ACADEMIA

At the SIGGRAPH 2004 Conference and Expo, NTT Cyber Solutions Laboratories will be demonstrating a new haptic-based communication media that combines virtual reality (VR) and air jets interface technologies. The end result is a first-of-a-kind technology that enables a user to experience a lifelike sense of touch with remote, virtual objects. NTT will preview its technology beginning August 8th through August 12th in SIGGRAPH's Emerging Technologies Section booth #0160. Conventional VR technologies that produce a haptic-based experience generally require the user be attached to wires or fit with a mechanical arm. However, both of these approaches are problematic. For instance, when a user is attached to wires, which are typically moved to represent objects in motion, the wires are sometimes manipulated too rapidly, making it dangerous to the user and more difficult to ensure their safety. Equally, when the user's arm is tethered, their movement is restricted, unnatural and uncomfortable. To address these shortcomings, NTT is using air jets to create a unique, haptic-based experience for users. NTT's air jets interface provides two advantages; first, the technology is safer. Even if air flow is varied rapidly to represent a fast-moving object, the user is shielded from any excessive force that may be applied. Second, the technology is less constraining to users, as there are no wires or other attachments to restrict the user's movement. NTT's force feedback technology combines audio visual media that enables a user to experience touch with sight and sound. Traditional audio visual content can now be enhanced to include the sensation of touching virtual objects. In the future, this technology can be applied in the virtual entertainment arena. For example, one application could enable people to participate in a notable sporting event such as playing as a batter in a baseball game. "Although several technologies have attempted to offer an enhanced sense of touch, NTT's air jets interface technology is focusing on the ease-of-use," said Dr. Katsuhiko Ogawa, President of NTT Cyber Solutions Laboratories. "Our interface offers people a unique experience that extends the sense of 'touch and feel' in a virtual environment. We're excited about the broad range of applications for NTT's technology, from music to art to gaming." Applications As force feedback technology advances, NTT expects that a variety of new media will begin to be adopted. One example is video media that allows people to touch their pet or other virtual animals. Educational applications could, for example, allow a class of students to touch a dinosaur and feel it breathe on them. The technology also lends itself to the potential of virtual musical media that allow people to play music by hitting or pressing a series of virtual musical instruments. When virtual communication technology becomes more widely adopted, another possible application can enable a user to not only see and hear a baby's movement from a remote site but also be able to feel its movement, resulting in a richer experience. Technical Features The air jets interface system creates a feeling of touching a three-dimensional object. It consists of a detector, which senses a user's movement with a camera, a display, which projects a virtual object as appropriate to the movement of the user, and a force feedback unit, which uses air jets to apply forces that seem as if the user is touching the remote objects. The air jets interface is based on the following three technologies: -- Air-based force feedback technology An air jet is released from one of many nozzles embedded in a table and aimed towards an air receiver held by a user. The impact on the air receiver makes it seem as if the virtual object is in the user's hand. The air stream is controlled to reflect the state of contact between the air receiver and the virtual object, and as a result generates a sense of touch similar to actual contact with a physical object. Specifically, air jets from nozzles laid out on a two-dimensional plane are controlled in a coordinated manner to represent the position of the virtual object. This creates a haptic illusion of a three-dimensional object being present. Only one nozzle at a time releases air at just the right position so that it will hit the air receiver. Since the air nozzles are fixed on the table, the user needs only to hold a lightweight air receiver. As a result, the user can operate the device even while walking around. A concave air receiver catches an air jet efficiently even if it is directed slightly off target. This means that nozzles laid out with a large pitch can still produce objects of various sizes. -- Three-dimensional video control technology The control of the haptic sense and 3-D video are correlated so that, when the user presses the surface of the virtual object, the user can see that the corresponding 3-D computer graphic object becomes indented. This makes the physical interaction with the air jets interface realistic. -- Unconstrained optical position tracking and projection-based stereo display technology To leverage the constraint-free abilities of the air jets interface, NTT has introduced a detection system using a camera and a projection-based stereo display. Although these are not new technologies, their incorporation into the air jets interface has produced a haptic-based interface system that gives the user enhanced freedom of movement. Since transparent air is used to convey the force feedback, it does not interfere with either the optical position tracking or a projection-based display. Another useful feature of the air jets interface technology is its scalability. By increasing the number of nozzles, it is possible to represent a large object, and enable multiple users to participate simultaneously. Track Record of Development NTT Cyber Solutions Laboratories has been developing new communication technologies aimed at enriching people's lives. Its creation of the "Generation and Acceleration Environment for Virtual and Augmented Reality Communication," (GAVA) uses VR technology to enable users to feel like they are in the same place with someone who is situated at a remote site. With this new initiative, NTT has sought to develop interface technology that can portray moving objects in a more lifelike way, focusing on force feedback technology from among the wide range of VR technologies. NTT will continue to develop communication media that will convey a richer, haptic-based experience. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation was established in 1952 as a state-owned telecommunications public corporation, and in 1985 converted to a private company to be the largest telecommunications company in Japan and the second largest in the world. NTT and its subsidiaries provide a wide range of telecommunications services. NTT Cyber Solutions Laboratories are the research and development forces to enhance NTT's telecommunications services especially in the region of software technology, appliance hardware and digital content sharing technology that can elevate human communications.