Multi-finger haptic rendering of deformable objects

The present paper describes the integration of a multi-finger haptic device with deformable objects in an interactive environment. Repulsive forces are synthesized and rendered independently for each finger of a user wearing a Cybergrasp force-feedback glove. Deformation and contact models are based on mass-spring systems, and the issue of the user independence is dealt with through a geometric calibration phase. Motivated by the knowledge that human hand plays a very important role in the somatosensory system, we focused on the potential of the Cybergrasp device to improve perception in Virtual Reality worlds. We especially explored whether it is possible to distinguish objects with different elasticities. Results of performance and perception tests are encouraging despite current technical and computational limitations.