ENHANCING VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING WITH HAPTIC FEEDBACK: A TAXONOMY OF DEVICES AND DEVELOPMENT OF A TACTILE INTERFACE FOR VR-BASED MANUFACTURING TRAINING

This thesis provides a comprehensive overview of haptic technology and its taxonomy

from the haptic device exploration point of view with the aim towards reducing the gap

between haptics researchers and virtual reality developers. Followed by the development

and evaluation of the PowVRtool, an ungrounded handheld haptic device designed to provide

realistic haptic feedback for various power tools in virtual reality (VR) simulations.

The device incorporates vibrotactile feedback, weight perception, and mass distribution, all

essential attributes for developing muscle memory in users. We measured the vibration response

of various power tools and created a frequency domain database, which we used to

render realistic vibrotactile feedback using linear magnetic ram (LMR), eccentric rotating

mass (ERM) motors, and linear resonant actuators (LRA). Weight perception was achieved

using additional CNC machined weight to shift the center of gravity (CG) corresponding

to the real power tool and meet the total device weight requirement. We conducted a user

study to evaluate the effectiveness of PowVRtool by measuring its ability to render haptic

feedback for drilling activities and found that the device provided realistic feedback, resulting

in increased performance and focus among users. Our results demonstrate the potential

of PowVRtool as a valuable tool for VR-based training in the manufacturing industry.