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Levitating Haptics Joystick Gives Good Feedback

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the well-isn't-that-special dept.

SubComdrTaco writes "A controller developed at Carnegie Mellon University allows computer users to manipulate three-dimensional images and explore virtual environments not only through sight and sound, but by using their sense of touch. It simulates a hand's responses to touch because it relies on a part that floats in a magnetic field rather than on mechanical linkages and cables, according to Ralph L. Hollis, a Carnegie Mellon professor who developed the controller. The controller — like a joystick topped with a block that can be grasped — has just one moving part and rests in a bowl-like structure connected to a computer. Two of the controllers can be used simultaneously to pick up and move virtual objects on a monitor. In a demonstration Tuesday, visitors to Hollis' lab were invited to move an image of a pin across a plate of various textures, causing the controller to bump along ripples, vibrate across fine striations and glide across smooth areas. On one computer, users could "feel" the contours of a virtual rabbit. Hollis said his researchers had built 10 of the devices, six of which were to be sent to other universities across the country and in Canada, and that a new company, Butterfly Haptics, would begin marketing the device in June or July. The controller, which Hollis said will cost "much less" than $50,000, could enable a would-be surgeon to operate on a virtual human organ and sense the texture of tissue or give a designer the feeling of fitting a part into a virtual jet engine, or might also be used to convey the feeling of wind under the wings of unmanned military planes."

70 comments

  1. that would be cool by OrochimaruVoldemort · · Score: 1

    i just hope that it is linux compatible (assuming it will be sold)

    --
    If people can get past, can they get future? Best way to confuse a stoner
  2. When its mainstream ... by PC+and+Sony+Fanboy · · Score: 1

    I'm not particularly interested in technology like THIS until it becomes commercially available. And widespread support. It is VERY very interesting, and I want one ... but until I can have one, i'll just sit here and complain.

    Anyways, support for something like this (when it is commercially available) would be very interesting. What happens when it becomes mainstream with the porn industry?

    1. Re:When its mainstream ... by xaxa · · Score: 4, Informative

      My visualisation lecturer brought one of these into the lecture last week: http://home.novint.com/products/watch_demo.php

      I had a go, it was pretty cool. He'd just installed Vista on his laptop and the software wouldn't run at full speed any more (surprise!) so he could only demonstrate touching a sphere of material, but it was good. There was a sphere of molasses, which really did feel gooey, and one of ice, which was slippery. There were others, but I didn't try them.

    2. Re:When its mainstream ... by Darundal · · Score: 4, Informative

      I used one at quakecon, and honestly, I hated it. I honestly don't understand how anyone can describe using this thing as feeling anything. It reacted to surfaces and objects in the demos like you would expect it to react, but it wasn't feeling. It was clunky and awkward, to say the least. It was more like taking a stick and moving it along something. Just figured I would share my experiance with the device.

    3. Re:When its mainstream ... by Shotgun · · Score: 1

      But what if the software was a simulation of controlling something with a stick?

      A flight simulator requires pressure feedback to be effective. I use Xplane to practice landings, but only to practice getting the numbers right. The actual flair requires some feedback on how hard you're pushing or pulling the yoke. Getting a proper trim in the simulator is nearly impossible, because you don't know how hard you're pulling or pushing to maintain altitude.

      A surgeon uses tools for the most part. His work is experience through the feel of a knife.

      Working on CAD would be similar to using a pair of pliers to work on a part.

      --
      Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
      Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
    4. Re:When its mainstream ... by Graham_Hodgson · · Score: 1

      Meh, I tried one in at a conference 3 years ago. These guys (http://www.fcs-cs.com/index.html) were demonstrating moving a device through a large gravity field, through a tub of large rubber balls, a sprung area etc. They then turned the unit around, and demonstrated an inverse pendulum that you could push around - they could alter the damping and springing individually on the fly. It was pretty impressive.

  3. X-Rated Headline by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Levitating Haptics Joystick Gives Good Feedback"

    This has got to be the dirtiest headline Slashdot has ever written.

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    1. Re:X-Rated Headline by stonefry · · Score: 1

      Well, you should see the video in TFA.

