Visuo-tactile system for 3D digital models rendering

Abstract: The product design process is based on a sequence of phases where the concept of the shape of a product is typically represented through a digital 3D model of the shape, and often also by means of a corresponding physical prototype. The digital model allows designers to perform the visual evaluation of the shape, while the physical model is used to better evaluate the aesthetic characteristics of the product, i.e. its dimension and proportions, by touching and interacting with it. Design and evaluation activities are typical cyclical, repeated as many times as needed in order to reach the optimal and desired shape. This reiteration leads to an increase of the development time and, consequently, of the overall product development cost. The aim of this research work is to develop a novel system for the simultaneous visual and tactile rendering of product shapes, thus allowing designers to both touch and see new product shapes already during the product conceptual development phase. The proposed system for visual and tactile shape rendering consists in a Tactile Display able to represent in the real environment the shape of a product, which can be explored naturally through free hand interaction. The device is designed in order to be portable, low cost, modular and high performing in terms of types of shapes that can be represented. The developed Tactile Display can be effectively used if integrated with an Augmented Reality system, which allows the rendering of the visual shape on top of the tactile haptic strip. This allows a simultaneous representation of visual and tactile properties of a shape. By using the Tactile Display in the initial conceptual phases of product design, the designers will be able to change the shape of a product according to the tactile evaluation, before the development of the physical prototype. This feature will lead to a decrease of the number of physical prototypes needed, thereby reducing, both cost and overall time of the product development process. © 2015 CAD Solutions, LLC.