Von computergraphischen zu haptischen Texturen: virtual reality für den Entwicklungsbereich Design-Styling in der Automobilindustrie

Virtual Reality is the research framework of computer science, which is adressed by this thesis. Motivated by an application related goal of Computer Aided Styling, the simulation of surfaces by computer graphic textures is evaluated. Computer graphic textures and their placement are well known and accepted techniques to implement interactive Virtual Reality simulations. This thesis aims at the use of computer graphic textures for the generation of haptic feedback. The visual content of the computer graphic surface textures is analysed in a geometric manner in order to get their haptic information. For the theoretical model a fractal dimension as a measure for visual and haptic roughness is examined first. Roughness and fractal dimension are corresponding, but a haptic simulation based only on fractal dimension and roughness is not sufficient to generate surface structure. More relevant for the haptic simulation are the symmetrical contents of the computer graphic surface textures, which correspond with the euclidian symmetries of the plane. It is developed, how translationary symmetry is detected. If a symmetry is found a generating primitive can be obtained, which belongs to the appropriate symmetry. With means of three experiments it is examined, how the generated haptic feedback based on the primitive is accepted by probationers. The experiments show that such a haptic feedback is taken as valid, if it is given as an addition to the visual simulation.