Finger wearable haptic devices enrich virtual reality experiences by offering haptic feedback corresponding to the virtual environment. However, despite the effectiveness of current finger wearable haptic devices in delivering haptic feedback, many are often constrained in their ability to provide force feedback across a diverse range of directions or to sustain it. Therefore, we present AirPush, a finger wearable haptic device capable of generating continuously adjustable force feedback in multiple directions using compressed air. To evaluate its usability, we conducted a technical evaluation and four user studies: (1) we obtained the user’s perceptual thresholds of angles under different directions on horizontal and vertical planes, (2) in perception studies, we found that users can identify five different magnitudes of force and eight different motion when using AirPush, and (3) using it in VR applications, we confirmed that users felt more realistic and immersed when using AirPush than the HTC VIVE Controller or AirPush with a fixed nozzle.

We present DexController, which is a hand-held controller leveraging grasp as an additional modality for virtual reality (VR) game. The pressure-sensitive surface of DexController was designed to recognize two different grasp-poses (i.e. precision grip and power grip) and detect grasp-force. Based on the results of two feasibility tests, a VR defense game was designed in which players could attack each enemy using the proper weapon with a proper level of force. A within-subject comparative study is conducted with a button-based controller which has the same physical form of DexController. The results indicated that DexController enhanced the perceived naturalness of the controller and game enjoyment, with having acceptable physical demand. This study clarifies the empirical effect of utilizing grasp-recognition on VR game controller to enhance interactivity. Also, we provide insight for the integration of VR game elements with the grasping modality of a controller.

Haptic devices allow a more immersive experience with Virtual and Augmented Reality. However, for a wider range of usage they need to be miniaturized while maintaining the quality of haptic feedback. In this study, we used two kinds of human sensory illusion of vibration. The first illusion involves creating a virtual force (pulling sensation) using asymmetric vibration, and the second involves imparting compliances of complex stress-strain curves (i.e. force-displacement curves of mechanical keyboards) to a rigid object by changing the frequency and amplitude of vibration. Using these two illusions, we developed a wearable tactile device named HapCube, consisting of three orthogonal voicecoil actuators. Four measurement tests and four user tests confirmed that 1) a combination of two orthogonal asymmetric vibrations could provide a 2D virtual force in any tangential directions on a finger pad, and 2) a single voicecoil actuator produced pseudo-force feedback of the complex compliance curves in the normal direction.

A virtual touch screen concept using an optical see-through head-mounted display has been suggested. With a virtual touch screen, the user's direct-touch interactions are allowed in much the same way as a conventional touch screen, but the absence of haptic feedback and physical constraint leads to poor user performance. To overcome this issue, we developed a wearable haptic device, called HapThimble. It provides various types of haptic feedback (tactile, pseudo-force, and vibrotactile) to the user's fingertip and mimics physical buttons based on force-penetration depth curves. We conducted three experiments with HapThimble. The first experiment confirmed that HapThimble could increase a users' performance when conducting clicking and dragging tasks. The second experiment revealed that users could differentiate between six types of haptic feedback, rendered based on different force-penetration depth curves obtained using HapThimble. Last, we conducted a test to investigate the similarity between the physical buttons and the mimicked haptic buttons and obtained a 90.3% success rate.

The two main tasks of a smart TV GUI are menu navigation and free pointing. Traditional remotes with directional keys are suitable for menu navigation but may not be so for free pointing. More recent remotes with a two-dimensional (2D) pointing device are suitable for free pointing but may not be so for menu navigation. To support both types of tasks well, we devised a new input device called TouchRoller. We expect that it can support both types of tasks well because it has a separable control structure and a continuous input property. A comparative user study showed that the performance of TouchRoller is comparable to that of directional keys for menu navigation and 2D pointing devices for free pointing. In addition, it was most favored by the participants, and NASA TLX test results showed that TouchRoller demands the lowest task load.

A light switch and its spatial mapping constitute an unsolved, user interface problem introduced to the realm of Human Computer Interaction by Norman. In this paper, we introduce the Previewable Switch which is a light switch enhanced with a touch sensor with an ability to provide a user a glimpse of which lights will turn on/off prior to compressing the switch. Such concept of communicating a result prior to taking an action is known as feedforward [6]. Feedforward is an important element to be considered in the user interface design as it provides clear and instant affordance of what will occur before the next action. We present the findings from the study in regard to behavior and spatial mapping. We will discuss the effect of feedforward as a design element in a user interface.

A physical keyboard key has three states, whereas a touch screen usually has only two. Due to this difference, the state corresponding to the touched state of a physical key is missing in a touch screen keyboard. This touched state is an important factor in the usability of a keyboard. In order to recover the role of a touched state in a touch screen, we propose the TapBoard, a touch screen software keyboard that regards tapping actions as keystrokes and other touches as the touched state. In a series of user studies, we validate the effectiveness of the TapBoard concept. First, we show that tapping to type is in fact compatible with the existing typing skill of most touch screen keyboard users. Second, users quickly adapt to the TapBoard and learn to rest their fingers in the touched state. Finally, we confirm by a controlled experiment that there is no difference in text-entry performance between the TapBoard and a traditional touch screen software keyboard. In addition to these experimental results, we demonstrate a few new interaction techniques that will be made possible by the TapBoard.

We present an air-contained display medium that can be directly deformed and spatially moved by various physical interaction techniques for interactive games. We first investigated familiar objects in our everyday lives that allow users to easily anticipate the idea of exertion interaction. We then introduce a novel concept of interactive medium, dubbed Inflated Roly-Poly, which consists of an inflated body with a roly-poly structure. This device receives physical input, provides passive haptic feedback and allows spatial interaction. We discuss a number of interaction techniques with game applications on Inflated Roly-Poly that presents an engaging experience through full-body interaction. Finally, we conducted an experience workshop with four participants. The workshop proved that an inflated screen coupled with a roly-poly structure exceeds the capabilities of the rigid touch screens in terms of engagement in physical interaction.