MTI 2023 Article

Recently, a co-authored an open-access journal paper that was published at Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, sponsored by the MDPI. The paper is entitled “Enhancing Localization Performance with Extended Funneling Vibrotactile Feedback”. The study explores the conventional ‘funneling’ method by introducing two extra locations beyond the virtual reality controller boundaries, terming it the extended funneling technique. Thirty-two participants engaged in a localization task, with their responses recorded using eye-tracking technology. They were tasked with localizing a virtual ping-pong ball as it bounced both within and outside their virtual hands on a virtual board.

Both the experimental and control groups received simultaneous spatial audio and vibrotactile feedback. The experimental group received vibrotactile feedback with extended funneling, while the control group received vibrotactile feedback without funneling for comparison. Results indicate that the experimental group, benefiting from the extended funneling technique, demonstrated a significantly higher accuracy rate (41.79%) in localizing audio–vibrotactile stimuli compared to the control group (28.21%). No significant differences emerged in embodiment or workload scores. Findings highlight the effectiveness of extended funneling for enhancing the localization of sensory stimuli in virtual reality.

More information:

https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/7/12/114

VR for Mice Help Brain Research

Researchers have developed a pair of virtual reality goggles that can plunge the rodents into various scenarios, from navigating mazes to experiencing the threat of a predator. While VR has been used in mouse experiments for years, the researchers say this has typically involved placing the animals on a treadmill in front of a large screen displaying a digital scene, with their heads fixed in place to allow study of their brains.

By contrast, the new setup, involves a pair of lenses and screens mounted on stands either side of a mouse’s head, providing each eye with a 180-degree field of view. Again, the mouse’s head is fixed in place and it can navigate the virtual environment using the treadmill. The team says the new approach not only allows mice to see the virtual environment in 3D and eliminates visual clues of the lab but offers a way to present virtual images, for example, of a hovering hawk.

More information:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/dec/08/vr-goggles-for-mice-create-immersive-scenarios-for-brain-research

Interactive AI-Powered Van Gogh

Thanks to generative AI, the digital twin knows the details of its lookalike’s life and can talk about them with curious museumgoers as part of an interactive experience titled Bonjour Vincent. AI van Gogh is chatting away in Paris as part of a larger exhibit focused on the final two months of the artist’s life, a highly productive period during which he delivered more than 74 paintings and 33 drawings before shooting himself in the chest with a revolver at age 37. The exhibit will be on display through February 4 and includes a virtual reality experience that immerses participants in van Gogh’s world and work.

The question museum visitors have most often posed to AI van Gogh is why the painter killed himself, and answers vary according to the query’s wording. I would implore this: Cling to life, for even in the bleakest of moments, there is always beauty and hope, the AI van Gogh told The New York Times during an interview. Other common questions include why the artist, who famously struggled with mental unrest, cut off his ear and which of his paintings he likes best, according to the French generative-AI startup that created the van Gogh doppelganger.

More information:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lesliekatz/2023/12/14/vincent-van-goghs-ai-twin-wants-to-talk-with-you-about-life-and-death/