Haptic Rendering of Complex Force Fields

Abstract

With a particular focus in scientific applications, we propose a method of haptic rendering of virtual environments which require rather complex calculations to evaluate their behaviour. Therefore it is not possible to perform the calculations within a haptic loop. We specify a class of problems for which the method is applicable, describe the designed data structure, present involved algorithms, and prove their critical properties. The general section is followed by a case study of applying the method in a specific application in computational chemistry. The paper is concluded with first practical results of deployment of the method as well as preliminary quantitative assessment.