    2. Re:X-Rated Headline by ashmon · · Score: 1

      Word. That video is so close to self-porn, but it has an emperor's new clothes feel. The narrator just goes on talking while the guy with the device looks, well, like he's having fun with the device.

  4. sounds pretty cool by freebsd-dog · · Score: 1

    but it seems like we are getting closer and closer to making love in virtual reality every day.

    1. Re:sounds pretty cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Enough of this "we" stuff. For the last time, you're not my type.

    2. Re:sounds pretty cool by LBt1st · · Score: 1

      Actually, we've had such devices now for quite some time. Check my sig.

  5. Where to start by devnullkac · · Score: 0

    Are you sure this is real? The list of naughty joke start points is too long: Joystick, Gives Good Feedback, topped with a block that can be grasped, virtual human organ, bump along nipples (OK one that was misspelled).

    --
    What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
    1. Re:Where to start by Notquitecajun · · Score: 1

      You have to look at the title twice as well. I saw the words "lap" and "joystick" in there at one point.

  6. Save up to 50% or more! by courtarro · · Score: 4, Funny

    "The controller, which Hollis said will cost "much less" than $50,000..."

    Well gee, that provides a lot of information.

    1. Re:Save up to 50% or more! by keysersoze_sec · · Score: 1

      Fool, it means the video game console that comes with it will cost "much less" than $1M...

    2. Re:Save up to 50% or more! by Shotgun · · Score: 1

      Expect the price to stay there if Hollis can make sales with it. Some electromagnets and a few LED stuffed in some injection-molded plastic. The manufacturing cost are negligable compared to a joystick which has mechanical parts that are most likely assembled by hand. The magic of this device is in the software control, and the manufacturing cost there are nearly non-existent. Everyone could have two in a few years, for less than the $50 that a really good trackball would cost, except that it is so much more profitable to limit the market with patents.

      --
      Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
      Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
    3. Re:Save up to 50% or more! by ngr8 · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting for the Best Buy Number Six bundle pack.

      --
      Verizon: Latin for "poor rural service".
    4. Re:Save up to 50% or more! by holyspidoo · · Score: 0

      Actually, they corrected it. Hollis now says the controller will cost only 5 easy payments of 9,999.99$!

  7. Cheap! by Thanshin · · Score: 2, Funny

    The controller, which Hollis said will cost "much less" than $50,000... Great. For a second there I thought I'd have to sell my house to buy the new toy.

    Now I have hopes of only having to sell my car.
  8. virtual surgery by mblase · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The controller, which Hollis said will cost "much less" than $50,000, could enable a would-be surgeon to operate on a virtual human organ and sense the texture of tissue

    Let's get a bunch of complaints out of the way right now and point out the obvious: that such virtual surgery would only be an educational tool and would, for obvious reasons, be completely unsuitable as a "telecommuting surgeon" solution.

    1. Re:virtual surgery by Telvin_3d · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, not with the first generation at least. The claim is that the current model is sensitive to motions as small as two microns in all six axis of movement and can provide real time feedback. If someone was going to create a remote surgery setup, which might prove useful in some emergencies and specific situations, I can think of a lot worse interface methods to build it around.

      Now, no you would never want to use something like this in preference to a live surgeon. However, for remote places like the arctic/antarctic stations and other situations where flying a patient out or a surgeon in for some specific emergency just isn't going to happen, well, it's better than nothing.

    2. Re:virtual surgery by cecille · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Why would such a thing be unsuitable? There have already been robotic surgeries done using tools with only video and no haptic feedback at all. I'm just curious why you think this would not be used for a real surgery.

      --
      ...no two people are not on fire.
    3. Re:virtual surgery by xaxa · · Score: 1

      Having seen a lecture on this subject, I think you're being a bit cynical. I saw some good videos of virtual stuff, and some composite virtual/real stuff (i.e. overlaying colours onto veins etc through some special goggles) so it's only a matter of time before it's all virtual and can be done remotely.

    4. Re:virtual surgery by Maverick4 · · Score: 1

      That's missing the point. The educational aspect IS the cool function. Surgeons currently have to learn as they operate, using cadavers as their only close approximation to the real thing, and moving on to real surgeries to hone their skills. However, dead tissue behaves quite differently. A great deal of surgery skill comes from familiarity with tactile sensation...how much pressure to apply when, how fast to go, etc. If they are able to simulate the tactile sensations of performing surgery on living tissue effectively with this device, it will be a huge advance in surgical training.

