Immersive Virtual Sculpting Experience with Elastoplastic Clay Simulation and Real-Time Haptic Feedback

Immersive virtual sculpting focuses primarily on geometric adjustments and ignores material properties and haptic feedback. This study enhances the sculpting experience by integrating physics-based elastoplastic materials and real-time haptic feedback. The key innovations include an advanced Material Point Method (MPM) for stable and accurate large-scale deformations, integrating material elasticity and plasticity. An improved haptic rendering algorithm calculates forces exerted by clay on the virtual tool and transmits them to the user, enhancing realism. An improved marching cubes algorithm enhances particle-mesh compatibility for better surface reconstruction. A controlled experiment with 52 participants demonstrated that our system increased task efficiency and performance compared to the control group, indicating a more immersive, tactile, and accurate sculpting experience.