- Climbing into a Virtual World
- Assistive Haptic Tools
- Learning Something New
- Hand-Held Haptic
- Developing Haptic Interfaces and Elements
- Conclusion
Developing Haptic Interfaces and Elements
You want something to offer texture to your GUI interface? For those with vision limitations, a haptic mouse that delineates the edges of windows and icons makes sense. A number of items in the PHANTOM line of products from SensAble Technologies support these interfaces. The PHANTOM technology involves force feedback devices that are programmed with GHOST software. The end result is haptic feedback in 3D that allows users to feel the geometry of virtual objects.
The ARTools technology that creates virtual characters projected into a real world environment is also available for those who want to use it for development. This is the technology used at the HIT Lab to build augmented reality projects.
With this system, the subject peers through a viewer to see a two-dimensional black tracking pattern on a card. Computer vision technology is used to identify that pattern, using it to place a three-dimensional virtual object, say a cartoon character or an image of the planet Jupiter that overlays a live video of the real world. The software is available in a free download for non-commercial use.