4 The Virtual Workbench

The Virtual Workbench [15] is a VR workstation modelled more on the binocular microscope familiar to medical workers than on the immersion paradigm, but is 'hands on' in a way that a microscope is not. Our display configuration (Figure 1), using stereo achieved by time-splitting the display with Crystal EyesTM glasses, allows the real hands to move in the positions at which the eyes seem to look. Fine control depends on exploiting this.

Figure 1. The Virtual Workbench. The left view shows a schematic, the right a photograph of the hardware implementation. The user sees a virtual tool, in the stereo display in the mirror, exactly where the hand holds the real sensor-equipped handle: the hand is invisible.

The 6DOF sensor currently installed is a Polhemus FASTRAKTM, with a single button. The mechanical Immersion ProbeTM (with somewhat superior noise resistance and precision but awkward at certain angles) is normally supplied without buttons. The two custom-added for our order were uncomfortable, and fell below the robust engineering standards of the basic unit.

Interaction techniques for a virtual workspace - 22 APR 1996

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