Virtual Environment for Assembly Operations with Improved Grasp Interaction

An immersive virtual reality environment (IVE) for performing assembly and maintenance simulations has been developed using the Jack software package. The Flock of BirdsTM motion tracking system is used to capture body postures of an immersed human and reproduce it in real-time in the virtual environment. The CybergloveTM is used to capture finger movements in real-time for realistic grasp interaction. Many of the virtual interaction and navigation techniques available within the Jack environment, such as the grasp interaction, have been further developed and refined. Grasping using the palm, as well as pinch-type grasping are supported. The object about to be grasped is highlighted, allowing the user to verify whether it is indeed the object he intends to grasp. A program has been developed to transfer the postures captured during immersive virtual reality (IVR) sessions in Jack into IGRIP. These capabilities have been used to investigate a new “to-be” scenario for the mid-spar workstation of the Boeing 767 strut torque box assembly line.