An improved 3D shape haptic rendering algorithmfor finger mounted vibrotactile device

To improve the sense of reality on perception, an improved algorithm of 3D shape haptic rendering is put forward based on a finger mounted vibrotactile device. The principle is that the interactive information and the shape information are conveyed to users when they touch virtual objects at mobile terminals by attaching the vibrotactile feedback on a fingertip. The extraction of shape characteristics, the interactive information and the mapping of shape in formation of vibration stimulation are key parts of the proposed algorithm to realize the real tactile rendering. The contact status of the interaction process, the height information and local gradient of the touch point are regarded as shape information and used to control the vibration intension, rhythm and distribution of the vibrators. With different contact status and shape information, the vibration pattern can be adjusted in time to imitate the outlines of virtual objects. Finally, the effectiveness of the algorithm is verified by shape perception experiments. The results show that the improved algorithm is effective for 3D shape haptic rendering.