Smooth force rendering on coarse polygonal meshes

• Published in: Computer animation and virtual worlds 2010-05, Vol.21 (3-4), p.235-244
• Main Authors: Wu, Jun, Leung, Yuen-Shan, Wang, Charlie C.L., Wang, Dangxiao, Zhang, Yuru
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: coarse mesh; force rendering; G1 continuity; Gregory patch; n-sided polygon
• ISSN: 1546-4261; 1546-427X
• DOI: 10.1002/cav.348

Piecewise linear polygonal model has only G0 continuity, thus users can easily feel the edges when using haptic device to touch a solid represented by coarse polygonal meshes. To produce an appealing haptic sensation for smooth solids, a large number of polygons are needed in conventional approaches. This, however, slows down computation and consumes much more memory. In this paper, we present a method to generate smooth feedback force in haptic interaction with coarse polygonal meshes. Our method calculates the interaction force based on Gregory patches, which are locally constructed from n‐sided polygons and ensure G1 continuity across boundaries of patches. During the real time haptic interaction, the contact point is continuously tracked on the locally constructed Gregory patches and thus generates smooth haptic forces to be rendered. Our method is validated on various models with comparison to conventional force rendering techniques. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Piecewise linear polygonal model has only G0 continuity, thus users can easily feel the edges when using haptic device to touch a solid represented by coarse polygonal meshes. We present a smooth force rendering method based on Gregory patches. The figure shows feedback forces when sliding on the surface of a banana model with only 409 polygons using different methods: (left) the direct rendering, (middle) the force shading approach, and (right) our smooth force rendering by local Gregory patch construction.