PhD defence by Martin Aabo Maunsbach

Title

Reinventing the Haptics Lost in Mid-Air Interactions

Abstract

Touch makes human-computer interactions feel tangible, natural, and intimate. However, current haptic techniques are inadequate for social mid-air interactions. In this Ph.D. project, I show why and how to reinvent mid-air haptic feedback instead of imitating feedback from physical interactions. I use an interdisciplinary understanding of how our body responds to touch for the reinventions. Body responses like our nervous system only reacting to specific frequency ranges, cutaneous vibrations propagating through the limbs on contact, and how we adapt our touches based on what we feel and have experienced. In five core papers, I show how to use these aspects to reinvent mid-air haptics for interactions such as user interfaces and interpersonal touches. These contributions can be adopted to create better, and more responsible, mid-air interactions. 

Supervisors

Principal Supervisor Kasper Anders Søren Hornbæk

Assessment Committee

Professor Barry Brown, Department of Computer Science
Professor Maud Marchal, University of Rennes
Professor Sara Price, University College London

Leader of defence: Associate Professor Joanna Bergström, Department of Computer Science

For an electronic copy of the thesis, please visit the PhD Programme page.