CHI ’25, Yokohama, Japan

This study presents ErgoPulse, a system that integrates biomechanical simulation with electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) to provide kinesthetic force feedback to the lower-body in virtual reality (VR). ErgoPulse features two main parts: a biomechanical simulation part that calculates the lower-body joint torques to replicate forces from VR environments, and an EMS part that translates torques into muscle stimulations. In the first experiment, we assessed users’ ability to discern haptic force intensity and direction, and observed variations in perceived resolution based on force direction. The second experiment evaluated ErgoPulse’s ability to increase haptic force accuracy and user presence in both continuous and impulse force VR game environments. The experimental results showed that ErgoPulse’s biomechanical simulation increased the accuracy of force delivery compared to traditional EMS, enhancing the overall user presence. Furthermore, the interviews proposed improvements to the haptic experience by integrating additional stimuli such as temperature, skin stretch, and impact.

The aesthetic design of 3D scenes in game content enhances players’ experience by inducing desired emotions. Creating emotionally engaging scenes involves designing low-level features, such as color distribution, contrast, and brightness. This study presents LumiMood, an AI-driven creativity support tool (CST) that automatically adjusts lighting and post-processing to create moods for 3D scenes. LumiMood supports designers by synthesizing reference images, creating mood templates, and providing intermediate design steps. Our formative study with 10 designers identified distinct challenges in mood design based on the participants’ experience levels. A user study involving 40 designers revealed that using LumiMood benefits the designers by streamlining workflow, improving precision, and increasing mood intention accuracy. Results indicate that LumiMood supports clarifying mood concepts and improves interpretation of lighting and post-processing, thus resolving the challenges. We observe the effect of template based designing and discuss considerable factors for AI-driven CSTs for users with varying levels of experiences.