Enhancing Haptic Rendering through Predictive Collision Detection

This paper presents an efficient collision detection method for interactive haptic simulations of virtual environments that consist of both static and moving objects. The proposed method is based on a novel algorithm for predicting the time of proximity between a pair objects and the appropriate employment of the calculated prediction in a complex virtual scene with multiple objects. The user is able to interact with the virtual objects and receive real-time haptic feedback using the PHANToM Desktop haptic device, while the visual results are shown in the screen display. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and the reliability of the presented approach compared to state-of-the-art spatial subdivisions methods, especially for haptic rendering, where collision detection and response is a procedure of critical importance.