haptically renderable functional virtual prototype.
Experiences showed that adding functionality and haptic
properties to static Open Inventor models and modifying
these models is quick and easy. The realism of the
sensations received from haptic rendering may be further
developed by implementing a virtual fingertip which
allows simulation of various fingertypes.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor Degree |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Award date | 5 Jun 1998 |
Place of Publication | Espoo |
Publisher | |
Print ISBNs | 951-38-5237-7 |
Electronic ISBNs | 951-38-5238-5 |
Publication status | Published - 1998 |
MoE publication type | G4 Doctoral dissertation (monograph) |
Keywords
- virtual prototypes
- virtual reality
- 3D modelling
- haptic rendering
- force feedback