PhD. Projects

Haptic VR systems exert dynamically varying forces on virtually embodied users. VR approaches have always presented ergonomic challenges, but the emergence of adaptive haptics makes it increasingly difficult to maintain good posture. We look at the example of pushing a virtual shopping cart to explore relationships that exist between posture and adaptive haptics. Two experimental … Read more

‘Carrot or Stick’, a study of how incentivized and de-incentivized physical tasks influence levels of physical exertion during immersive game play. The study uniquely combines body actuation through Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) with exergaming technologies. We quantify and compare physical performance between enhancing good performance (‘carrot’) and penalising poor performance (‘stick’). This is achieved by … Read more

VeRitas, a physiologically-controlled exergame in which the player’s exertion influences their avatar’s performance. Three adaptive interventions are identified, varying display immersion, the level of physical resistance, and the accuracy of physiological data. A study examined players’ heart rates, rate of perceived exertion, physical power and workload.

This current project is part of an overall study which is examining the impact that resistance has on physical exertion within immersive games. The final version will include more detailed visuals as well as a myoware flex sensor on the users calf muscle as a way of measuring physical output. We intend to do a … Read more