Beyond the Force: Using quadcopters to appropriate objects and the environment for haptics in virtual reality

Date: Thursday October 3, 2019 – 2:30pm to 3:00pm

Speaker: Parastoo Abtahi, PhD Candidate, Stanford University

Biography:

Parastoo Abtahi is a Computer Science PhD candidate at Stanford University, co-advised by Professor James Landay from the Computer Science department and Professor Sean Follmer from Mechanical Engineering. Specializing in Human-Computer Interaction, her research interests lie at the intersection of virtual reality, haptic devices, and human perception. Prior to Stanford, Parastoo graduated from the Engineering Science program at University of Toronto, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Abstract:

Quadcopters have been used as hovering encountered-type haptic devices in virtual reality. We suggest that quadcopters can facilitate rich haptic interactions beyond force feedback by appropriating physical objects and the environment. We present HoverHaptics, an autonomous safe-to-touch quadcopter and its integration with a virtual shopping experience. HoverHaptics highlights three affordances of quadcopters that enable these rich haptic interactions: (1) dynamic positioning of passive haptics, (2) texture mapping, and (3) animating passive props. We identify inherent challenges of hovering encountered-type haptic devices, such as inadequate control accuracy, and detail our approach for tackling these challenges, including the use of visuo-haptic illusions.