Title: Computational wavefront manipulation for novel user-interface design

Abstract:
Our group has been at the forefront of shaping the acoustic wave fronts to create novel mid-air displays and haptic devices. Our mid-air display is created by trapping tiny objects in the sound-field and manipulating them to create persistence of vision displays. We manipulate the wave-front by computing acoustic holograms that are delivered using phased arrays of speakers. Similarly, mid-air haptics is created by focusing the pressure wave on the palm of the user. Ultrahaptics is our haptic feedback system that uses acoustic radiation pressure to create tactile stimulations in multiple locations of the user’s hand. This feedback is created in mid-air – so users don’t have to touch or hold any device to experience it. Recently, we have begun exploring the design and implementation of reconfigurable acoustic metamaterials that augment phased arrays to create complex sound fields. In my talk, I will present some of our recent projects on these topics.

Biography:
Sriram Subramanian is a Professor and Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies at the University of Sussex (UK) where he leads a research group on novel interactive systems. Before joining Sussex, he was a Professor of Human-computer Interaction at the University of Bristol and prior to this a senior scientist at Philips Research Netherlands. He has published over 100 research articles on designing new and novel user-experiences through a combination of physical science, engineering and creativity. He is also the co-founder of Ultrahaptics (www.ultrahaptics.com) a mid-air haptics company that recently acquired Leap Motion Inc.