SHYAM PRATHISH SARGUNAM

In many virtual reality applications, it would be ideal if users could use their physical hands to directly interact with virtual objects while experiencing realistic haptic feedback. While this can be achieved via interaction with tracked physical props that correspond to virtual objects, practical limitations can make it difficult to achieve a physical environment that exactly represents the virtual world, and virtual environments are often much larger than the available tracked physical space. Our research investigates methods that allow physical hand interaction with passive props while the user remains at a physical location, as would be the case for home-use scenarios where a user is seated at a desk or standing in front of a table. Our approach maps a single physical prop to multiple virtual objects distributed throughout a virtual environment. Leveraging prior work, we explore two adjusted travel techniques to facilitate physically aligning the user with the physical prop when ready to virtually interact with a virtual object: a redirection approach that uses rotational adjustments to gradually align the user during virtual locomotion, and the resetting approach that introduces a discrete rotational update when the user virtually approaches a target for interaction. Additionally, our work explores considerations for using one physical prop to control multiple types of object interactions. We report the results of a controlled study about usability of the two passive-haptic interaction methods as compared to a virtual hand approach without haptics.