PhD Defense Invitation.

It is my pleasure to invite you to my PhD defense talk!

The talk will take place on Tuesday, the 21st of March 2023. You can participate either in person or online through the Teams platform. To ensure there is enough room (and beer), please indicate before the 14th of March if and how you would like to attend here:

Join me!

You can find all further details below. If you have any questions, let me know.

Details.

Title: Designing Tactile Experiences for Immersive Virtual Environments
Speaker: Donald Degraen
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger
External Advisor: Prof. Dr. Bernd Bickel
Chair of the Examination Board: Prof. Dr. Vera Demberg
Academic Assistant: Dr. Florian Daiber

Date and Time: 21/03/2023 at 14:00
Location: DFKI Campus D3.2, room "Reuse"
Location on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/v2cvZwDyrtee5Y958

Online Participation Link: https://bit.ly/3Y5FXBJ

Abstract:
Designing for the sense of touch is essential in creating convincing and realistic experiences in Virtual Reality (VR). Currently, a variety of methods exist for simulating touch experiences. However, developing effective and convincing haptic feedback still remains challenging. In this work, we study how real-world touch experiences can inform haptic design processes for VR. Firstly, we investigate the reproduction of haptic features by capturing and fabricating surface microgeometry. We show that haptic reproduction is able to create a wide range of feel aesthetics. Furthermore, we build upon procedural design by generating and fabricating haptically-varying surface structures. We show that digital design processes are able to generate flexible and universal structures that directly influence tactile dimensions, such as roughness and hardness. Lastly, we investigate correspondences between different sensory modalities to enhance the design of tactile experiences. We show that vocal expressions can translate a designer’s intent into effective haptic feedback, while providing a rapid in-situ design process. This thesis advances the fields of VR, haptic design, and fabrication by contributing knowledge to the question of how effective tactile experiences can be designed.