A Haptic Augmented Virtuality System for Immersive VR Plant Training

Abstract

The risk to life and property posed by lack of trained employees in industrial facilities is an issue to which a wide re-search base has been applied to solve. This paper presents an on-going development of a haptic augmented virtuality system using an encounter type haptic display system and the Unity3D engine to provide fully immersive VR plant safety operation training. Since there are many different types of physical tools such as levers, valves, and buttons as well as these are installed in many diverse locations and orientations in plant facilities, an encounter type haptic display system is proposed. In the proposed system, many different types of physical tools are collocated in the fully immersed environment with the corresponding visual virtual tools for providing full haptic (kinesthetic) sensation. The collocation is made by a robot that can provide physical tools in arbitrary poses. For good collocation accuracy, a new calibration method is being developed and evaluated.