PhD position in Enhancing Virtual Realities for Rehabilitation by Integration of Tactile Stimulation

Altered tactile sensation, which is often encountered in neurological patients, can lead to chronic pain. However, in neuro-rehabilitation sensory malfunction can often not be addressed due to limited resources. Virtual reality (VR) allows patients to continue their therapy in the home environment getting instructions and live feedback via engaging games. Unfortunately, existing VR solutions offer very limited tactile interaction. Within this project, we want to develop a new therapy tool which provides sensory retraining by using tactile displays in connection with VR. In particular, we want to develop a tactile display that can address multiple qualities of the sense of touch such as temperature, deep and light touch, and vibration. The micro-actuators which form the display will be integrated into a suit that can be worn during gaming. The real-time control of these micro-actuators will be connected to an VR gaming environment. The resulting haptic VR game will be used in pilot

studies with healthy humans, and neurological patients.