BStick: Hand-held Haptic Controller for Virtual Reality Applications

Abstract

This study proposes Bstick-Mark2, a handheld virtual reality (VR) haptic controller that monitors and controls input from five fingers in real-time with pressure sensors and linear motors. Bstick-Mark2 is designed and fabricated to enable users to use both hands along with a head-mounted display (HMD) while freely roaming based on Bluetooth technologies. When a user holds the haptic controller with fingers, the data input from five pressure sensors is transmitted to microcontroller unit (MCU) to independently control the movements of five linear motors. The pressure and position data of linear motors are sent to a computer connected to a VR display through a Bluetooth module embedded in the controller and utilized in interaction with a virtual object and virtual hand movements using the Unity game engine. Bstick-Mark2 can withstand 22 N of force per finger to maintain the pressing force of a male’s finger and is compact to enable users to easily handle using their hands. It enables to make sensations of grabbing and controlling while interacting with VR content.