Rekindling old social bonds with individuals who were once a part of our lives but have since faded away is crucial for our well-being. Such connections with dormant ties help us overcome loneliness and provide social support. Recently, virtual reality (VR) emerged as a promising tool for facilitating social interactions, such as online gatherings for formal or casual activities. VR can offer immersive and shared experiences, facilitating genuine connections between people. This provides a unique advantage over traditional computer-mediated communication methods. However, while prior research has explored how VR can aid in forming new social connections, its potential to reconnect dormant ties is largely unexplored. This paper aims to bridge this gap by examining how different features of VR, specifically avatar appearance and virtual environments, influence reactivations of dormant ties. We conducted an experiment involving 24 dyads to investigate the effect of different avatar-self similarities and virtual environments on the perceptions and interactions between dormant ties. Our findings indicate that avatars resembling oneself and dormant ties promote social closeness. Familiar virtual environments evoke shared memories, while unfamiliar ones stimulate more conversations. We discuss the impact of VR features on reconnecting dormant ties and provide implications for re-connecting relationships in VR.

Laser-cutting is a promising fabrication method that empowers makers, including blind or visually-impaired (BVI) creators, to create technologies that fit their needs. Existing work on laser-cut accessibility has facilitated easier assembly as a workaround for existing models. However, laser-cut models are still not designed to accommodate the needs of BVI users. Integrating BVI needs can enrich the greater maker community by enabling cross-group discourse on laser-cut making. To investigate how laser-cut model design can be more accessible overall, we study laser-cut assembly as a process deeply intertwined with the fundamental design of laser-cut models. We present a study with seven sighted and seven BVI participants to compare their usage of laser-cut model affordances during assembly. Data for the BVI participants in this study originate from a previous work [13]. We identify assembly cues common or unique to sighted and BVI users, and discuss implications to improve general accessibility in laser-cut design.

Many haptic feedback methods have been proposed to enhance realism in virtual reality (VR). However, friction on the feet in VR, which renders feedback as if walking on different terrains or ground textures or stepping on objects is still less explored. Herein, we propose a wearable device, FrictShoes a pair of foot accessories, to provide multilevel nonuniform friction feedback to feet. This is achieved by the independent functioning of six brakes on six wheels underneath each FrictShoe, which allows the friction levels of the wheels from each to be either matched or to vary. We conducted a magnitude estimation study to understand users' distinguishability of friction force magnitudes (or levels). Based on the results, we performed an exploratory study to realize how users adjust and map the multilevel nonuniform friction patterns to common VR terrains or ground textures. Finally, a VR experience study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed multilevel nonuniform friction feedback to the feet in VR experiences.

Design tools and research regarding laser-cut architectures have been widely explored in the past decade. However, such discussion has mostly revolved around technical and structural design questions instead of another essential element of laser-cut models — assembly — a process that relies heavily on components’ visual affordance, therefore less accessible to blind or low vision (BLV) people. To narrow the gap in this area, we co-designed with 7 BLV people to examine their assembly experience with different laser-cut architectures. From their feedback, we proposed several design heuristics and guidelines for Daedalus, a generative design tool that can produce tactile aids for laser-cut assembly given a few high-level manual inputs. We validate the proposed aids in a user study with 8 new BLV participants. Our results revealed that BLV users can manage laser-cut assembly more efficiently with Daedalus. Going forth from this design iteration, we discuss implications for future research on accessible laser-cut assembly.