Evaluating Factors that Influence Path Tracing with Passive Haptic Guidance

Abstract

A very common task in medical applications and motor-skill training is to trace a path. However, when designing a haptically guided interface, designers need to consider the choice of several parameters in the design. These include the real-time function for bringing back the user to the right path, the effect of the path's curvature on tracing, and the amount of haptic force needed to for guiding the user appropriately. In this paper, we describe the results of an experiment that was designed to assess the effect of several design factors that can influence the performance of path tracing tasks. Our results show that the shape of the path has an effect on the amount of deviation from a path. Additionally, we found that a high amount of stiffness is preferred over low stiffness. Finally, the type of force profile that haptically guides the user, particularly the slope of the function, is also an important factor in path tracing tasks. We discuss our results with implications for designs of systems necessitating haptic force feedback in constrained path tracing tasks.

Publisher Link

http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1612270

Citation

Kurosh Zarei-nia, Xing-Dong Yang, Pourang Irani and Nariman Sepehri. 2009. Evaluating Factors that Influence Path Tracing with Passive Haptic Guidance. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design (HAID '09), 21-30.

Bibtext Entry

@INPROCEEDINGS { zareinia09,
    AUTHOR = { Kurosh Zarei-nia and Xing-Dong Yang and Pourang Irani and Nariman Sepehri },
    TITLE = { Evaluating Factors that Influence Path Tracing with Passive Haptic Guidance },
    BOOKTITLE = { Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design (HAID '09) },
    YEAR = { 2009 },
    PAGES = { 21--30 },
    DOI = { 10.1007/978-3-642-04076-4_1 },
}