HCC-Medium: Haptic Simulation Design for Motor Rehabilitation and Fine Motor Skill Training

1.1 Goal We propose to investigate how to best present functions of a haptic control interface for rehabilitation and skill training applications for persons attempting to recover from traumatic brain injury (TBI) with motor control implications or seeking to train new motor skills for work and societal activities. The overarching goal of this research is to advance the state of virtual reality (VR)–based haptic simulation design for such practical applications. It has been observed that haptic interfaces can be used to promote realism in VR presentation. Prior research has emphasized ensuring the “completeness” of haptic simulators (e.g., Banerjee 2007a,b; Lemole 2007); however, simulators may be used in different ways and concentration on design realism does not always drive completeness and utility from the perspective of user goals and required functionality. We believe that by focusing on the role the simulation is to play for the user, we can develop better designs for optimizing haptic simulation details and performance. VR-based haptic simulators typically present scene graphs of virtual objects to the user that can be manipulated with a control device, such as the Phantom® from Sensible Technologies. The device itself may support different hand controller configurations. The VR system can provide both passive and active visual and haptic feedback. The types of data sources used to construct the virtual model, the virtual surface and force modeling methods, as well as the visual and haptic rendering methods, mediate the quality of feedback to the user (e.g., the visual and haptic cues may have various resolutions and update rates). Users experience a combined effect of these interrelated parameters. Consequently, the design of such a simulation is a complex problem. Many features may need to be designed in combination in order to address system performance objectives and to support efficient user learning. We propose to take a cognitive-oriented approach to haptic simulation design and evaluation, addressing parameters of data sources, modeling methods, and rendering methods in order to make rehabilitation and motor skill training applications more effective. We propose an interdisciplinary study approach involving computer graphics and haptic modeling, neurocognitive and motor performance analysis, and cognitive engineering of VR simulations. These are the three areas in which we expect to make contributions to support motor skill learning processes.