VirtuTrace is a virtual reality experiment engine that was originally designed for studying firefighter decision making. It has been completely refactored with the intention of it becoming a more general-purpose engine, allowing an experimenter to quickly create virtual worlds based on 3D models and easily mix and match these worlds with different navigation interfaces, physics properties, and scene logic.
This is the research featured in my dissertation. Users often wish to navigate through an infinite virtual world from within the confines of a virtual reality (VR) system. In some cases these confines are physical (CAVE walls) and in others the range of tracking hardware is the restriction. This invariably leads to the use of less-than-natural locomotion interfaces for infinite virtual spaces. In addition to constraints on input techniques, VR systems also fail to provide high-fidelity sensory feedback when moving through the virtual world. I am interested in exploring the specific cognitive implications of these design choices, particularly with respect to use of working memory resources.
In command and control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), increased autonomy allows for vehicles to fly and perform mission objectives largely without operator input. However, when unexpected circumstances arise the interface must allow for rapid and effective re-tasking. Such an interface must display 3-dimensional path information so it can be quickly understood.
This stemmed from a class project involving human sense of movement. We were interested in altering visual feedback such that the effect of stepping was opposite, slower, or faster than in the real world.
College students tend to choose food that is cheap and convenient and they often overestimate the amount of time and difficulty required to find and prepare locally-grown food. We present a conceptual location-aware mobile application intended to help users find local and seasonal ingredients and then prepare meals using them. This could help reduce the environmental impact of their produce choices and encourage healthier eating.