Project information

  • Category: Project
  • Position: Co-Researcher
  • Project date: January 2022 - Present
  • Project URL: Haptic Tactics

Haptic Tactics

Haptic Tactics is a student-led project that aimed to find a way to improve the way workers drill holes into metal surfaces on large body aircraft. The project utilized a simulated environment to train workers on how to drill holes into metal surfaces. The project was a collaboration between students at Virginia Tech and the Boeing Company. The environment functions by using a virtual reality headset and a haptic proxy that utilizes impedance control to simulate the feeling of drilling into different materials. The project was presented to Boeing's CEO and Caterpillar's CTO.

Problem

The project this problem is trying to solve is around the ergonomic factors that influence works long term health. When workers spend long durations of time drilling into hard surfaces, forces travel up the body causing long-term pain and health problems. Furthermore, in many of these large body aircraft holes need to be drilled in tight areas. This makes it difficult to account for the ergonomic factors that influence the worker health.

Solution

To solve this problem we created a virtual reality environment that allows workers to train in a simulated environment. The environment allows workers to train using real-world forces without damaging expensive materials. Furthermore, the environment provides the worker with additional data to provide analysis of the hole, force, exerted, and even suggestions to ensure proper drilling technique. This idea is the first part of a larger project that aims to bring about the idea of drill from home allowing the worker to be removed from direct forces.

Business Plan

The business plan for this project revolves around the idea of how much companies pay today for sprains, and long-term health affects of workers. Furthermore, the system would also help to improve the overall quality of the work being done due to the additional data and the time it would require to train workers.