Saarbrucken, September, 9th, 2024. The feeling of moving, whether physically experienced in reality or not, is the subject of the work of Paul Strohmeier, who is researching this topic at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics. Suitable for prostheses, it also opens up new possibilities for future augmented reality. Paul Strohmeier received the SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award from the University of Copenhagen for his dissertation.
Dr Strohmeier’s research focuses on kinaesthetic displays, a new class of devices that allow us to experience and perceive movements, even those that we do not physically perform. This work builds on his extensive research in tactile feedback, a sensory channel that is crucial for immersive experiences but is still underdeveloped compared to visual technologies such as virtual and augmented reality.
What has been possible for some time with regard to the sense of sight and has been significantly further developed from its origins: the simulation of optical worlds (augmented reality, virtual reality) is still very much in its infancy with regard to the sense of touch. Simulating forces and physical perceptions requires a different approach. ‘Today we have mastered visual stimuli; we are able to create rich virtual and augmented environments for our eyes. One sense that hardly anyone talks about is kinaesthetics – our awareness of the position and movement of body parts. And although this sense is so central to our daily experience, it remains largely unexplored,’ explains Strohmeier. ‘The ERC funding will allow us to explore the design of this sensory channel, which will fundamentally change the way we interact with digital systems.’ Over the next five years, Paul Strohmeier and his team will have almost 1.5 million euros at their disposal for this purpose.
When learning to play the guitar, it would not only be possible to show how to play a certain chord using images or videos, but the subject could also experience how their fingers must feel for this chord. In the same way, it would be possible to generate a positive reinforcement of the experienced movement during orthopaedic rehabilitation measures and thus intensify the therapy.
This ERC-funded project promises to push the boundaries of human-computer interaction and transform areas such as remote training, skill sharing and prosthetics by integrating an embodied communication channel into digital systems.
Background Max Planck Institute for Informatics:
The Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken is one of the world’s leading research institutes in computer science. Since the institute was founded in 1990, it has focussed on research into the mathematical foundations of information technology in the areas of algorithms and complexity as well as the logic of programming.
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