Michael Cohen

By Peter Kudry and Michael Cohen

This chapter presents the development of a wearable force-feedback mechanism designed to provide a free-range haptic experience within the spectrum of Extended Reality (XR). The proposed system offers untethered six degrees-of-freedom and small- to medium-scale force-feedback, enabling users to immerse themselves in haptic interactions within virtual environments. The hardware comprises a modified 3D Systems Touch haptic device, driven by software that allows for ambulatory exploration of various haptic aspects. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the precision, ergonomics, stability, usability, user experience, and performance of the system. Despite indication of software and hardware deficiencies, the results highlight the potential of combining haptic force-feedback and ambulatory XR to enhance immersion in free-range virtual environments. Furthermore, the integration of Mixed Reality pass-through enables users to seamlessly merge real-world environments with augmenting virtual elements. This extension contributes to the exploration of new possibilities for immersive and interactive experiences within mixed reality applications. Future research can delve deeper into the prototype’s potential, further unlocking opportunities for haptic-enabled ambulatory XR experiences and pushing the boundaries of immersive technologies.

Part of the book: Applications of Augmented Reality

By Michael Cohen and Alaeddin Nassani

Redirected seating (RDS) is an adaptation of Redirected Walking (RDW) that creates the illusion of expansive virtual movement in confined spaces by virtually amplifying limited physical rotation. By applying redirected walking principles to seated experiences, RDS enables panoramic exploration using only limited chair rotation. A proof-of-concept implementation introduces amplified yaw, where perceived motion is extended through virtual azimuth gain. A swivel chair is embedded in a virtual helical scene synchronized with a coiling musical soundscape, aligning visual and auditory cues to plausibly justify restricted angular range and reinforce the azimuth-gain illusion. A pilot study confirmed the effectiveness of the approach, showing improved user experience and greater perceived virtual rotation. The RDS framework can be extended to mixed reality applications through integration of a rotary motion platform and adaptive ambient lighting systems, besides head-mounted display. When servomotor-driven chair rotation is paired with IoT-controlled lighting effects and viewed with see-through augmented reality (AR), the coherence of the azimuth-gain illusion is further strengthened. This combination blends physical constraints with enhanced virtual mobility, suggesting that seated VR can achieve perceptual benefits comparable to redirected walking within constrained physical spaces.

Part of the book: Augmented Reality

By Jean-Marc Jot and Michael Cohen

Interactive audio spatialization technology is an essential component of platforms supporting shared immersive virtual experiences, including co-presence, remote collaboration, and entertainment. Modern wearable virtual and augmented reality display devices integrate real-time binaural audio engines that dynamically render multiple sound objects and allow users and their avatars to navigate seamlessly across real and virtual acoustic environments. To support such experiences, a shared audio scene rendering interface facilitates the creation and exchange of immersive, interactive, and persistent 3D soundscapes across multiple independent applications. This chapter presents a practical approach for realizing parametric, six-degree-of-freedom (6-DoF) interactive audio rendering engines that deliver to a user the perceptual auditory cues ensuring audio–visual congruence and virtual-real coherence in extended reality experiences. The description model accounts for the effects of room acoustics, reflective surfaces, and obstacles in “acoustic digital twins” of real or virtual spaces. The rendering interface is interoperable across diverse applicative platforms and allows modeling each audio object as a natural sound source with controllable attributes such as distance, orientation, size, and acoustic radiation properties. By facilitating the interoperability of augmented audio reality applications with generic audio display devices, this solution enables seamless integration of immersive audio into the evolving XR ecosystem, enabling engagement, personalization and free-viewpoint navigation in both interactive experiences and recorded or broadcast media.

Part of the book: Augmented Reality