Bruno Patrão

A Natural Interface for Remote Operation of Underwater Robots

Human-machine interfaces play a crucial role in intervention robotic systems operated in hazardous environments, such as deep sea conditions. This article introduces a user interface abstraction layer to enhance reconfigurability. It also describes a VR-based interface that utilizes immersive technologies to reduce user faults and mental fatigue. The goal is to show the user only the most relevant information about the current mission.

Be the robot: Human embodiment in tele-operation driving tasks

This paper proposes a new interaction mechanism for tele-operating a mobile robot. The approach explores the notion of telepresence and physical embodiment to create what may be called tele-embodiment. Its principle is that the operator will see himself at the remote site and this will enable him/her to better operate the robot. Four interaction styles were experimentally compared, from the traditional joystick approaches to more innovative based on natural body posture intentions. The environment perception is provided by the visual feedback, according to head pose behaviour. The results show that the gesture and body based methods improves the user dexterity performing this kind of task. Moreover, the present study suggests that, when a person is focused on the task, achieving the ownership illusion towards remote body, there are autonomic responses that correspond to what would be expected in events that take place in reality (like avoiding collisions).

Touching Is Believing - Adding Real Objects to Virtual Reality

This article presents the idea of adding real objects representations to Virtual Reality as a way to improve the immersive experience. To this end, a low-cost hand tracking device and an instrumented cube based on the use of inertial measurement units is presented. Some preliminary results that show the use of the hand tracker for the animation of a virtual hand model are shown. The fusion of inertial measures with a vision-based marker detector outputs will be performed with the help of a Kalman filter to provide smooth and bias corrected estimates of the object pose. The developed solutions offer the flexibility of interacting either with local or remote systems, as they have been designed as wireless Internet connected objects.

Virtual reality as a training tool for human interactions

With the increasingly globalisation of the world, interaction with people from different cultures than ours is more likely than ever. Knowing how to correctly approach and interact with people that have different social norms than us is a necessary condition to live in this multicultural world. This project provides a tool to learn how to adapt the way we behave. This is achieved using a virtual reality environment as a way to train interactions, with focus on the interpersonal distances we take.

Development of Mixed Reality Systems to Support Therapies

This work is focused on the development of Mixed Reality-based Systems suitable for their use in psychological therapies. Recently, on-going research about Immersive Virtual Environments has shown its applicability in psychological domains. Firstly, we intend to explore the bio signals data for emotion recognition. Secondly, we aim to develop an innovative system that allows the creation and manipulation of experiments oriented to psychological therapy. Finally, these experiments will be tested and evaluated in real scenarios by therapists with clinical patients. The results from this work will enable the assessment of the efficacy of these experiments and its improvement in order to apply in a generalized way to individuals with emotional, behavioural and psychological problems.

An affective interaction system to learn about physiological signals

In this paper we present a Virtual Reality-based laboratory experience that enables K12 students to understand the effects that emotions may induce in our bodies. The proposed system makes use of an head-mounted display and low-cost body sensors to, respectively, create an immersive experience and collect a set of related bio-signals. During the experiment the students follow a predefined protocol for data collection, where they are put in a sequence of virtual scenarios, which aim at inducing specific sensations and emotions. Finally the acquired data is presented to the students as graphical plots and he/she is asked to correlate them with the experienced sensations or emotions.

Demonstration of the influence of human emotions in physiological signals

In this demonstration we present a VR-based laboratory experience that enables K12 students to understand the effect that emotions play in our bodies. For attaining this purpose, a VR based system is proposed where three different virtual scenarios aim at inducing specific sensations and emotions on the students.

The Importance of Eye-Tracking Analysis in Immersive Learning - A Low Cost Solution

This article discusses the use of Virtual Reality as a tool for supporting learning and some of its opportunities. The importance of using gaze tracking in immersive learning setups is also discussed. This serves as a motivation for the construction of an low-cost eye tracker adapted to an head mounted display (Oculus Rift DK2), which is described. The algorithm for eye tracking as well as the calibration procedure is described, with some results presented.

An application of a halftone pattern coding in augmented reality

In this work, we will present a coding system using a halftone pattern (with black and white pixels) capable to be integrated into markers that encode information that can be retrieved a posteriori and used in the creation of augmented reality applications. These markers can be easily detected in a photo and the encoded information is the basis for parameterizing various types of augmented reality applications.

Puzzle time — VR runner

In this demonstration we present a 3-D Virtual Reality Runner Game that serves as a tool for improving visuomotor coordination of young people, in particular children suffering from dyspraxia. To further improve the immersion of the user, the proposed demo was implemented using an instrumented object (a cube). The objects tracking was done through a hybrid system, that fuses inertial sensing with a visionbased marker detector, providing a smoother and bias corrected estimation of the objects pose.