Providing users with realistic sensations of object stiffness in virtual environments remains challenging due to the intricacies of our haptic sense. We investigate the use of a visuo-haptic illusion to alter the perceived stiffness of hand-held objects in virtual reality. We manipulate the Control-to-Display ratio of the index finger and thumb movements during pinching to make virtual objects feel softer or harder. We evaluated this approach on a variety of haptic representations and visualizations we selected through a pre-study survey (N=24). Results of our user study (N=20) demonstrate that this method effectively and reliably modifies stiffness perception, bridging gaps of 50% in physical stiffness without adversely affecting the visuo-haptic experience. Our findings offer insights into how different visual and haptic presentations impact stiffness perception, contributing to more effective and adaptable future haptic feedback systems.

The use of AI is becoming more common among the population every day; the use of generative AI, such as LLMs, empowers individuals by supporting daily life tasks. Yet, the user interaction with AI models is mostly constrained to chatbot interactions. However, we envision that in the near future, individuals will be able to integrate the use of these technologies into their daily activities without refocusing their attention. Consequently, we explores the impact of such integration on individuals’ conversations.

In recent years, the community has presented various novel solutions to address the lack of haptic feedback in virtual reality experiences. Yet, it remains a major challenge for Virtual Reality applications. Encountered-type Haptic Displays (ETHDs) have emerged as a promising alternative to enable haptic feedback in VR without requiring the user to wear any device while allowing for sensorily rich experiences such as texture, kinaesthetic feedback, and even ultrasonic tactile feedback. Nevertheless, as important as thermal feedback is for daily life interactions, such as assessing the temperature of a mug or knowing if the microwave is on, thermal feedback in ETHD has remained largely unexplored. In this paper, we present a novel ETHD that provides thermal feedback and explore its potential in VR. We describe the design of our ETHD, and we report the results of a user study that compares different thermal feedback settings in VR. Our results show that thermal feedback can significantly enhance the user immersion and haptic experience in VR, and we discuss the implications of our findings for the design of ETHD and VR experiences.

Passive voice assistants such as Alexa are widespread, responding to user requests. However, due to the rise of domestic robots, we envision active smart assistants initiating interactions seamlessly, weaving themselves into the user’s context, and enabling more suitable interaction. While robots already deliver the hardware, only recently have the advancements in artificial intelligence enabled assistants to grasp the human and the environments to support such visions. We combined hardware with artificial intelligence to build an attentive robot. Here, we present a robotic head prototype discovering and following the users in a room supported by video and sound. We contribute (1) the design and implementation of a prototype system for an active smart assistant and (2) a discussion on design principles for systems engaging in human conversations. This work aims to provide foundations for future research for active smart assistants.