Adding Haptic Feedback to Geodesy Analysis Tools used in Planetary Surface Exploration

Force feedback supported user interaction is increasingly finding its way into various professional applications and areas of research. Tentative steps in the development of haptic supported Geographic Information Systems (GISs) led to the conclusion that force feedback has the capability to improve the user experience. This work was focused on the investigation of this assumption in the context of planetary surface analysis. For this purpose an existing planetary terrain visualization and exploration framework was extended by a haptic interface consisting of a haptic device and a haptic rendering pipeline. A selection of commercial devices was reviewed and assessed regarding to their suitability for particular terrain analysis tools. A challenge was to find suitable force feedback related algorithms to tackle the massive amount of planetary terrain data and adapt them into the haptic rendering pipeline. Two geodesy analysis tools have been enhanced with virtual fixtures to assist in their operation. A final pilot user study was conducted to compare the usability of the prototype haptic interface implementation with the usability of the original terrain visualization and exploration framework. The haptic rendering pipeline and the selected haptic device were successfully integrated in the existing framework and operated with a proper refresh rate. The results of the measurements and the user feedback regarding the comparison of both systems were balanced. The initial assumption that force feedback will improve the workflow of planetary terrain exploration and analysis could not be confirmed. Some weaknesses were exposed in the haptic supported prototype and also in the original framework. However, some of the measurements and the user reports indicated that the workflow can still benefit from force feedback after a future revision to eliminate the weaknesses. Declaration of Authenticity I, Ronny Wegener, declare that the work presented here is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original and the result of my own investigations, except where indicated otherwise. This exegesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Magdeburg April 22, 2014