      Wouldn't you rather have a surgeon with his/her tactile sensation and hand/eye coordination skills better honed when he went to operate on you?

  9. gamer usage of this inculde by OrochimaruVoldemort · · Score: 1

    (but are not limited to) WoW All FPS Platformers Most other MMORPGs some sports games and maybe racing games

    --
    If people can get past, can they get future? Best way to confuse a stoner
  10. Virtual Rabbit by pavon · · Score: 1

    Why do I get the feeling that this was not just any bunny

    1. Re:Virtual Rabbit by corychristison · · Score: 1

      Sadly, I was hoping that you were going to link to this kind of bunny.

  11. Magnetic feedback idea is cool... by Hoplite3 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I don't know about surgery, but magnetic feedback is far easier to tune than spring feedback. It'd make a great videogame controller, though it could fall short for the same reason spring-based feedback isn't in current controllers: patents.

    Some medical device company owns a force-feedback patent and sued or threatened all of the original FF joystick makers in the 90's. The only feedback we have now is vibration, which may be exciting for 51% of the population, but seems kinda lame to me. Oh, and isn't there a patent covering it as well? Lame.

    --
    Use the Firehose to mod down Second Life stories!
    1. Re:Magnetic feedback idea is cool... by noidentity · · Score: 1

      Holy shit, I never realized how simple real force feedback is. Just some coils around the joystick, and tiny magnets in the stick itself. Console game controllers could have had them all these years. Lame! But since a medical company patented it, no way they'd let the gaming people use it for any reasonable sum.

    2. Re:Magnetic feedback idea is cool... by fizzer82 · · Score: 1

      There's plenty of joysticks and steering wheels out there that use motor-driven force feedback, which to me would be superior than "spring-based" feedback.

  12. The real use by RealErmine · · Score: 3, Funny

    From the article:

    Haptic technology has uses ranging from remote medical breast checks and exploring distant lands, to recreating the feel of fabrics.

    I think we all know that this is a euphemism for pornography

    --
    Dewey, you fool! Your decimal system has played right into my hands!
  13. Two words: Missile... by starglider29a · · Score: 1

    Command!

  14. RT X-Rated FA by CarpetShark · · Score: 3, Funny

    This has got to be the dirtiest headline Slashdot has ever written.


    Possibly, but they'd have done better to just quote the article:

    Haptic technology has uses ranging from remote medical breast checks


    Somehow, I think this will have porn applications...
  15. Bunny contours? by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 4, Funny

    Professor Ralph Hollis now joins Hugh Hefner in being the only men in the world who make a living from feeling up bunnies.

    --
    Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
  16. Bette-Rated Headline by Stanistani · · Score: 1

    ...or might also be used to convey the feeling of wind under the wings of unmanned military planes."
    Did you ever know that you're my hero,
    and ev'rything I would like to be?
    I can fly higher than an eagle...
    'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
    --
    You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
  17. More Haptics by imstanny · · Score: 2, Informative
    Half Life 2 has Haptics controller for it (as well as other less popular games) Novint Falcon. I think it's sold at CompUSA, though they went out of busines...

    Also, Immersion technologies make Haptic controllers (BMW contol wheel, XBOX Steering Wheel, Vibration in the PS3 - which, Sony claimed couldn't fit into their controller but it was a patent problem - Immersion sued Sony & won... now the PS3 has vibration). They also make haptic stuff for surgery simulations. Carnegie Melon be jealous...

    1. Re:More Haptics by forceofyoda · · Score: 1

      I played with the Novint Falcon at the GDC two weeks ago. It's a neat concept, but the problem is that you have to constantly hold your hand in midair to use it. It's tiring, and not really useful for anything more than a quick demo. This controller, and controllers like the spaceball, make a lot more sense as far as being able to relax your arm while you use it.

  18. See... by EB+FE · · Score: 1

    Haptic technology has uses ranging from remote medical breast checks... They shouldn't drop the price much from $50,000. Geeks everywhere will probably pay it to give Internet breast exams.
    --
    Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by moving to where you can't find them.
  19. Cancer by Schiphol · · Score: 1

    That's what I thought when reading about not-too-small, changing magnetic fields beneath your hand. Does anybody know if this would be a real issue?

