Ultrahaptics (United Kingdom)

ABSTRACT Background: The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has led to a rise in stress-related symptoms, including anxiety and depression, among veterans, necessitating accessible and effective mental health interventions. Traditional rehabilitation resources are often limited, prompting exploration into alternative therapies. Objective: This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of immersive 360° video-based Virtual Reality (VR) therapy as an enhancement to standard rehabilitation programmes for Ukrainian veterans experiencing anxiety and depression. Method: A randomised controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with 69 participants, who were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 34), receiving daily VR sessions alongside standard rehabilitation, or the control group (n = 35), following standard rehabilitation alone. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) both at baseline and post-intervention. Additionally, momentary changes in anxiety and mood were measured immediately before and after each VR session to evaluate the immediate effects. The VR intervention was designed with veteran and expert feedback to enhance emotional regulation and stress resilience, integrating evidence-based psychotherapeutic techniques. Results: Results demonstrate significant rapid improvement in mood and reduction in anxiety following each session, along with significant reductions in anxiety (up to 14.5%) and depression (up to 12.3%) upon programme completion. Consistent results across all study iterations confirmed the reliability and scalability of 360-VR therapy as a short-term rehabilitation tool. Conclusions: Immersive VR therapy presents an effective, accessible solution for managing the psychological impact of war, particularly within the limitations of Ukraine’s healthcare system.

ABSTRACTGesture control systems based on mid-air haptics are increasingly used in infotainment systems in cars, where they can provide rich haptic feedback to improve human-computer interactions. Laboratory studies show that mid-air haptic feedback reduces drivers’ distractions and improve safety. However, it is unclear how the perception of mid-air ultrasound stimuli is affected by prolonged exposure to vibrational noise, e.g., from the steering wheel of a moving vehicle. Studies on vibrotactile adaptation show that perception of mechanical vibration is impaired by prior exposure to stimuli of the same frequency. Here, we investigated the effect of mechanical adaptation on the perception of mid-air ultrasound stimuli. We measured participants’ detection threshold for ultrasound stimuli of different frequencies both before and after exposure to 30 s mechanical vibrations. Across two experiments, we systematically manipulated the frequency and amplitude of the adapting stimulus. We found that exposure to low-frequency mechanical vibrations significantly impaired the detection of low-frequency ultrasound stimuli. In contrast, exposure to high-frequency mechanical vibrations equally impaired perception of both low- and high-frequency ultrasound stimuli. This effect was mediated by the amplitude of the adapting stimulus, with stronger mechanical vibrations producing a larger increase in participants’ detection threshold. Overall, these findings show that perception of mid-air ultrasound stimuli is affected by specific sources of mechanical noise. Crucially, frequency-specificity in the low-frequency band also points toward possible mitigating solutions that could help minimising unwanted desensitization of mechanoreceptor channels during mid-air haptic interactions.

Human perception of touch is a complex interplay of sensory inputs, extending beyond tactile stimuli to include visual and auditory cues. Yet, the potential of olfactory cues (e.g., scents) to enrich our understanding and experiences of digital touch remains largely unexplored. This paper explores the integration of scent with digital haptic feedback, specifically focusing on the perception of textiles using an ultrasonic mid-air haptic device. In an initial validation study, we identified scents associated with the tactile properties of roughness, smoothness, coldness, and warmth based on participant ratings (n = 31). In a subsequent immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experiment, we explored how these scents might affect perceptions of digital textiles presented using ultrasonic mid-air haptics (n = 32). Our results suggested that while scents did not affect the tactile properties of digital textiles, participants reported the sensations feeling more realistic and more arousing according to the scent delivered. This multimodal integration of scent with digital haptic stimuli can open up the creation of more immersive experiences and more in-depth understanding of digital material properties.

In The last few years, we have witnessed the rapid development of many innovative devices and original techniques for providing haptic sensations, e.g., using force feedback, mid-air interfaces [1], [2], props and encounter-type devices [3], [4], or exploiting perceptual phenomena with cross-modal effects such as pseudo-haptics [5]. While increasingly immersive and realistic experiences have developed at a fast pace, the emergence of a “metaverse” proposes new use cases where prolonged utilisation and social interactions become more frequent and widespread [6]. The metaverse definition is continuously evolving, however, for now it can been seen as a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of the physical and digital worlds, where users interact, socialize, and engage with each other through digital representations of themselves. This new direction in social interactions presents the haptics community with new challenges and opportunities. Indeed, as eXtended Reality (XR) <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup>