Low cost haptic and motion based mixed reality peripheral interface

With the advancement of mixed reality technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), greater applications based on these technologies are expected to become more prevalent in society. Mixed reality enables an immersive digital environment experience through visuals and sound and when coupled with Cutaneous haptic feedback, which provide the touch sensation with the virtual environment, allows the creation of an environment that closely emulates the real world. Haptic devices which bridges the physical sensation of these worlds have been continuously enhanced with high-end products being developed such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. This paper investigates the viability and performance of a low cost two-finger wearable haptic device to provide natural and instinctive virtual reality experience. The device is made up of an MPU6050 tracker, disc type vibration motor haptic actuators and flex sensors to record finger joint movement and characterise gesture movement. Arduino UNO microcontroller is used to communicate with the virtual environment rendered by the Unity 3D software. Results indicate that the haptic device is able to communicate and respond with the virtual environment but a lag in the overall hardware reduces the seamlessness perception with the virtual environment.