2016 IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces (3DUI), 2016
In this paper, we look upon elements present in speech articulation to introduce proactive haptic... more In this paper, we look upon elements present in speech articulation to introduce proactive haptic articulation as a novel approach for communication in Collaborative Virtual Environments. We defend the hypothesis that elements present in natural language, when added to the design of the vibrotactile vocabulary, should provide an expressive medium for intercommunication. Moreover, the ability to render tactile cues to a teammate should encourage users to extrapolate a given vocabulary while using it. We implemented a collaborative puzzle task to observe the use of such vocabulary. Results show that participants autonomously adapted it to attend their communication needs during the assembly.
Several studies evaluated vibrotactile stimuli on the head to aid orientation and communication. ... more Several studies evaluated vibrotactile stimuli on the head to aid orientation and communication. However, the acuity for vibration of the head’s skin still needs to be explored. In this paper, we report the assessment of the spatial resolution on the head. We performed a 2AFC psychophysical experiment systematically varying the distance between pairs of stimuli in a standard-comparison approach. We took into consideration not only the perceptual thresholds but also the reaction times and subjective factors, like workload and vibration pleasantness. Results show that the region around the forehead is not only the most sensitive, with thresholds under 5mm, but it is also the region wherein the spatial discrimination was felt to be easier to perform. We also have found that it is possible to describe acuity on the head for vibrating stimulus as a function of skin type (hairy or glabrous) and of the distance of the stimulated loci from the head midline.
Nowadays, designers of Virtual Reality (VR) applications are faced with the choice of a large num... more Nowadays, designers of Virtual Reality (VR) applications are faced with the choice of a large number of different input and output devices leading to a growing number of interaction techniques. Usually VR interaction techniques are described informally, based on the actions users can perform within the VR environment. At implementation time, such informal descriptions (made at design time) yield to ambiguous interpretations by the developers. In addition, informal descriptions make it difficult to foresee the impact throughout the application of a modification of the interaction techniques. This paper discusses the advantages of using a formal description technique (called ICO) to model interaction techniques and dialogues for VR applications. This notation is presented via a case study featuring an immersive VR application. The case study is then used to show, through analysis of models, how the formal notation can help to ensure the usability, reliability and efficiency of virtual reality systems.
2016 IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces (3DUI), 2016
In this paper, we look upon elements present in speech articulation to introduce proactive haptic... more In this paper, we look upon elements present in speech articulation to introduce proactive haptic articulation as a novel approach for communication in Collaborative Virtual Environments. We defend the hypothesis that elements present in natural language, when added to the design of the vibrotactile vocabulary, should provide an expressive medium for intercommunication. Moreover, the ability to render tactile cues to a teammate should encourage users to extrapolate a given vocabulary while using it. We implemented a collaborative puzzle task to observe the use of such vocabulary. Results show that participants autonomously adapted it to attend their communication needs during the assembly.
Several studies evaluated vibrotactile stimuli on the head to aid orientation and communication. ... more Several studies evaluated vibrotactile stimuli on the head to aid orientation and communication. However, the acuity for vibration of the head’s skin still needs to be explored. In this paper, we report the assessment of the spatial resolution on the head. We performed a 2AFC psychophysical experiment systematically varying the distance between pairs of stimuli in a standard-comparison approach. We took into consideration not only the perceptual thresholds but also the reaction times and subjective factors, like workload and vibration pleasantness. Results show that the region around the forehead is not only the most sensitive, with thresholds under 5mm, but it is also the region wherein the spatial discrimination was felt to be easier to perform. We also have found that it is possible to describe acuity on the head for vibrating stimulus as a function of skin type (hairy or glabrous) and of the distance of the stimulated loci from the head midline.
Nowadays, designers of Virtual Reality (VR) applications are faced with the choice of a large num... more Nowadays, designers of Virtual Reality (VR) applications are faced with the choice of a large number of different input and output devices leading to a growing number of interaction techniques. Usually VR interaction techniques are described informally, based on the actions users can perform within the VR environment. At implementation time, such informal descriptions (made at design time) yield to ambiguous interpretations by the developers. In addition, informal descriptions make it difficult to foresee the impact throughout the application of a modification of the interaction techniques. This paper discusses the advantages of using a formal description technique (called ICO) to model interaction techniques and dialogues for VR applications. This notation is presented via a case study featuring an immersive VR application. The case study is then used to show, through analysis of models, how the formal notation can help to ensure the usability, reliability and efficiency of virtual reality systems.
Collaboration in 3D environments has the main goal of attaining a high degree of teamwork by expo... more Collaboration in 3D environments has the main goal of attaining a high degree of teamwork by exposing the team to a suitable level of immersion. However, users within virtual environments have limitations to perceive the same stimuli of the real world. Particularly, the feeling of presence and nearness of the other is difficult to be generated in VR systems. This poster presents a work in progress that shows our current results on evaluating the impact of three different proximity cues for generating awareness of the presence of other. The design of each cue aims at independently stimulating the senses of sight, hearing and touch. The experiment design includes the comparison with a baseline condition in virtual environments where no specific stimulation is applied.
Any human-computer interface imposes a certain level of cognitive load to the user task. Analogou... more Any human-computer interface imposes a certain level of cognitive load to the user task. Analogously, the task itself also imposes different levels of cognitive load. It is common sense in 3D user interfaces research that a higher number of degrees of freedom increases the interface cognitive load. If the cognitive load is significant, it might compromise the user performance and undermine the evaluation of user skills in a virtual environment. In this paper, we propose an assessment of two immersive VR interfaces with varying degrees of freedom in two VR tasks: risk perception and basic object selection. We examine the effectiveness of both interfaces in these two different tasks. Results show that the number of degrees of freedom does not significantly affect a basic selection task, but it affects risk perception task in an unexpected way.
Uploads
Papers