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JetUnit: Rendering Diverse Force Feedback in Virtual Reality Using Water Jets

Zining Zhang, Jiasheng Li, Zeyu Yan, Jun Nishida, Huaishu Peng

TL;DR

JetUnit introduces a self-contained water-jet haptic device that renders diverse force feedback patterns in VR while keeping the user dry. The authors optimize a chamber unit with a membrane and four design enhancements (recycling pump, ring channel, protective sleeve, and air-balancing features) to preserve jet momentum and deliver stable forces, achieving about $0.82$ N on-skin force and up to $450$ kPa at a 1.2 mm nozzle. They validate nozzle-dimension choices via perception studies (N=7) and demonstrate a wide range of programmable pressures and pulsing frequencies (up to 10 Hz) with multiple waveform patterns, including linear, sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth. A VR experience study with 11 participants shows high perception accuracy for brief interactions and strong subjective realism and enjoyment, albeit with wearability trade-offs such as weight. The work offers a practical, open-source pathway toward versatile, dry wearable haptics for VR and suggests future expansions to full-body or multi-unit configurations, temperature cues, and variable contact areas.

Abstract

We propose JetUnit, a water-based VR haptic system designed to produce force feedback with a wide spectrum of intensities and frequencies through water jets. The key challenge in designing this system lies in optimizing parameters to enable the haptic device to generate force feedback that closely replicates the most intense force produced by direct water jets while ensuring the user remains dry. In this paper, we present the key design parameters of the JetUnit wearable device determined through a set of quantitative experiments and a perception study. We further conducted a user study to assess the impact of integrating our haptic solutions into virtual reality experiences. The results revealed that, by adhering to the design principles of JetUnit, the water-based haptic system is capable of delivering diverse force feedback sensations, significantly enhancing the immersive experience in virtual reality.

JetUnit: Rendering Diverse Force Feedback in Virtual Reality Using Water Jets

TL;DR

JetUnit introduces a self-contained water-jet haptic device that renders diverse force feedback patterns in VR while keeping the user dry. The authors optimize a chamber unit with a membrane and four design enhancements (recycling pump, ring channel, protective sleeve, and air-balancing features) to preserve jet momentum and deliver stable forces, achieving about N on-skin force and up to kPa at a 1.2 mm nozzle. They validate nozzle-dimension choices via perception studies (N=7) and demonstrate a wide range of programmable pressures and pulsing frequencies (up to 10 Hz) with multiple waveform patterns, including linear, sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth. A VR experience study with 11 participants shows high perception accuracy for brief interactions and strong subjective realism and enjoyment, albeit with wearability trade-offs such as weight. The work offers a practical, open-source pathway toward versatile, dry wearable haptics for VR and suggests future expansions to full-body or multi-unit configurations, temperature cues, and variable contact areas.

Abstract

We propose JetUnit, a water-based VR haptic system designed to produce force feedback with a wide spectrum of intensities and frequencies through water jets. The key challenge in designing this system lies in optimizing parameters to enable the haptic device to generate force feedback that closely replicates the most intense force produced by direct water jets while ensuring the user remains dry. In this paper, we present the key design parameters of the JetUnit wearable device determined through a set of quantitative experiments and a perception study. We further conducted a user study to assess the impact of integrating our haptic solutions into virtual reality experiences. The results revealed that, by adhering to the design principles of JetUnit, the water-based haptic system is capable of delivering diverse force feedback sensations, significantly enhancing the immersive experience in virtual reality.
Paper Structure (30 sections, 2 equations, 16 figures)

This paper contains 30 sections, 2 equations, 16 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. On-body Force Feedback in VR
  4. Mechanisms to Generate Force Feedback
  5. Using Liquids in HCI for Interactions and Haptics
  6. JetUnit System Overview
  7. Chamber Unit Design
  8. Membrane Material and the Resulting Reduction in Force
  9. Issues arising from the use of the membrane
  10. Minimizing the Impact of Accumulated Water within the Chamber Unit
  11. Improvement
  12. Choosing the Nozzle Dimensions
  13. Equation of continuity
  14. Measuring the force of different nozzle sizes
  15. Measuring the pressure
  16. ...and 15 more sections

Figures (16)

  • Figure 1: (a) The JetUnit offers force feedback over a wide range of perceived force intensities and pulsing frequencies. A single wearable JetUnit can render interactions ranging from (b) a gentle touch to (c) a progressively accelerating injection.
  • Figure 2: (a) Schematic of JetUnit System. (b) The JetUnit system setup.
  • Figure 3: (a) Perspective view of a rendering of a half chamber unit cut from the middle. JetUnit chamber's views: (b) perspective, and (c) front view.
  • Figure 4: (a) Selection of membrane materials. (b) Setup for force measurement
  • Figure 5: Force measurement results: The blue-tinted curves represent the force measurements for both the baseline and each membrane material; The grey-shaded area indicates the standard deviation of the force measurements at each timestamp.
  • ...and 11 more figures