Recently a number of TV manufacturers introduced TV remotes with a touchpad which is used for indirect control of TV UI. Users can navigate the UI by moving a finger across the touch pad. However, due to the latency in visual feedback, there is a disconnection between the finger movement on the touchpad and the visual perception in the TV UI, which often causes overshooting. In this paper, we investigate how haptic feedback affects the user experience of the touchpad-based TV remote. We described two haptic prototypes built on the smartphone and Samsung 2013 TV remote respectively. We conducted two user studies with two prototypes to evaluate how the user preference and the user performance been affected. The results show that there is overwhelming support of haptic feedback in terms of subjective user preference, though we didn't find significant difference in performance between with and without haptic feedback conditions.

Mouse, joystick and keyboard controls in 3D games have long since become a second nature for generations of garners. Recent advances in webcam-based tracking technologies made it easy to bring natural human motions and gestures into play. However, video tracking is a CPU-intensive process, which may have a negative impact on game performance. We measured this impact for different types of 3D content and found it to be minimal, on multi-core platforms. We provide details on implementation and evaluation of our system. Also, we suggest several examples how natural motion can be used in 3D games.

Natural head motion is the key component in Virtual Reality systems where users are immersed via personal eyewear. The advent of webcam tracking technologies made head motion available on every desktop, for any 3D game, calling for revised methods of handling user head motion in new, non-immersive settings. We present several novel techniques of using head motion in 3D social games. We show that head tracking is not only a useful, but also an enabling technology, that creates new means of interaction between players, makes gameplay more personal and game controls more flexible.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is reported to be caused by traumatic events that are outside the range of usual human experience including (but not limited to) military combat, violent personal assault, being kidnapped or taken hostage and terrorist attacks. Initial data suggests that at least 1 out of 5 Iraq War veterans are exhibiting symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD. Virtual Reality (VR) delivered exposure therapy for PTSD has been previously used with reports of positive outcomes. The current paper is a follow-up to a paper presented at IEEE VR2006 and will present the rationale and description of a VR PTSD therapy application (Virtual Iraq) and present the findings from its use with active duty service members since the VR2006 presentation. Virtual Iraq consists of a series of customizable virtual scenarios designed to represent relevant Middle Eastern VR contexts for exposure therapy, including a city and desert road convoy environment. User-centered design feedback needed to iteratively evolve the system was gathered from returning Iraq War veterans in the USA and from a system deployed in Iraq and tested by an Army Combat Stress Control Team. Results from an open clinical trial using Virtual Iraq at the Naval Medical Center-San Diego with 20 treatment completers indicate that 16 no longer met PTSD diagnostic criteria at post-treatment, with only one not maintaining treatment gains at 3 month follow-up.

Two common limitations of modern Head Mounted Displays (HMD): the narrow field of view and limited dynamic range, call for rendering techniques that can circumvent or even take advantage of these factors. We describe a simple practical method of enhancing visual response from HMDs by using view-dependent control over lighting. One example is provided for simulating blinding lights in dark environments.

Mixing real and virtual elements into one environment often involves creating geometry models of physical objects. Traditional approaches include manual modeling by 3D artists or use of dedicated devices. Both approaches require special skills or special hardware and may be costly. We propose a new method for fast semi-automatic 3D geometry acquisition, based upon unconventional use of motion tracking equipment. The proposed method is intended for quick surface prototyping for virtual, augmented and mixed reality applications where quality of visualization of objects is not required or is of low priority.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is reported to be caused by traumatic events that are outside the range of usual human experiences including (but not limited to) military combat, violent personal assault, being kidnapped or taken hostage and terrorist attacks. Initial data suggests that 1 out of 6 Iraq War veterans are exhibiting symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD. Virtual Reality (VR) exposure treatment has been used in previous treatments of PTSD patients with reports of positive outcomes. The aim of the current paper is to present the rationale, technical specifications, application features and user-centered design process for the development of a Virtual Iraq PTSD VR therapy application. The VR treatment environment is being created via the recycling of virtual graphic assets that were initially built for the U.S. Army-funded combat tactical simulation scenario and commercially successful X-Box game, Full Spectrum Warrior, in addition to other available and newly created assets. Thus far we have created a series of customizable virtual scenarios designed to represent relevant contexts for exposure therapy to be conducted in VR, including a city and desert road convoy environment. User-Centered tests with the application are currently underway at the Naval Medical Center-San Diego and within an Army Combat Stress Control Team in Iraq with clinical trials scheduled to commence in February 2006.