Project FineSkills - Physically-Based Interaction in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) training applications allow us to train and experience situations that we couldn’t practice in the real world due to their high risk, complexity or costs. However, many current commercial VR simulators suffer from the fact that users first have to learn how to interact with the virtual world. Project FineSkills brings natural, intuitive interaction to VR applications by using data gloves and the simulation of physics.

Project Details

FineSkills is a research project that tries to enable physically-based interaction (navigation and manipulation) in the commercial VR training simulator Magellan which is used for training of employees in the oil and gas industry who learn to perform safety critical tasks in a virtual refinery or offshore platform.

In the simulator several positions (head, hands) are recorded using motion tracking. A head-mounted display serves as output device. Traditional VR simulators use a 3d joystick as input device.

In FineSkills the 3d joystick is replaced with two data gloves. 3d hand models resemble the actual hand pose and position. The user can move his hands naturally. At collisions with virtual objects forces are applied to the touched objects which then move in a physically realistic way.

This attempt allows us to replace conventional “touch and click” interaction with the natural equivalents: pulling, pushing, grasping. Examples: Doors can be opened by grasping and pushing the door handle. Buttons can be activated by a touch of the fingertip. Such interaction is natural, intuitive and … more fun!

 Magellan_VR_Simulator.jpg

 

Screenshots

Edit Album Re-Order the Album Images

Here are a few screenshots of the application.

  • 3D hand models
  • Pushing a button
  • Opening a door
  • Stacking boxes
  • Playing with a ragdoll
  • Using tools

Video

Further Information

FineSkills is a research project of Phenomatics Virtual Reality Software GmbH (Linz, Austria) in cooperation with the Institute of Graphics and Parallel Processing (Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria). The project is sponsored by the Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft (FFG, Austrian institute for research promotion). (DigitalRune.com currently hosts the project website.)

For more information, please contact:

  • Roland Holm (Project Lead), roland.holm (AT) phenomatics (DOT) com
  • Helmut Garstenauer (Research and development), helmutg (AT) digitalrune (DOT) com
  • Martin Garstenauer (Research and development), marting (AT) digitalrune (DOT) com