Given the scientific objectives of the project, different research directions have been initiated, following the path of the 3D interaction loop relating the user to the virtual environment he is working with.
Design of innovative haptic interfaces. As our main goal is to understand how to combine tactile stimuli on the hand, a significant part of our research activities in this first period was dedicated to the
design of haptic interfaces in order to generate various types of haptic stimuli. We explored several types of stimuli, from vibrations to ultrasounds, combined with various shapes of interfaces.
Design of perception studies. The main objective of our project is to improve our understanding of the human perception about the combination of haptic stimuli applied on the hand. We first started to
study how we could combine the feedback of a real object with a haptic stimulus. For that purpose, we conducted different experiments where we evaluated how real textures could be enhanced with
vibrotactile stimuli and if we could observe differences in terms of perception between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality environments. Regarding the combination of haptic stimuli and their effects on the hand, we also explored how we could use vibrotactile stimuli on the arm and their effects on the hand perception.
Design of 3D rendering techniques. Given our innovative interfaces and the perception studies previously conducted, we proposed several 3D rendering techniques for 3D interaction within
virtual environments. For ultrasound mid-air haptics, we designed a specific rendering for bimanual interactions, providing a wider space for 3D manipulation in Virtual Reality. We also combined our
