Grasping techniques: innovations in robotics and virtual reality

Abstract

The act of grasping is a fundamental mode of interaction when manipulating objects, in both physical and virtual environments. Robotic grasping has been studied for more than three decades, leading to the development of sophisticated frameworks. In contrast, achieving believable grasping in virtual reality (VR) requires a complex interplay of graphics, physics, and perception, where realistic haptic feedback and high-quality rendering are crucial for user immersion. This paper reviews grasping techniques in both robotics and VR, analysing VR grasping from visual and haptic perspectives and identifying its current challenges. We then compare robotic and VR grasping, showing how the relatively mature evaluation metrics of robotics can inspire potential directions for improving VR grasping and support the development of solutions that are more stable, natural, and efficient. Beyond surveying existing methods, this paper provides an outlook on upcoming challenges and opportunities in grasping research across robotics and VR. We set out both a high-level vision towards natural, and reliable grasping in real and virtual domains and priorities, including benchmark creation, robust evaluation metrics, and improvements in haptic fidelity and latency.