Development and Evaluation of a Haptic Feedback System for Simulating Interaction with Deformable Objects

Abstract

This master's thesis presents the development and evaluation of a haptic feedback system for simulating realistic interactions with deformable objects, such as everyday objects like soft balls. While haptic feedback technology has made significant progress in various applications, the challenge of simulating interactions with deformable objects remains unresolved due to the difficulties in physical modeling and haptic feedback rendering, as well as the lack of user-centered evaluations. This research addresses these challenges by developing a systematic framework for modeling and rendering haptic feedback of deformable objects, providing a potentially generalizable approach that can be adapted for different materials and interaction scenarios. Using squeezing a soft ball object as the case study, this research developed a complete interaction pipeline that transforms user input into haptic feedback: finger positions are captured through motion tracking, translated into object deformation using physical model, and converted into actuator control signals to render appropriate haptic feedback. Multiple mapping strategies for rendering the feedback were developed and optimized specifically for this interaction to enhance the realism of the haptic sensation. A user study with 11 participants evaluated these different haptic rendering approaches, revealing that dynamic velocity-dependent remapping achieved superior performance in terms of realism, comfort, and material understanding. The findings demonstrate that users' perceptual experiences are influenced by the physical fidelity and usability of the haptic feedback system, along with the users' individual perceptual differences. In summary, this research enhanced the understanding of haptic feedback design for deformable objects and offered insights for developing more realistic haptic interaction experience.