A Mobile Natural Human–Robot Interaction Method for Virtual Chinese Acupuncture

摘要

Most of the existing virtual acupuncture methods cannot allow operators to interact naturally in a large area. To address this problem, this article proposes a mobile natural human–robot interaction interface for virtual Chinese acupuncture teaching, including an automatic hand tracking method and an acupuncture interaction method combining vision and force feedback. The automatic hand tracking method can automatically track and capture the operator’s hand movements, allowing the operator to perform acupuncture in a large area. The acupuncture interaction method combining vision and force reproduces the real acupuncture operation mode. The proposed interaction method provides the operator with visual feedback and force feedback without limitation, which improves the naturalness and authenticity of the operation. Through a series of experiments, the proposed method was proven to be more natural and efficient in the virtual acupuncture teaching scene from the point view of interaction. The operators achieve a stronger sense of immersion using this method.