This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will research and develop the missing link in current virtual prototyping systems for computer-aided design (CAD). This missing element is the human hand. Current virtual prototyping strategies involve mice or other low-dimensional point-like interaction mechanisms. By adding life size, real-time interaction at the level of the human hand, virtual prototyping becomes significantly more valuable because of the higher order information available to the user. Interaction methods like grasping, pushing, sculpting as well as force feedback data can provide designers with critical product related information not usually available until a physical prototype has been built. Building on Immersion Corporation's existing SOLID infrastructure for real-time interaction with NURBS geometries and kinematic assemblies, the firm proposes to both research and develop numerical techniques necessary for true interaction with realistic models as well as the interaction paradigm itself. This innovation has great potential for all designers who build and prototype products that humans interact with. The introduction of interaction at the level of the human hand will leverage existing infrastructure at Immersion Corporation for intellectual property, product evaluation and marketing. The result will be an efficient transition to a product with a large existing market of designers and engineers from a significant cross-section of industry.
