Sensable Technologies, Inc.

Other

Christopher M Tarr

Thomas Harold Massie

Walter A Aviles

J Kenneth Salisbury, Jr

Loren C Shih

Kenneth Salisbury, Jr

A method for generating a haptic interactive representation including the steps of defining a haptic interaction space and building a hierarchical construct, for use within the haptic interaction space, using a plurality of underlying constructs. In one embodiment the method includes determining the forces to be applied to a user by generating a haptic interactive, sensing a position of a user in real space, determining a haptic interface location in the haptic interaction space in response to the position of the user in real space and determining whether the virtual object collides with the haptic interface location. The invention also relates to a method for interacting with a haptic interactive representation. The method includes creating a haptic process having the haptic interactive representation, associating a callback with the haptic process, connecting to a second process which interacts with the haptic process and associating the callback which is associated with the haptic process with the second process. The method further includes requesting the callback by the second process, and returning, by the haptic process through the callback to the second process, at least one parameter associated with the haptic interactive representation.

Method and apparatus for generating and interfacing with a haptic virtual reality environment

A user of a modeling application uses a haptic interface device in the real world to manipulate a virtual tool in a virtual environment to interact with a virtual object. The user can use the tool to evaluate the shape of the virtual object and navigate its virtual surface, based on an interactive force feedback approach. When the user attempts to penetrate the virtual object with the virtual tool, a modeling application limits the movement of the virtual tool depending on the geometry of the surface, the position of the virtual tool, and a haptic interface location in the virtual environment, which represents the physical location of the haptic interface device in the real world. The user can evaluate different geometries of the virtual surface, including an edge geometry, such as occurs when the virtual tool is touching or moving along an edge of the virtual object.

Systems and methods for interacting with virtual objects in a haptic virtual reality environment

A method for haptically deforming a virtual surface within a haptic virtual environment is used to plastically deform the virtual surface of a virtual object by sensing a user's position in real space, determining a haptic interface location in the haptic environment based thereon, and determining whether the virtual surface collides with the haptic interface location. Upon detection of a collision above a threshold force, a visual representation of the virtual surface is plastically deformed and a corresponding force is calculated and fed back to the user. The virtual surface can be visco-elastically deformed.

Method and apparatus for generating and interfacing with rigid and deformable surfaces in a haptic virtual reality environment

Method and apparatus for generating and interfacing with a haptic

An article carrier that can be converted from a shoulder bag into a briefcase and back again. A web member functions as a strap when the article carrier is used as a shoulder bag, and as a handle when it converted for use as a briefcase. One embodiment features a web member strap that wraps about itself to form a handle for the briefcase, and unwraps to hang over a user's shoulder for the shoulder bag. In another embodiment, the user compresses the web about itself and folds it through an aperture located at the bottom of the web to form the handle. The article carrier can quickly and easily be converted from a shoulder bag into a briefcase or from a briefcase back into a shoulder bag, depending on the needs of the user.

Growing community of inventors

Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Christopher M Tarr