Postdoc on "Pseudo-Haptics and 2D/3D Web Content" at INRIA Rennes (France)

Post-doctoral position:
“Pseudo-Haptic Interactive Techniques with 2D or 3D Web Content”

1-year post-doctoral position is open at INRIA (National Institute of Research in Computer Science and Control), Rennes, France (salary=2606,80 Euros/month before taxes), under the supervision of Dr. Anatole Lécuyer.

The project is in the areas of Interactive Techniques, Human-Computer Interaction(HCI), Haptic and Pseudo-Haptic Interfaces. It is meant to improve interaction with web content and Internet 2D or 3D applications. It is in the frame of a 2-year collaborative French project involving French SMEs and academic partners. Regular meetings and exchanges with external partners are therefore expected for the postdoctoral candidate.

The postdoctoral program aims at designing and testing novel interactive techniques with web content inspired by pseudo-haptic concept. Pseudo-haptic feedback is a technique meant to simulate haptic sensations using visual feedback and properties of human visuo-haptic perception (on-line demonstrations here at: http://www.irisa.fr/tactiles/). Pseudo-haptic feedback uses vision to distort haptic perception and verges on haptic illusions. Pseudo-haptic feedback has been used to simulate various haptic properties such as the stiffness of a virtual spring, the texture of an image, or the mass of a virtual object (see bibliography section).

In this postdoctoral work, the candidate will investigate the adaptation of the pseudo-haptic scheme in the field of internet navigation. It is expected that pseudo-haptic effects will bring novel tactile sensations when browsing 2D or 3D web content. A series of experiments with participants will be conducted to evaluate the various proposed techniques.

The candidate must have a PhD and excellent background in either: HCI, 3D user interfaces, haptic interfaces or other relevant topics. Knowledge in designing and conducting experimental studies is a prerequisite.

Interested candidates should send CV, selected publications and names and addresses of three references to Dr. Anatole Lécuyer (contact information bellow).

On-Line demos of Pseudo-haptics : http://www.irisa.fr/tactiles/

Bibliography :

* A. Lécuyer, “Simulating Haptic Feedback using Vision: a Survey of Research and Applications of Pseudo-Haptic Feedback”, Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, MIT Press, Vol. 18, Issue 1, pp. 39-53, 2009
* A. Lécuyer, J.M. Burkhardt, L. Etienne, "Feeling Bumps and Holes without a Haptic Interface: the Perception of Pseudo-Haptic Textures", ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI), Vienna, Austria, 2004
* A. Lécuyer, S. Coquillart, A. Kheddar, P. Richard and P. Coiffet, "Pseudo-Haptic Feedback : Can Isometric Input Devices Simulate Force Feedback?", IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality (IEEE VR), New Brunswick, US, 2000

Contact :

Dr. Anatole Lécuyer
INRIA Rennes
Email: anatole.lecuyer@inria.fr