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Grasping the Future: Virtual Hands Control for Fine Motor Tasks

Ronald Punako Jr., Concurrent Technologies Corporation

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Physical Equipment Training can be Effective, but Cost Prohibitive

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How can we Provide Effective Equipment Training at Reduced

Cost?

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Use the Same Hands-on Procedures with Virtual Equipment

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Overview

Science & Design System Architecture Interactivity Experimental Design Results Future Research

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Science & Design – Situated Cognition

Prototype is a virtual reality system that provides both cognitive and psychomotor equipment maintenance training experiences.

Knowing is inseparable from doing. All knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts (Situated Cognition, Gee et al.).

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Science and Design – Symbolic Interaction

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Gestures may be assigned to different actions in a computer based instruction to embody varied content knowledge and to regulate the instruction and learning process (Xu, X., & Ke, F., 2014).

Experience and cognition are grounded in actions and movements, such as simulations, situated actions, or states of body gestures (Barsalou, 2008, 2010).

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Science and Design - Mental Practice

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When thinking about a saw, the actions and movements using a saw to cut the wood or metal will encode one’s perception on the functionality of a saw.

Body movements and actions also prompt us to recall our prior experiences and cognition, link them to the current situation, and reapply them for future actions and understanding (Barsalou 2010; Mizelle & Wheaton 2010).

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System Architecture – Prototype Client

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User Interface

Window Manager

CalloutManager

ToolsManager

Scene Graph

EquipmentModel

Parts

Fasteners

Sequencing

Exercise

Sequences

ActionsX

Gaze

Gesture

Talk

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System Architecture - Gestures

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Human perception of movementFluid motion: 13-50msFrames p/second: 24-60fps

Prototype hand movementFluid motion: 13msFrames p/second: 78fps

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System Architecture - Visualization

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Helps attain high measures of presence, or the feeling of “being there.”

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System Architecture - Game Engine

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Unity is the game engine and integration point for the prototype.

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Interactivity - Virtual Environment

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Interactivity – Equipment Model

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Interactivity - Hands Articulation

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Interactivity - Pointing

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Interactivity - Pinching

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Interactivity - Exercise Progression

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Benefits – High-Order Cognitive Skills

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Application of high-order cognitive activities Apply, Analyze, and Evaluate

Immediate application of procedural knowledge Consistent and constant feedback

during procedure

Prototype

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Benefits – Low-Order Cognitive Skills

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Application of low-order cognition activities Remember, understand

Why? It’s a virtual instruction manual 3D collapsed\exploded diagram Parts name callouts using gaze

Prototype

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Benefits – Psychomotor Skills

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Imitation of tool activity improves skilled movements Psychomotor Skills (by rehearsing motions) Visuospatial Skills (by rehearsing motions in

realistic environment) Visual correlation of real-to-virtual hand

movement creates the illusion of “being there”

Hand movement and head movementcreates the illusion the body in VR space

Prototype

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Experimental Design - Environment

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OculusLeap MotionAudio

Starting location

Head tracker

Alienware PC5 Feet

1in. 2ft.

Gesture frame

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Experimental Design – Sample Frame

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Participants were highly familiar and experienced with the helicopter mission kit (HMK).

Key: pn = participant code

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Experimental Design – Immersive Tendencies Questionnaire (ITQ)

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Participants reported low to moderately-low immersive tendencies.

Key: pn = participant code Scale 1 = low tendency, 7 = high tendency

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Experimental Design – Light Bulb Task

Start Locate part 1

Remove 7 fasteners

Decouple part 1

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Locate part 2

Remove 2 fasteners

Decouple part 2

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Results – Presence Questionnaire (PQ)

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Participants reported high to moderately-high levels of presence.Recall that ITQ scores are highly correlated to PQ scores.

Key: 1 = Scale reversed

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Results - Thinking Out Loud

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Key: tn = Time scale

Mostly positive experiences reported for Realism.Some positive and negative experiences reported for Interface Quality.

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Results – Presence Discussion

Low ITQ outcomes are highly correlated to low PQ outcomes, and vice-versa. However, participants reported low ITQ outcomes and high PQ outcomes.

1. Would the same participants report a low PQ outcome without virtual hands?

2. Would a larger and more diverse participant sample report differently?

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Results – Skills Discussion

Regarding the efficacy of cognitive and psychomotor skills training.

1. Does use of virtual hands training provide better transfer of cognitive skills than non-virtual hands implementations?

2. Does use of virtual hands provide better transfer of psychomotor skills than mental practice?

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Future Research

1. How does tool simulation effect cognitive and psychomotor tasks?

2. How does eye movement support measurement of mastery?

3. How can exercise construction be automated?

4. How may collaboration be supported across realities?

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Questions

Thank you for your time!

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Contacts

Corey NorrisDirector, Software Solutionsnorrisc@ctc.com814-262-2383

Ron PunakoSenior Software Engineerpunakor@ctc.com814-269-6538

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