Systems and methods for sculpting virtual objects in a haptic virtual reality environment

• US 20050001831A1
• Filed: 05/12/2004
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3D Systems, Inc. (3D Systems Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SensAble Technologies, Inc. (3D Systems Corporation)
• Inventors: Shih, Loren, Shannon, Walter C. III, Massie, Thomas H., Aviles, Walter A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,102,635 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/013 Force feedback applied to a game
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/28 Force feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2021 Shape modification

Abstract

A user of a virtual object or computer model uses a haptic interface device in the real world to manipulate a virtual tool in a virtual environment to interact and modify the virtual object. The user uses the virtual tool in a sculpting mode to modify the shape of the virtual object by adding, removing, or modifying the material of the object. The user feels an interaction force from the virtual tool as it interacts with and modifies the virtual object. The designer can set geometric constraints, such as a constraint point, constraint line, or constraint surface, to limit or guide the movement of the virtual tool.

Claims

1-59. -59. (canceled)

60. A method for modifying a virtual object in a haptic virtual environment, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a virtual object in a haptic virtual environment;

determining a position of a virtual tool in the haptic virtual environment corresponding to a location of a user in real space; and

modifying the virtual object according to a movement of the user in real space, wherein the position of the virtual tool is sampled discretely and modification is made along a swept path between discretely sampled positions.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the modifying step comprises removing virtual material from the virtual object along the swept path between discretely sampled positions.

62. The method of claim 60, wherein the modifying step comprises adding virtual material to the virtual object along the swept path between discretely sampled positions.

63. The method of claim 60, wherein the virtual object is voxel-based.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the virtual tool comprises a plurality of discrete points and wherein the step of determining a position of the virtual tool comprises:

determining a haptic interface location in the haptic virtual environment corresponding to a location of a user in real space; and

determining locations for the plurality of discrete points of the virtual tool in the haptic virtual environment relative to the haptic interface location.

65. The method of claim 63, wherein the modifying step comprises computing a voxel value at a point in the haptic virtual environment based on a distance from the point to a line segment connecting two of the discretely sampled positions.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein the line segment connects two consecutively sampled positions.

67. The method of claim 60, further comprising the steps of:

determining a force feedback according to the position of the virtual tool in relation to the virtual object;

sending the force feedback to the user through a haptic interface device; and

updating the force feedback according to the movement of the user in real space.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein the step of modifying the virtual object is performed at a slower rate than the step of updating the force feedback.

69. The method of claim 67, wherein the force feedback comprises an alternate force when a modification to the virtual object occurs.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the alternate force is a viscous force.

71. An apparatus for modifying a virtual object in a haptic virtual environment, the apparatus comprising:

a memory for storing code that defines a set of instructions; and

a processor for executing said set of instructions to;

(a) generate a virtual object in a haptic virtual environment;

(b) determine a position of a virtual tool in the haptic virtual environment corresponding to a location of a user in real space; and

(c) modify the virtual object according to a movement of the user in real space, wherein the position of the virtual tool is sampled discretely and modification is made along a swept path between discretely sampled positions.

72. The apparatus of claim 71, further comprising a haptic interface device in communication with the processor.