From Haptics
Research/education
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Overview
Haptic (force feedback) devices for education have been developed and applied to help students at all levels (from kindergartners to graduate students) understand science and engineering concepts. An intuitive understanding of physical systems is key to the success of many science and engineering students.
A rugged, single-axis force-feedback joystick called the haptic paddle can be assembled for less than US $30 (assuming some surplus components) and is controllable by a standard personal computer. At Johns Hopkins University, this device has been used to provide engineering undergraduate students in a dynamic systems course with intuition of course concepts. Course evaluations and a systematic, four-year study involving pre- and post-laboratory assessment have revealed a significant contribution of haptics to learning. The haptic paddle design has been used or adapted at over a dozen other universities, and has also been used in graduate education.
Haptic devices are also excellent mechanisms for encouraging excitement about engineering in K-12 students. Most children are familiar with haptics already, in the form of the "rumble pack", which is a hand-held video game controller that vibrates to reflect certain events in the virtual environment. But it is not until they feel high-fidelity force feedback during simulations of dynamic systems and 3-D shapes that they understand the potential of haptics and gain knowledge about physical principles. Several haptic devices have been used to create a set of demonstrations designed for elementary school students and teachers. In Fig. 3, a student uses a haptic device to interact with a virtual ball. Students are able bounce a ball while the strength of gravity is varied, and feel what it would be like to bounce a ball on Earth, the Moon, or Jupiter.
People
- PI: Allison Okamura
- Current: Looking for a researcher in this area
- Previous: David Grow, Lawton Verner
Publications
- D. I. Grow, L. N. Verner, and A. M. Okamura. "Educational Haptics", AAAI 2007 Spring Symposia - Robots and Robot Venues: Resources for AI Education, 2007.
- A. M. Okamura, C. Richard, and M. R. Cutkosky, "Feeling is believing: Using a Force-Feedback Joystick to Teach Dynamic Systems," ASEE Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 91, No. 3, pp. 345-349, 2002.
- A. M. Okamura, C. Richard, and M. R. Cutkosky, "Feeling is believing: Using a Force-Feedback Joystick to Teach Dynamic Systems," ASEE Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 91, No. 3, pp. 345-349, 2002.
- C. Richard, A. M. Okamura, and M. R. Cutkosky, "Feeling is believing: Using a Force-Feedback Joystick to Teach Dynamic Systems," Proceedings of the 2000 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Session 3668. (Best Paper Award)
Support
This work is supported by the Johns Hopkins University, NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, and NSF CAREER Grant IIS-0347464.
