Evaluating different combinations of haptic feedback devices in Virtual Reality

Abstract

VR-based systems have been using more and more haptic feedback devices for enhancing immersion and interaction, not only in the consumer market but also in industrial applications. However, different combinations of haptic feedback devices could result in different user experiences. To evaluate different types of multimodal haptic feedback, an exemplary use case was built in which combinations of STRIVE, STROE, and SenseGlove can be used. Since the use case was developed close to typical virtual buildability working patterns in the automotive industry, only VR experts from the respective departments were invited to participate in the subsequent user study, designed to evaluate the different combinations of haptic feedback devices. Participant feedback was recorded using a haptic questionnaire and an interview to obtain a broad spectrum of feedback that provides essential information for development in the future. Feedback from participants shows that currently, a combination of collision simulation and weight force simulation by the STRIVE and STROE devices leaves the best impression. Other important findings show that haptic feedback is generally very well accepted, but that full haptic feedback is not always required, since not all haptic impressions are necessary for every work step. Thus, while haptic grasping is beneficial in some of the tasks, it cannot keep up with the simplicity of the controller due to imperfect precision, among other things. A promising prospect for the future is therefore the implementation of finger tracking in combination with collision feedback and weight simulation as a middle ground between haptic grasping and the use of a controller since the haptic feedback of STRIVEs and STROE could thus be applied directly to the user’s hand.