UltraEdit: In-Situ Design Environment for Ultrasound Haptization

We present UltraEdit, an in-situ design environment that enables users to directly edit ultrasound haptic sensations in VR using barehand interactions. UltraEdit represents haptic sensations as tangible objects, called blobs, which users can modify or apply to 3D objects through intuitive hand gestures. Users can create, edit, copy, and apply blobs, allowing them to work with multiple haptic sensations to design virtual objects with diverse tactile feedback. Additionally, UltraEdit allows users to create spatial and temporal haptic patterns using time blobs and spatial drawing features. Users can draw custom-shaped haptic patterns directly on their hands, adapting to comprehensive design scenarios. To evaluate UltraEdit, we conducted an exploratory user study assessing its usability, effectiveness, and ease of learning. We also compared its performance to an existing desktop-based haptic editing tool. Participants found UltraEdit intuitive to learn, enjoyable to use, and effective for adding haptic feedback to virtual objects.