Haptic wheelchair

Abstract

Virtual reality aims to provide an immersive experience to a user, with the help of a virtual environment. This immersive experience requires two key components; one for capturing inputs from the real world, and the other for synthesizing real world outputs based on interactions with the virtual environment. However, a user in a real world environment experiences a greater set of feedback from real world inputs which relate directly to auditory, visual, and force feedback. As such, in a virtual environment, a dissociation is introduced between the user's inputs and the feedback from the virtual environment. This dissociation relates to the discomfort the user experiences with real world interaction. Our team has introduced a novel way of receiving synthesized feedback from the virtual environment through the use of a haptic wheelchair.