The Stringed Haptic Workbench: A New Haptic Workbench Solution

The workbench is an interesting semi-immersive configuration for interactive tasks. However, haptic feedback, i.e. force and tactile feedback, is one important cue which is missing. To the authors' knowledge, the sole proposed solution consists in installing an arm force feedback device on one-screen workbenches. This solution, however, has several drawbacks. The arm can perturb the stereoscopic display, cross virtual objects or hide parts of the visualization space. Furthermore, the interaction space is limited by the size of the arm, which may also damage the screen or perturb the electromagnetic tracking system. Some of these difficulties may even be worth with a two-screen workbench. This paper discusses an alternative solution, which consists in integrating a stringed haptic device on a workbench. This approach is less invasive, more flexible and well-suited to a two-screen workbench.