A TANGIBLE 3D DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT WITH FORCE FEEDBACK

Abstract

Various 3D desktop environments have been proposed and implemented in recent years. They don’t, however, become a popular interaction method in HCI (human computer interface) research field. Restrictions appeared in mouse-based 3D operations such as difficulties in appropriately designating object’s positions and directions in a 3D task space are major obstacles. In this paper, we propose to replace the mouse by a haptic device, an interaction device enabling easy object manipulations in the 3D task space. The haptic device also allows users to touch the objects with depth perceptions and feel some tactile sensations. It presents some special effects like shocks, vibrations, and weights when they touch the objects. We designed and developed a 3D operational environment allowing the users to treat the desktop interface as if it is a real world property coexisting with the haptic device. We describe the implementation method and operational interface of the proposed new 3D desktop environment empowered by the haptic device and two experiments conducted for verifying the effectiveness of the proposed system.