Weight Perception Simulation in Virtual Reality with Passive Force using Force Sensing Resistors

There is a rise of interest in promoting Virtual Reality (VR) in many industries since the VR headsets released as consumer products and getting affordable. The advantage of VR lies in its capability in creating a sense of presence and immersion, however it is still a major challenge to enable humans to feel the weight of the object in VR. There have been remarkable advancements in the development of haptic interfaces throughout the years. However, a number of challenges limit the progression to enable humans to sense the weight of virtual objects. Pseudo-haptic approach is a less costly alternative with better mobility compared to haptic interfaces. It is a software approach seeks to use the overall dominance of the visual system to create haptic illusions to render the perception of weight. In this paper, a pseudo-haptic model using passive force to simulate weight perception is proposed. The hand pressures are captured during the interaction to simulate the objects’ behavior to create the pseudo-weight illusion. The design and implementation of the force detection and visual feedback modules are discussed, and the preliminary evaluations of the force sensing resistors are presented.