    1. Re:Cancer by Cedric+Tsui · · Score: 4, Informative

      Cancer? What is it about magnetic fields you think can cause cancer?
      You know that every time you open your fridge, there's a changing magnetic field beneath your hand.

      In broad terms, the only forms of radiation that can cause cancer are ionizing radiation. That means that individual photons can break a bond between two atoms. The reason this can cause cancer is that you can break a bond within a DNA strand which could be repaired incorrectly by the cell in such a way that it looses control over itself.

      So starting from lowest energy and going up.
      Electric fields and magnetic fields (or RF waves) can't cause cancer.
      Infrared waves (heat) can't cause cancer
      Microwaves (cellphones) can't cause cancer
      Visible light can't cause cancer
      Ultra Violet rays are slightly ionizing, and can cause cancer
      x-rays and gamma rays can cause cancer

      There's an exception to this. If you made a substantial change in an electric or magnetic field in under 10^-16 seconds, then you would emit some UV rays. This isn't something we're capable of doing without some sort of cathode ray tube. (not used in this device)

    2. Re:Cancer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Electric fields and magnetic fields (or RF waves) can't cause cancer. Infrared waves (heat) can't cause cancer Microwaves (cellphones) can't cause cancer
      Careful there. Last time I posited this, I got flamed (and modded) into oblivion by a horde of "cell phones cause cancer" bozos. Many of them claim to have undergrad engineering degrees, which appear to confer confidence far in excess of their actual knowledge. They're are worse than the "vaccines cause autism" people, and they're all over /. : )
    3. Re:Cancer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ya know, until your post I was SURE cell phones wouldn't cause cancer. Now you got me wondering ;)
      My brother got Aspergers from vaccines with mercury in them. My mom has extensively studied this stuff ever since he was diagnosed: mailing lists, books, conferences and one of the tidbits she told me was that kids were getting 14 times the legal limit of mercury through vaccines.

      There have been lots of studies that say that being cold does not make it more likely that you will have a cold, but I personally don't know anybody that says that there is no "cold season". The problem is probably that they missed a critical parameter of the tests.

    4. Re:Cancer by Trogre · · Score: 1

      Really? So one day he clearly didn't have Aspergers, went and got an injection and woke up the next day with it?

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    5. Re:Cancer by Trogre · · Score: 0

      Stuck your head in a microwave oven lately? Are you telling me that having a good portion of your flesh cooked is not going to increase the risk of cancer?

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    6. Re:Cancer by andy_t_roo · · Score: 1

      thermal heating from microwaves does not directly cause cancer - cell damage due to localized boiling might - microwaves have a frequency of 1Ghz, - and this device would be varying the force applied in the kilohertz range at most (no idea as to the actual specs though) - at this frequency the energy smaller than the energy range associated with any molecular interactions, resulting in it having no effect on them. (not even heating)

      The only reported effects of these sorts of fields are at powers much greater than what this device can create, and over longer time periods (days) than this device would be in continuous use for.

    7. Re:Cancer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shhhh, better not tell him this:

      Since 2001, with the exception of some influenza (flu) vaccines, thimerosal is not used as a preservative in routinely recommended childhood vaccines.*

      There is NO mercury in childhood vaccines anymore. Did we cure Autism? No. Did rates even go down a detectable amount? No. Do people who are sad and frustrated when their kid is diagnosed still want something tangible and easy to blame? Yes.

      Life is hard, sometimes it randomly gets a whole lot harder.

      *http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns/thimerosal.htm

    8. Re:Cancer by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1

      In broad terms, the only forms of radiation that can cause cancer are ionizing radiation.

      This is often stated, but really the biological effects of non-ionizing EM radiation remain largely unknown - which is why we still have argument about whether cell phones will give you cancer or not.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    9. Re:Cancer by bkaul01 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Cancer? What is it about magnetic fields you think can cause cancer? All cancer occurs on Earth, which has a large magnetic field, therefore magnetic fields cause cancer.

