Non-contact, mid-air haptic devices have been utilized for a wide variety of experiences, including those in extended reality, public displays, medical, and automotive domains. In this work, we explore the use of synthetic jets as a promising and under-explored mid-air haptic feedback method. We show how synthetic jets can scale from compact, low-powered devices, all the way to large, long-range, and steerable devices (Figure 1 ). We built seven functional prototypes targeting different application domains to illustrate the broad applicability of our approach. These example devices are capable of rendering complex haptic effects, varying in both time and space. We quantify the physical performance of our designs using spatial pressure and wind flow measurements and validate their compelling effect on users with stimuli recognition and qualitative studies.

Virtual and augmented reality headsets are making significant progress in audio-visual immersion and consumer adoption. However, their haptic immersion remains low, due in part to the limitations of vibrotactile actuators which dominate the AR/VR market. In this work, we present a new approach to create high-resolution shape-changing fingerpad arrays with 20 haptic pixels/cm2. Unlike prior pneumatic approaches, our actuators are low-profile (5mm thick), low-power (approximately 10mW/pixel), and entirely self-contained, with no tubing or wires running to external infrastructure. We show how multiple actuator arrays can be built into a five-finger, 160-actuator haptic glove that is untethered, lightweight (207g, including all drive electronics and battery), and has the potential to reach consumer price points at volume production. We describe the results from a technical performance evaluation and a suite of eight user studies, quantifying the diverse capabilities of our system. This includes recognition of object properties such as complex contact geometry, texture, and compliance, as well as expressive spatiotemporal effects.

We present a new and practical method for capturing user body pose in virtual reality experiences: integrating cameras into handheld controllers, where batteries, computation and wireless communication already exist. By virtue of the hands operating in front of the user during many VR interactions, our controller-borne cameras can capture a superior view of the body for digitization. Our pipeline composites multiple camera views together, performs 3D body pose estimation, uses this data to control a rigged human model with inverse kinematics, and exposes the resulting user avatar to end user applications. We developed a series of demo applications illustrating the potential of our approach and more leg-centric interactions, such as balancing games and kicking soccer balls. We describe our proof-of-concept hardware and software, as well as results from our user study, which point to imminent feasibility.

Today’s consumer virtual reality (VR) systems offer limited haptic feedback via vibration motors in handheld controllers. Rendering haptics to other parts of the body is an open challenge, especially in a practical and consumer-friendly manner. The mouth is of particular interest, as it is a close second in tactile sensitivity to the fingertips, offering a unique opportunity to add fine-grained haptic effects. In this research, we developed a thin, compact, beamforming array of ultrasonic transducers, which can render haptic effects onto the mouth. Importantly, all components are integrated into the headset, meaning the user does not need to wear an additional accessory, or place any external infrastructure in their room. We explored several effects, including point impulses, swipes, and persistent vibrations. Our haptic sensations can be felt on the lips, teeth and tongue, which can be incorporated into new and interesting VR experiences.

A new class of dual-touchscreen device is beginning to emerge, either constructed as two screens hinged together, or as a single display that can fold. The interactive experience on these devices is simply that of two 2D touchscreens, with little to no synergy between the interactive areas. In this work, we consider how this unique, emerging form factor creates an interesting 3D niche, in which out-of-plane interactions on one screen can be supported with coordinated graphics in the other orthogonal screen. Following insights from an elicitation study, we focus on "pull gestures", a multimodal interaction combining on-screen touch input with in air movement. These naturally complement traditional multitouch gestures such as tap and pinch, and are an intriguing and useful way to take advantage of the unique geometry of dual-screen devices.