For the first time, users can enjoy all the benefits of haptic force feedback within a fully immersive display system for the Dassault Systemes V5 environment as a result of a technology partnership between Mechdyne Corporation and Haption.

Mechdyne Corporation will demonstrate this ground-breaking capability on a 3D ROVR display with motion tracking at Dassault's Customer Conference November 9-10, in Orlando, Florida.

"The combination of Mechdyne and Haption technologies allows CAD/CAM operators using Dassault's V5 software to maneuver and realistically feel and simulate the parts of a design in a virtual reality system such as a Powerwall or CAVE. The addition of touch will aid engineers and designers to verify designs for manufacturing or serviceability before prototypes are created," explains Pierre Vercruysse, Vice President Sales and Marketing of Haption.

Vercruysse goes on to explain, "For example, in auto design, an engineer working in an immersive setting can simulate and test how to integrate a seat into a car interior. With this new capability, a human being can actually interact with the design. Engineers perform such tasks as validating seat placement, testing ergonomics, studying comfort levels, viewing posture while in design model, and observing actual component tooling. All this occurs in real time which can also be recorded and stored in the native data structure of the V5 application."

"Conduit for V5 plays a key role in extending the capabilities of Haption's IFC Core product to bring it into an immersive environment. No longer is the ability to interact with the models and haptic feedback only available from an outside view looking in. The addition of viewer centered perspective and immersive display device support from Conduit for V5 now puts the user inside their data creating a new level of efficiency to the design process," says Matt Szymanski, Vice President of Products for Mechdyne's Software Division. A haptic interface is a computer device that enables its user to interact with a software application or with a virtual object through the sense of touch. It consists of an articulated mechanical structure with motors and position sensors as well as embedded electronics. The user holds the end-point of the haptic device in his hand, and can move it around, both in the real and virtual world on the computer screen. Whenever the virtual hand makes contact with a digital object, a force value is sent to the motors, which simulate the feeling of touch.
With this combination of technologies, V5 users can now experience the benefits of feeling physical feedback by interacting with Haption's force feedback devices within an interactive immersive display environment such as CAVE, Powerwall, or FLEX. In addition to developing Conduit for V5, Mechdyne Corporation is one the world's largest company dedicated to consulting and development of these types of immersive 3D, networked and collaborative visualization solutions.