Haptic feedback may support immersion and presence in virtual reality (VR) environments. The emerging market of consumer devices offers first devices which are expected to increase the degree of feeling being actually present in a virtual environment. In this paper we introduce a novel evaluation that examines the influence of different types of haptic feedback on presence and performance regarding manual tasks in VR. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive user study involving 14 subjects, who performed throwing, stacking and object identification tasks in VR with visual (i.e., sensory substitution), vibrotactile or force feedback. We measured the degree of presence and task-related performance metrics. Our results indicate that regarding presence vibrotactile feedback outperforms haptic feedback which performs better than visual feedback only. In addition, force feedback significantly lowered the execution time for the throwing and the stacking task. In object identification tasks, the vibrotactile feedback increased the detection rates compared to the vibrotactile and force feedback, but also increased the required time of identification. Despite the inadequacies of the still young consumer technology, there were nevertheless strong indications of connections between presence, task fulfillment and the type of haptic feedback.
The illumination of registration plates poses challenges for lighting technology. To achieve the wide and steep angles required for homogeneous illumination of the license plate, optics are needed to refract and reflect light. In this work, registration plate lamps with different components are designed. After the construction, the concepts are tested for their limits in terms of position and manufacturability. The
entire work is carried out at the company CREAT GmbH in Ingolstadt. All developments in the field of registration plate lighting are subject to the UNECE and country-specific regulations, which must be considered in the development of the lights.[1] Some vehicles currently available on the automotive market are measured to classify and compare the different lamp systems. From the average values, the lamps are designed. Adjustments are repeatedly made to the lighting device to achieve the most
homogeneous illumination of the registration plate. As soon as the lights meet the legal requirements, the geometric limits of the lighting device are defined in relation to the plate. As there are different polymers to produce optics, these are simulated with their refractive indices and tested for their effects on the light image.