We propose a new approach for interaction in Virtual Reality (VR) using mobile robots as proxies for haptic feedback. This approach allows VR users to have the experience of sharing and manipulating tangible physical objects with remote collaborators. Because participants do not directly observe the robotic proxies, the mapping between them and the virtual objects is not required to be direct. In this paper, we describe our implementation, various scenarios for interaction, and a preliminary user study.
Tangible user interfaces (TUIs) provide physical form to digital information and computation, facilitating the direct manipulation of bits. Our goal in TUI development is to empower collaboration, learning, and design by using digital technology and at the same time taking advantage of human abilities to grasp and manipulate physical objects and materials. This paper discusses a model of TUI, key properties, genres, applications, and summarizes the contributions made by the Tangible Media Group and other researchers since the publication of the first Tangible Bits paper at CHI 1997. http: tangible.media.mit.edu This paper presents our vision of Human Computer Interaction (HCI): "Tangible Bits." Tangible Bits allows users to "grasp & manipulate" bits in the center of users’ attention by coupling the bits with everyday physical objects and architectural surfaces. Tangible Bits also enables users to be aware of background bits at the periphery of human perception using ambient display media such as light, sound, airflow, and water movement in an augmented space. The goal of Tangible Bits is to bridge the gaps between both cyberspace and the physical environment, as well as the foreground and background of human activities. This paper describes three key concepts of Tangible Bits: interactive surfaces; the coupling of bits with graspable physical objects; and ambient media for background awareness. We illustrate these concepts with three prototype systems ‐ the metaDESK, transBOARD and ambientROOM ‐ to identify underlying research issues. We present interaction techniques for tangible tabletop interfaces that use active, motorized tangibles, what we call Tangible Bots. Tangible Bots can reflect changes in the digital model and assist users by haptic feedback, by correcting errors, by multi-touch control, and by allowing efficient interaction with multiple tangibles. A first study shows that Tangible Bots are usable for fine-grained manipulation (e.g., rotating tangibles to a particular orientation); for coarse movements, Tangible Bots become useful only when several tangibles are controlled simultaneously. Participants prefer Tangible Bots and find them less taxing than passive, non-motorized tangibles. A second study focuses on usefulness by studying how electronic musicians use Tangible Bots to create music with a tangible tabletop application. We conclude by discussing the further potential of active tangibles, and their relative benefits over passive tangibles and multi-touch. Past research on shape displays has primarily focused on rendering content and user interface elements through shape output, with less emphasis on dynamically changing UIs. We propose utilizing shape displays in three different ways to mediate interaction: to facilitate by providing dynamic physical affordances through shape change, to restrict by guiding users with dynamic physical constraints, and to manipulate by actuating physical objects. We outline potential interaction techniques and introduce Dynamic Physical Affordances and Constraints with our inFORM system, built on top of a state-of-the-art shape display, which provides for variable stiffness rendering and real-time user input through direct touch and tangible interaction. A set of motivating examples demonstrates how dynamic affordances, constraints and object actuation can create novel interaction possibilities. Current systems for real-time distributed CSCW are largely rooted in traditional GUI-based groupware and voice video conferencing methodologies. In these approaches, interactions are limited to visual and auditory media, and shared environments are confined to the digital world. This paper presents a new approach to enhance remote collaboration and communication, based on the idea of Tangible Interfaces, which places a greater emphasis on touch and physicality. The approach is grounded in a concept called Synchronized Distributed Physical Objects, which employs telemanipulation technology to create the illusion that distant users are interacting with shared physical objects. We describe two applications of this approach: PSyBench, a physical shared workspace, and inTouch, a device for haptic interpersonal communication. Augmented and virtual reality have the potential of being indistinguishable from the real world. Holographic displays, including head mounted units, support this vision by creating rich stereoscopic scenes, with objects that appear to float in thin air - often within arm's reach. However, one has but to reach out and grasp nothing but air to destroy the suspension of disbelief. Snake-charmer is an attempt to provide physical form to virtual objects by revisiting the concept of Robotic Graphics or Encountered-type Haptic interfaces with current commodity hardware. By means of a robotic arm, Snake-charmer brings physicality to a virtual scene and explores what it means to truly interact with an object. We go beyond texture and position simulation and explore what it means to have a physical presence inside a virtual scene. We demonstrate how to render surface characteristics beyond texture and position, including temperature; how to physically move objects; and how objects can physically interact with the user's hand. We analyze our implementation, present the performance characteristics, and provide guidance for the construction of future physical renderers.