      Or, we could blame everything on gravity. The same reasoning can conveniently be extended to any number of imagined causes. ;)

  20. The video is from 1998 by Animats · · Score: 3, Informative

    The linked video is from 1998.

    I've seen several gadgets like this at SIGGRAPH, although not this "maglev" version. There are better haptic input devices, which are more like robot arms in reverse.

    1. Re:The video is from 1998 by jabberingWookie · · Score: 2, Informative
      I work in the lab that produced this device and wanted to clarify a few things.

      First, although the device is called a 6 degree of freedom joystick, it is much, much more than that. Essentially, its a a set of coils inside a set of rare-earth magnets. The coils are attached to a bowl, called a flotor, which has a handle at its center. Coils in a magnetic field generate a Lorentz force when a current passes through them, levitating the bowl. You've now got a bowl, floating in a large air gap with no physical connection to anything except through some very fine wires at the base. The position of the bowl can be found using LED's on its outer surface which shine on some optics and sensors.

      Most haptic devices use mechanical linkages to give force feedback. This always involves friction and backlash. The more degrees of freedom you want, the more motors you need, the more linkages, the worse the friction. This device has essentially zero friction, no backlash and can be moved to resolutions on the order of microns. It can follow a commanded sinusoid fast enough to play music. It can produce really stiff surfaces and stops so fast that the bowl reverberates. Most users think they're hitting something real or we're generating collision sounds but the device is actually just stopping so fast.

      The linked video is indeed from 1998 and is of an early prototype. Better video is available even on YouTube and more about this project and others can be found at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute website.

      I should also point out that this device is intended for research, especially research involving small, precise motions, making it ideal for virtual surgical applications and anywhere where you might need fine motor control. As a gaming input/output its definitely cool but you'd need to be pretty well off to afford one right now.

    2. Re:The video is from 1998 by awtbfb · · Score: 1

      Having had the opportunity to try this device, I can tell you it is far superior to other systems for the purpose it was built for: precision and resolution.

  21. I'll sue ya! by F-3582 · · Score: 1

    Anyone want to bet how long it takes Immersion to sue them?

  22. Re:looks like more wrist injuries coming by IAmGarethAdams · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The maglev interface can exert enough force to make objects feel reassuringly solid, says Hollis, resisting as much as 40 newtons of force before it shifts even a millimetre.


    What worries me about this is the reverse of this. If a little wand can resist a 40N force, a miscalculation in the simulation software could presumably easily apply a 40N force to a joint which shouldn't have 40N applied to it...

    Especially if the evolution of this device is to make it bigger/more immersive.
  23. Oh, joy by BlackCobra43 · · Score: 1

    Now I get to feel the XX of YY (random creature) (random body part) I just picked up!

    --
    I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
  24. Huh?!? by Vr6dub · · Score: 1

    The only feedback we have now is vibration

    Did I misread your statement? I have a force feedback steering wheel sitting in my house using electric motors to provide varying levels of resistance on the wheel. There are dozens of force feedback wheels and joysticks on the market that offer more than just vibration. And who modded this informative?

  25. More details about this haptic device by rpiquepa · · Score: 0, Troll

    Unlike current haptic systems, this new device doesn't use gloves or robotic arms. With this haptic interface, which will take a big chunk of your desk, you will be able to perceive textures and feel hard contacts. But don't expect to use it before several years. Please find more details at ZDNet.

  26. Novell VS Novel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What does the Novell corporation have to do with this article? Or did the tagger think he was tagging it as "novel?"

  27. Re:looks like more wrist injuries coming by bane2571 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I can see it now:

    Script kiddie 1: I hax0red your Box and deleted your pronz lol!
    Script kiddie 2: Well I hax0red your Box, enjoy your broken arm.

    It's somewhat frustrating that a lot of possibly cool consumer goodies are ruined by their potential to kill/injure the user. If only humanity wouldn't inevitably find the way to damage themselves.

  28. 75Hz != realtime haptic by Dire+Bonobo · · Score: 1

    The claim is that the current model...can provide real time feedback.

    The claim is that the current model can provide 75Hz updates, which isn't high enough for haptics -- 1000Hz is the standard for a real-time haptic interface.

    It sounds promising, though, especially with regards to the stiffness it can produce.