Kinesthetic Physical Interaction with a Multi-handed Tactile Display

Summary form only given. Interaction with a virtual environment will be provided to a user through a device equipped with tactile feedback and six degree-of-freedom spatial position sensing. Our tactile feedback device uses three sliding plates positioned around the handle to provide skin stretch feedback to a user's palm. Our two-handed tactile feedback device allows for independent hand motions and while providing tactile feedback creates a feedback experience that is more kinesthetic in nature. Our device and demonstrations include cooperative multi-handed interactions that portray fundamental physical interactions such as mass, stiffness, and damping. These physical interactions are fundamental as they are the building blocks of virtually every dynamic model. Various virtual environments will be used to demonstrate these physical interactions.