Most feedback in current computer games is visual (i.e. what you see on the screen), with haptic feedback restricted to very simple vibrations of a hand-held device (e.g. a PlayStation or Oculus controller). But what if you could really "touch" and "feel" with your full hands everything you see in the game, and especially in a VR game? Imagine what Minecraft VR would be like: putting your hands in the water, or inside the mud, or through a bunch of leaves, and really feeling the difference in the texture; hitting, picking, moving, using, throwing any object would feel more natural, more real. 

In this project the student will explore the use of a wearable glove (that includes hand motion tracking and distributed vibrating motors to give tactile feedback about the physical interactions happening in VR) to obtain effective tactile human-computer interaction in VR games. Interestingly, this technology has ample applications also in other human-computer interaction (e.g. tactile internet, tactile TV) and robotics (e.g. teleoperation) settings. The project will require very good software programming skills; a very basic knowledge of electronics would be also beneficial.

In collaboration with Valkyrie Industries https://www.facebook.com/Valkyrieind/