UC San Diego

HAPTIC INTERFACES ENHANCE IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES BY SUP- PLEMENTING AUDITORY AND VISUAL STIMULATION WITH PHYSICAL FEEDBACK. RESEARCH INTO HAPTICS HAS RESULTED IN NUMEROUS DEVICES WITH APPLI- CATIONS IN MEDICAL REHABILITATION, EDUCATION, AND ENTERTAINMENT. THE TOUCH GLOVE IS A UNIQUE, WEARABLE TACTILE HAPTICS CONTROLLER WITH VIBRATIONAL, THERMAL, AND ELECTRICAL HAPTIC MECHANISMS AND CONTROL OVER HAND POSES THAT INTERACTS WITH TWO VIRTUAL ENTITIES. THE ROBOTIC ARM IS A ONE-TO-ONE COMPLEMENT OF THE TOUCH GLOVE, AND EXEMPLIFIES THE TOUCH GLOVE’S ROLE IN REMOTE ROBOTICS CONTROL. A CUSTOM VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) SIMULATION DEMONSTRATES THE TOUCH GLOVE AS AN INTUITIVE REPLACEMENT FOR TRADITIONAL CONTROLLERS BY REPLACING ASSOCIATIVE BUTTON COMMANDS WITH NATURAL HUMAN MOVEMENTS. THE TEXT DESCRIBES HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE THREE DEVICES AND HOW INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THEM ESTABLISH THEIR POTENTIAL IN REMOTE APPLICATIONS AND VR TECHNOLOGIES. WHEN PAIRED WITH A VIRTUAL ENTITY, THE TOUCH GLOVE CONTRIBUTES TO A GROWING COMMUNITY OF HAPTIC CON- TROLLERS THAT IMPROVE ACCURACY AND REALISM IN REMOTE ROBOTICS AND ENHANCE VIRTUAL IMMERSION, PAVING THE WAY TO THE TRANSMISSION OF TOUCH.