Abstract: An apparatus and method for assessing a hazard associated with an object are disclosed. The apparatus includes a haptic input/output device coupled to a computer with haptic modeling software and a display device. A virtual object and a virtual passageway are displayed on the display device. The virtual passageway includes a haptic layer along a surface thereof. Force applied by a user to the haptic input/output device causes a cursor on the display device to move the virtual object into the virtual passageway. An interaction of the virtual object with the haptic layer generates a virtual contact force which may be determined by the user sensing a corresponding tactile feedback force generated by the haptic input/output device and/or by the computer processor. The magnitude of the virtual contact force may be used to assess a hazard associated with the virtual object.
Type:
Application
Filed:
July 2, 2012
Publication date:
November 1, 2012
Applicant:
Labtest International, Inc. D/B/A Intertek Consumer Goods North America
Inventors:
Robert Altkorn, Xiao Chen, Scott Milkovich, John Owens, Brian William Rider, Eugene Rider, Daniel Stool