As an effort to maximize the immersiveness of user experience in virtual reality, there have been constant efforts to provide a user with tactile sensation by providing haptic feedback. Most of the haptic feedback methods, however, can create only lim...
As an effort to maximize the immersiveness of user experience in virtual reality, there have been constant efforts to provide a user with tactile sensation by providing haptic feedback. Most of the haptic feedback methods, however, can create only limited or unrealistic haptic sensations since they utilize affordable actuators such as a vibrotactile actuator. When it comes to martial arts training or a game, the limitation of such haptic feedback is apparent due to the significant difference between the physical impact of hitting an object and the sensation departed from a vibrotactile actuator. Noting this, we proposed a haptic impact system that can create a haptic impact when the user hits a virtual object with the fist. The haptic interface uses a quick-return mechanism that can deliver haptic impact feedback to a user’s fist. The realism of the haptic impact was evaluated by conducting a human-subject experiment. The results indicate a significant effect of haptic feedback on the realism of the virtual impact.