VITAKI: A Vibrotactile Prototyping Toolkit for Virtual Reality and Video Games

Abstract

The use of haptics in virtual reality and video games has received growing attention as a means of enhancing the sensation of immersion in these environments. The sensation of touching virtual objects not only augments the impression of reality but also can improve the performance. However, the design of haptic interactions is not an easy task, and it usually needs a great effort due to the absence of powerful prototyping toolkits. Thus, this article proposes a vibrotactile prototyping toolkit for Eccentric Rotating Mass actuators named VITAKI. The main objective of this platform is to facilitate the prototyping and testing procedures of new vibrotactile interaction techniques for Virtual Reality and video games. A detailed description of the design of the system is provided, presenting the hardware and software elements that make up the VITAKI toolkit. In addition, its application to two different examples to illustrate its use is provided. Finally, a preliminary evaluation of this toolkit is presented. This evaluation is divided into two main stages. On one hand, a study of Olsen’s criteria is performed to analyze its general capabilities. On the other hand, a comparison with previously presented proposals is included too. These two analyses, together with other experiments where the devices created with the toolkit were tested by end users, highlight its main features and its advantages over other proposals.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jonatan Martínez

Jonatan Martínez received the M.S. degree in computer science from the University of Castilla-La Mancha in 2007. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Laboratory of User Interaction and Software Engineering. His research topics include the design of VR systems and the development of haptic devices.

Arturo S. García

Arturo S. García received his European Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Castilla-La Mancha in January 2010. He was an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department of the same university from 2009 to 2012. His research interests include CVE development and interaction improvement in VEs and CVEs.

Miguel Oliver

Miguel Oliver received the M.S. degree in computer science from the University of Castilla-La Mancha in 2013. At the present time, he is a Ph.D. candidate at the Laboratory of User Interaction and Software Engineering laboratory. His research is focused on assistive technologies, and more specifically in gesture-based interaction and haptic actuators.

José P. Molina

José P. Molina received the M.S. degree (2000) and European Ph.D. (2008) degrees in computer science from University of Castilla-La Mancha. He has been an Assistant Professor since 2000, giving courses related to computer graphics and virtual reality. His research is focused in 3D user interfaces, their design, and evaluation.

Pascual González

Pascual González received his Ph.D in computer science from the University Polytechnic of Madrid in 1999. He is the head of the Laboratory of User Interaction and Software Engineering research group and the leader of several national and regional projects. His research interests include human–computer interaction, AR and VR, and software engineering applied to interactive systems.