UB Virtual Reality Laboratory


			Abstract Direct finger touch interface in most human-computer interface require smart panels, such as touch screens or pressure pads. With these interfaces, however, a user's tactile activity is limited to few modalities, such as pressing or dragging. Many common tactile activities used in real life such as rubbing, palpating, scratching etc cannot be captured by such devices. We present the Fingertip Digitizer, a novel fingertip-mounted haptic sensory digitizer. This device captures physical phenomena at the fingertip during dynamic tactile activities. Complex biomechanical characteristics of the finger, such as viscoelastic tissue behavior and joint impedance, are modeled for the applications of delicate tactile activities, such as art, medicine, and industry. To sense tactile activities of a dynamically moving fingertip we are using an Active Touch paradigm. In this research, we propose a sensory-enhanced virtual environment where both man and machine perfectly share the haptic stimuli using the active touch paradigm.


	Snapshots at SIGGRAPH 2006 Emerging Technology Exhibition July 30 - August 3, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, MA.


	SIGGRAPH site at B.C.E.C. and VR Lab exhibitiors (click to view larger image)


	Applications: Touch Painter \| Fluid Touch \| 3D Desktop

	Demo and visitors

Acknowledgements
Authors thank SIGGRAPH 2006 for sponsoring Emerging Technology exhibition.
Special thanks go to the contributors at UB V.R. Lab for creating demo applications for the digitizer: Govindarajan Srimathveeravalli, Venkatraghavan Gourishankar, Veluppillai Arulesan, Satyajit Sarangi, and S. Karimpuzha Seshadri.

Related News Articles
"Device Promises Painting in Thin Air" Discovery Channel | (Aug. 16, 2006)
"Bringing touch to virtual worlds" Boston Globe| (Aug. 7, 2006)