Modeling Dynamic Interaction in Virtual Environments and the Evaluation of Dynamic Virtual Fixtures

Virtual reality (VR) is a technology covering a large field of applications among which are sports and video games. In both gaming and sporting VR applications, interaction techniques involve specific gestures such as catching or striking. However, such dynamic gestures are not currently being recognized as elementary task primitives, and have therefore not been investigated as such. In this paper, we propose a framework for the analysis of interaction in dynamic virtual environments (DVEs). This framework is based on three dynamic interaction primitives (DIPs) that are common to many sporting activities: catching, throwing, and striking. For each of these primitives, an original modeling approach is proposed. Furthermore, we introduce and formalize the concept of dynamic virtual fixtures (DVFs). These fixtures aim to assist the user in tasks involving interaction with moving objects or with objects to be set in movement. Two experiments have been carried out to investigate the influence of different DVFs on human performance in the context of ball catching and archery. The results reveal a significant positive effect of the DVFs, and that DVFs could be either classified as performance-assisted or learning-assisted.

[1]  Simon K. Rushton,et al.  Weighted combination of size and disparity: a computational model for timing a ball catch , 1999, Nature Neuroscience.

[2]  Paul Richard,et al.  Effect of Frame Rate and Force Feedback on Virtual Object Manipulation , 1996, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[3]  Will Spijkers,et al.  Depth Perception in Virtual Reality: Distance Estimations in Peri- and Extrapersonal Space , 2008, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[4]  Kristopher J. Blom,et al.  On the Creation of Dynamic, Interactive Virtual Environments , 2008 .

[5]  Daniel Thalmann,et al.  Anyone for Tennis? , 1999, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[6]  Thomas B. Sheridan,et al.  One handed tracking in six degrees of freedom , 1989, Conference Proceedings., IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics.

[7]  Paul Richard,et al.  Human-Scale Virtual Environment for Product Design: Effect of Sensory Substitution , 2006, Int. J. Virtual Real..

[8]  Guillaume Rao,et al.  Judging where a ball will go: the case of curved free kicks in football , 2006, Naturwissenschaften.

[9]  Bruno Arnaldi,et al.  Virtual reality applied to sports: do handball goalkeepers react realistically to simulated synthetic opponents? , 2004, VRCAI '04.

[10]  Norihiro Abe,et al.  A Virtual Billiard Game with Visual, Auditory and Haptic Sensation , 2006, Edutainment.

[11]  C. Michaels,et al.  The information for catching fly balls: judging and intercepting virtual balls in a CAVE. , 2003, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[12]  Bruno Arnaldi,et al.  Real Handball Goalkeeper vs. Virtual Handball Thrower , 2003, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[13]  Shumin Zhai,et al.  Human performance evaluation of manipulation schemes in virtual environments , 1993, Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium.

[14]  Steven K. Feiner,et al.  Computer graphics: principles and practice (2nd ed.) , 1990 .

[15]  Anne-Marie Brouwer,et al.  Hitting moving targets: effects of target speed and dimensions on movement time , 2005, Experimental Brain Research.

[16]  Franck Multon,et al.  Using Virtual Reality to Analyze Sports Performance , 2010, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[17]  Mark Mon-Williams,et al.  Natural problems for stereoscopic depth perception in virtual environments , 1995, Vision Research.

[18]  Hirokazu Kato,et al.  Touch-Space: Mixed Reality Game Space Based on Ubiquitous, Tangible, and Social Computing , 2002, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing.

[19]  T. Ichikawa,et al.  Egocentric Object Manipulation in Virtual Environments: Empirical Evaluation of Interaction Techniques , 1998, Comput. Graph. Forum.

[20]  Michael Gleicher,et al.  Interactive dynamics , 1990, I3D '90.

[21]  Shumin Zhai,et al.  HUMAN PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF ISOMETRIC AND ELASTIC RATE CONTROLLERS IN A 6 DOF TRACKING TASK , 1993 .

[22]  Richard P. Paul,et al.  An Operator Interface for Teleprogramming Employing Synthetic Fixtures , 1994, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[23]  Darwin G. Caldwell,et al.  Intercepting Virtual Ball in Immersive Virtual Environment , 2011, HCI.

[24]  Ivan Poupyrev,et al.  Manipulating Objects in Virtual Worlds: Categorization and Empirical Evaluation of Interaction Techniques , 1999, J. Vis. Lang. Comput..

[25]  Shumin Zhai,et al.  The “Silk Cursor”: investigating transparency for 3D target acquisition , 1994, CHI '94.

[26]  Taku Komura,et al.  NiceMeetVR: facing professional baseball pitchers in the virtual batting cage , 2002, SAC '02.

[27]  Samir Otmane,et al.  Disabled people assistance by a semiautonomous robotic system , 2000 .

[28]  Kristopher J. Blom,et al.  Functional Reactive Virtual Reality , 2007, EGVE.

[29]  J. Deutsch,et al.  Use of a Low-Cost, Commercially Available Gaming Console (Wii) for Rehabilitation of an Adolescent With Cerebral Palsy , 2008, Physical Therapy.

[30]  Kristopher J. Blom,et al.  The design space of dynamic interactive virtual environments , 2014, Virtual Reality.

[31]  P. Beek,et al.  A Comparison of Real Catching With Catching Using Stereoscopic Visual Displays , 2004 .

[32]  Joseph A. Paradiso,et al.  PingPongPlus: design of an athletic-tangible interface for computer-supported cooperative play , 1999, CHI '99.

[33]  Jiaoying Shi,et al.  Easybowling: a small bowling machine based on virtual simulation , 2003, Comput. Graph..

[34]  Roland Schröder-Kroll Kristopher.  Interaction Techniques for Dynamic Virtual Environments , 2008 .

[35]  Chris Hand,et al.  A Survey of 3D Interaction Techniques , 1997, Comput. Graph. Forum.