Human Centered Design with Physical Props

#Abstract
Whereas consumer virtual reality (VR) systems can support scenarios that are quite visually and aurally realistic, most of today’s VR hardware is lacking when it comes to physical touch.
Although not widely done, enhancing existing VR systems with physical props and other physical cues can enable users to feel what they see. This can lead to users feeling more grounded and trusting of the virtual world as if they are actually present. This talk will explore where such physicality is important and present some example props and use cases.
Attendees will leave the talk with ideas of why and how they might incorporate physicality into their XR simulations.
#Bio
DR. JASON JERALD
I have been creating virtual reality systems and applications for over 20 years. My work has been featured on ABC’s Shark Tank and the Discovery Channel, in the New York Times, and on the cover of the MIT Press Journal “Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.” I currently serve in multiple technical and leadership roles, have built and led teams as large as ~300 individuals, and regularly speak at conferences and other programs. I hold numerous publications and patents in the areas of virtual/augmented reality, human-computer interaction, and computer graphics.

I am the author of “The VR Book: Human-Centered Design for Virtual Reality” published by ACM Books and Morgan & Claypool Publishers. The book was the #1 best seller at its debut at SIGGRAPH 2015 and continues to be the #1 selling book out of over 1000 books published by Morgan & Claypool Publishers.

Specialties: customized XR solutions, strategic advice & technical business planning; software development & hardware integration; human-computer interaction; perception, immersion, & presence; 3D computer graphics & real-time rendering; virtual humans; user studies; team leadership & mentoring; seminar speaking and training.

I have worked on over 70 VR projects with over 40 organizations including
– Oculus
– Valve
– Sixense
– Virtuix
– AT&T
– Geomedia
– Digital ArtForms