Designing 3D scenarios and interaction tasks for immersive environments

In the world of today, immersive reality such as virtual and mixed reality, is one of the most attractive research fields. Virtual Reality, also called VR, has a huge potential to be used in in scientific and educational domains by providing users with real-time interaction or manipulation. The key concept in immersive technologies to provide a high level of immersive sensation to the user, which is one of the main challenges in this field. Wearable technologies play a key role to enhance the immersive sensation and the degree of embodiment in virtual and mixed reality interaction tasks. This project report presents an application study where the user interacts with virtual objects, such as grabbing objects, open or close doors and drawers while wearing a sensory cyberglove developed in our lab (Cyberglove-HT). Furthermore, it presents the development of a methodology that provides inertial measurement unit(IMU)-based gesture recognition. The interaction tasks and 3D immersive scenarios were designed in Unity 3D. Additionally, we developed an inertial sensor-based gesture recognition by employing an Long short-term memory (LSTM) network. In order to distinguish the effect of wearable technologies in the user experience in immersive environments, we made an experimental study comparing the Cyberglove-HT to standard VR controllers (HTC Vive Controller). The quantitive and subjective results indicate that we were able to enhance the immersive sensation and self embodiment with the Cyberglove-HT. A publication resulted from this work [1] which has been developed in the framework of the R&D project Human Tracking and Perception in Dynamic Immersive Rooms (HTPDI

Exploring the Front Touch Interface for Virtual Reality Headsets

In this paper, we propose a new interface for virtual reality headset: a touchpad in front of the headset. To demonstrate the feasibility of the front touch interface, we built a prototype device, explored VR UI design space expansion, and performed various user studies. We started with preliminary tests to see how intuitively and accurately people can interact with the front touchpad. Then, we further experimented various user interfaces such as a binary selection, a typical menu layout, and a keyboard. Two-Finger and Drag-n-Tap were also explored to find the appropriate selection technique. As a low-cost, light-weight, and in low power budget technology, a touch sensor can make an ideal interface for mobile headset. Also, front touch area can be large enough to allow wide range of interaction types such as multi-finger interactions. With this novel front touch interface, we paved a way to new virtual reality interaction methods

Embodiment and embodied design

Picture this. A preverbal infant straddles the center of a seesaw. She gently tilts her weight back and forth from one side to the other, sensing as each side tips downward and then back up again. This child cannot articulate her observations in simple words, let alone in scientific jargon. Can she learn anything from this experience? If so, what is she learning, and what role might such learning play in her future interactions in the world? Of course, this is a nonverbal bodily experience, and any learning that occurs must be bodily, physical learning. But does this nonverbal bodily experience have anything to do with the sort of learning that takes place in schools - learning verbal and abstract concepts? In this chapter, we argue that the body has everything to do with learning, even learning of abstract concepts. Take mathematics, for example. Mathematical practice is thought to be about producing and manipulating arbitrary symbolic inscriptions that bear abstract, universal truisms untainted by human corporeality. Mathematics is thought to epitomize our species’ collective historical achievement of transcending and, perhaps, escaping the mundane, material condition of having a body governed by haphazard terrestrial circumstance. Surely mathematics is disembodied

3D Interaction System with Multiple Identified,Small,Wireless,Battery-less,Occlusion-free Magnetic Markers

Tohoku University北村喜

Bringing tabletop technologies to kindergarten children

Taking computer technology away from the desktop and into a more physical, manipulative space, is known that provide many benefits and is generally considered to result in a system that is easier to learn and more natural to use. This paper describes a design solution that allows kindergarten children to take the benefits of the new pedagogical possibilities that tangible interaction and tabletop technologies offer for manipulative learning. After analysis of children's cognitive and psychomotor skills, we have designed and tuned a prototype game that is suitable for children aged 3 to 4 years old. Our prototype uniquely combines low cost tangible interaction and tabletop technology with tutored learning. The design has been based on the observation of children using the technology, letting them freely play with the application during three play sessions. These observational sessions informed the design decisions for the game whilst also confirming the children's enjoyment of the prototype