H-Reality has successfully broken down traditional disciplinary boundaries, bringing together the commercial pioneers of ultrasonic non-contact haptics, state-of-the-art vibrotactile actuators, novel mathematical and tribological modelling of the skin and the mechanics of touch, as well as experts in the psychophysical rendering of sensation. The novel haptic interface that we have developed uses high frequency pulses of air, which was commercialised by Ultraleap Ltd. for non-contact haptic feedback. It operates with a set of miniaturized wearable haptic sensors and actuators, commercialised by Actronika SAS, for contact vibrotactile feedback. The Ultraleap system focuses acoustic pressure to induce microscale skin deformations. When modulated in time and space, these pressure points can be perceived by the brain as textures, such as foam or velvet, or as 3D objects. The Actronika system generates rich vibrotactile input over a large range of frequencies e.g. it can simulate the collision of objects with the hand with a high degree of realism. Through combining these systems, the H-Reality MHI accurately renders the sensation of touch, enabling mid-air interactions with cyber-physical objects in real space without the need for limiting, cumbersome hardware (e.g. force gloves). The result is an untethered experience of virtual objects and surfaces, with the embodiment of their physical properties. The project has empowered users to reach out and interact with a digital reality, perceiving its semantic physical properties, accentuated by synchronised visual and auditory feedback: an immersive haptic reality that we call H-Reality.
The development of the MHIs has been critically dependent on computer software to simultaneously control in a seamless manner both the contact and non-contact devices. The software incorporates the capability to analyse different real and virtual objects in order to find the grasping strategy best matching the resultant haptic pinching sensations. The result is that computational renderings of specific materials can be distinguished via their surface properties.
The research has been underpinned by a vibrotactile library based on measuring the vibrations induced in the hands of subjects as they slide a finger over a particular surface or assess the softness of a material by pressing down with a finger. Advanced mathematical analyses have been developed for processing the results to capture key features that a subject uses in such tactile appraisals. Perceptual limits for materials and objects have been determined for the contacting and non-contacting haptic prototypes. This has led to perceptual verification of device efficacy by employing absolute detection thresholds for the MHI. A virtual hand has been developed that can assess how tactile vibrations would interact with our biological touch sensors (mechanoreceptors). The model is sufficiently powerful that, given the texture of a particular material, it is possible to predict the tactile perception experienced by real subject.
Our results have been made publicly available via our website (www.hreality.eu) that includes the main concepts of the project with photos and videos, details of the team members and contact information, a media page covering demonstrations given at conferences, workshops, and exhibitions, some open source tools and a publication list (6 journal articles and 21 conference papers). There have also been over 30 public presentations.
The best opportunities for exploitation have been identified, which includes gaming, e-commerce, healthcare and the automotive sector. There have been 4 patent applications and 8 innovations recognised by the EU’s Innovation Radar scheme.
