Dynamic Redirection for Safe Interaction with ETHD-Simulated Virtual Objects

This paper proposes a redirection strategy for safe and effective haptic feedback in virtual reality. The user interacts with the virtual environment using a handheld stick and receives haptic feedback from a custom $300 table-top encountered-type haptic device (ETHD). Safety is enforced by avoiding that the user makes contact with the ETHD while the ETHD is moving. Effectiveness is achieved by making sure users feel the physical contact at the same time as they see the contact in the virtual world. The haptic feedback strategy was evaluated in a controlled, within-subject user study (N = 26) with two experiments involving static and moving virtual objects. The results show that dynamic redirection of the virtual stick can satisfy simultaneously the competing goals of safety and effectiveness. Dynamic redirection has a significant advantage over no redirection and over static redirection both in terms of objective and subjective metrics.