arXiv subjects

Jörg Müller

Publications and source records attributed to Jörg Müller.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

LeviCursor: Dexterous Interaction with a Levitating Object

We present LeviCursor, a method for interactively moving a physical, levitating particle in 3D with high agility. The levitating object can move continuously and smoothly in any direction. We optimize the transducer phases for each possible levitation point independently. Using precomputation, our system can determine the optimal transducer phases within a few microseconds and achieves round-trip latencies of 15 ms. Due to our interpolation scheme, the levitated object can be controlled almost instantaneously with sub-millimeter accuracy. We present a particle stabilization mechanism which ensures the levitating particle is always in the main levitation trap. Lastly, we conduct the first Fitts' law-type pointing study with a real 3D cursor, where participants control the movement of the levitated cursor between two physical targets. The results of the user study demonstrate that using LeviCursor, users reach performance comparable to that of a mouse pointer.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2020

Levitation Simulator: Prototyping Ultrasonic Levitation Interfaces in Virtual Reality

We present the Levitation Simulator, a system that enables researchers and designers to iteratively develop and prototype levitation interface ideas in Virtual Reality. This includes user tests and formal experiments. We derive a model of the movement of a levitating particle in such an interface. Based on this, we develop an interactive simulation of the levitation interface in VR, which exhibits the dynamical properties of the real interface. The results of a Fitts' Law pointing study show that the Levitation Simulator enables performance, comparable to the real prototype. We developed the first two interactive games, dedicated for levitation interfaces: LeviShooter and BeadBounce, in the Levitation Simulator, and then implemented them on the real interface. Our results indicate that participants experienced similar levels of user engagement when playing the games, in the two environments. We share our Levitation Simulator as Open Source, thereby democratizing levitation research, without the need for a levitation apparatus.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2020

HaptiRead: Reading Braille as Mid-Air Haptic Information

Mid-air haptic interfaces have several advantages - the haptic information is delivered directly to the user, in a manner that is unobtrusive to the immediate environment. They operate at a distance, thus easier to discover; they are more hygienic and allow interaction in 3D. We validate, for the first time, in a preliminary study with sighted and a user study with blind participants, the use of mid-air haptics for conveying Braille. We tested three haptic stimulation methods, where the haptic feedback was either: a) aligned temporally, with haptic stimulation points presented simultaneously (Constant); b) not aligned temporally, presenting each point independently (Point-By-Point); or c) a combination of the previous methodologies, where feedback was presented Row-by-Row. The results show that mid-air haptics is a viable technology for presenting Braille characters, and the highest average accuracy (94% in the preliminary and 88% in the user study) was achieved with the Point-by-Point method.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2019

ReconViguRation: Reconfiguring Physical Keyboards in Virtual Reality

Physical keyboards are common peripherals for personal computers and are efficient standard text entry devices. Recent research has investigated how physical keyboards can be used in immersive head-mounted display-based Virtual Reality (VR). So far, the physical layout of keyboards has typically been transplanted into VR for replicating typing experiences in a standard desktop environment. In this paper, we explore how to fully leverage the immersiveness of VR to change the input and output characteristics of physical keyboard interaction within a VR environment. This allows individual physical keys to be reconfigured to the same or different actions and visual output to be distributed in various ways across the VR representation of the keyboard. We explore a set of input and output mappings for reconfiguring the virtual presentation of physical keyboards and probe the resulting design space by specifically designing, implementing and evaluating nine VR-relevant applications: emojis, languages and special characters, application shortcuts, virtual text processing macros, a window manager, a photo browser, a whack-a-mole game, secure password entry and a virtual touch bar. We investigate the feasibility of the applications in a user study with 20 participants and find that, among other things, they are usable in VR. We discuss the limitations and possibilities of remapping the input and output characteristics of physical keyboards in VR based on empirical findings and analysis and suggest future research directions in this area.

cs.HC↗