VGRIP-Virtual Reality in a Grip

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) is considered an increasingly popular research domain as a methodology and field of study. VGRIP is a virtual reality grip which consists of integrates hardware and software implementations to operate in the desired manner. The virtual reality grip concentrates on giving the user a sense of movement in the virtual environment. It can serve both scientific and entertainment purposes. It can also be used to avoid risky situations for trainees practicing in an unsafe environment. This type of training will ensure high-level competencies in many training scopes. One of the methods this research focuses on is trial and error, testing and concluding results. Among several VR development engines and technologies, Unity was chosen. Likewise, for the hardware components, many components were tested in multiple phases before finalizing the tools. A real glove has been built from scratch and a hand model was customized in Unity to reflect the real glove. The LEAP motion sensor was used for hand reading which is considered the most mature (AI) for such task. The LEAP basically reads the motion of the physical hand transferring its data to Unity serially. As soon as the virtual hand in Unity grabs an object, a signal will be transferred to the microcontroller to lock the movement of the corresponding electromagnets which will restrict the movement of one or more fingers. The main concept behind VGRIP is to restrict the movement of the fingers in a way that makes the virtual environment feel as real as it looks.