From: "Dale I. Newfield" <din5w@adder.cs.virginia.edu>
Subject: Re: RESEARCH: Sensory substitution
Date: 10 Nov 1997 23:54:54 GMT
Organization: University of Virginia


Nikolas Bergerhoff wrote:
>Is anybody of you guys aware of work that has be done on the field of
>substitution of force feedback in VR?

John Draper <draperjv@ornl.gov> wrote:
>Work like that has been done at JPL with a visual force display substituting
>for haptic force feedback during teleoperation.

>I can't recall anyone using acoustical methods for teleoperation,
>but I know it has been discussed from time to time.

If you can get your hands on the NASA AMES VIEW system video tape, you
will see an example including both.  When the controller attempted to
move the virtual robotic arm into a possition that could not be
realized, this fact was communicated to the user visually and
auditorally (since force feedback was not available).  The virtual
object remained in the last viable position, and a ghost object was
displayed where the user was actually trying to put the object.  A
screeching sound was generated (that seemed to increase in volume as
the distance between the solid and ghost object increased).

It is very clear from the video, although I know of no other source
for a detailed description of VIEW.  If I remember correctly, the
paper for which the video was an accompanyment didn't describe many of
the interesting ideas illustrated.

That video actually presents a sad statement about the current state
of virtual enviroments--there are many interesting ideas in it that
have yet to be fully explored in more "modern" virtual environments.

-Dale Newfield
 Dale@Newfield.org