Stephen Anthony Brewster

University of Glasgow | UofG · School of Computing Science

Immersive technologies allow us to control and customise how we experience reality, but are not widely used in transit due to safety, social acceptability, and comfort barriers. We propose that cues from reality can create reference points in virtuality, which we call Reality Anchors, will reduce these barriers. We used simulated public transportat...

Mobile phone reminding apps can be used by people with acquired brain injury (ABI) to compensate for memory impairments. This pilot feasibility trial aimed to establish the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial comparing reminder apps in an ABI community treatment setting. Adults with ABI and memory difficulty who completed the three-week ba...

Standalone Virtual Reality (VR) headsets can be used when travelling in cars, trains and planes. However, the constrained spaces around transport seating can leave users with little physical space in which to interact using their hands or controllers, and can increase the risk of invading other passengers' personal space or hitting nearby objects...

Cyclists encounter drivers in many traffic scenarios; good communication is key to avoiding collisions. Little is known about everyday driver-cyclist interaction and communication. This is important in designing Automated Vehicles (AVs) that must drive safely around cyclists. We explored driver-cyclist interaction across diverse scenarios through i...

VR (Virtual Reality) Motion Sickness (VRMS) refers to purely visually-induced motion sickness. Not everyone is susceptible to VRMS, but if experienced, nausea will often lead users to withdraw from the ongoing VR applications. VRMS represents a serious challenge in the field of VR ergonomics and human factors. Like other neuro-ergonomics researcher...

Unconventional displays, such as 3D displays, projection screens formed of flowing light-scattering particles (fogscreens), and virtual reality (VR) headsets, can create illusions of images floating in mid-air. Paired with hand tracking, gestural interaction with floating user interfaces (UI) is possible on this permeable imagery, thus creating rea...

Passengers spend considerable periods of time in shared transit spaces, relying on smartphones and laptops for work. However, these displays are limited in size and ergonomics compared to typical multi-monitor setups used in the office, impairing productivity. Augmented Reality (AR) headsets could provide large, flexible virtual workspaces during t...

To make the rise of automated vehicles possible and to allow for their mass adoption, one major problem still needs to be solved: Motion sickness. Automated vehicles lead to increased motion sickness partly caused by an occlusion of the outside world (conflict between visual and vestibular system). In this study, we propose the usage of Virtual Rea...

This article discusses the Keyboard Augmentation Toolkit (KAT), which supports the creation of virtual keyboards that can be used both for standalone input (e.g., for mid-air text entry) and to augment physically tracked keyboards/surfaces in mixed reality. In a user study, we firstly examine the impact and pitfalls of visualising shortcuts on a tr...

Electrotactile stimulation is a novel form of haptic feedback. There is little work investigating its basic design parameters and how they create effective tactile cues. This paper describes two experiments that extend our knowledge of two key parameters. The first investigated the combination of pulse width and amplitude (Intensity) on sensations...

People with memory impairments following an acquired brain injury stand to benefit from smartphone apps as memory aids. Due, in part, to usability issues they use smartphone-based reminding less than the general population. Evidence suggests this group may benefit from user interface (UI) designs with more screens with less information per screen (...

[https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6373681] These are the datasets about the experimental group (N=20, where N is the sample size, that is, 20 participants in total) and control group (N=20, where N is the sample size, that is, 20 participants in total) for our published paper entitled "Multimodal Biosensing for Vestibular Network-Based Cybersickness...

Mixed Reality (MR) headsets enable the rendering of virtual content selectively intermixed with reality. These headsets have the capacity to allow passengers to break free from the restraints of physical displays placed in constrained environments such as cars, trains and planes. Moreover, they have the potential to allow passengers to make better...

Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to induce cybersickness (CS), which impedes CS-susceptible VR users from the benefit of emerging VR applications. To better detect CS, the current study investigated whether/how the newly proposed human vestibular network (HVN) is involved in flagship consumer VR-induced CS by simultaneously recording autonomi...

How the performance of autonomic physiological, and human vestibular network (HVN)-based brain functional connectivity (BFC) features differ in a VR sickness classification task is underexplored. Therefore, this paper presents an AI-aided comparative study of the two. Results from different AI models all show that autonomic physiological features r...

This paper presents a survey informing a user-first approach todesigning calming affective haptic stimuli by eliciting user prefer-ences in different social scenarios. Prior affective haptics researchpresented users with stimuli and recorded emotional responses. Bycontrast this work focuses on the sensations users wish to expe-rience and how these...

Significance: The rise of consumer-friendly virtual reality (VR) systems has led to related research to develop and deliver gamified cognitive and rehabilitation therapies in VR. However, some participants withdraw from the therapy due to VR-induced motion sickness (cybersickness). Moreover, approximately 60% of the general population experience so...

Background: Attachment research has been limited by the lack of quick and easy measures. We report development and validation of the School Attachment Monitor (SAM), a novel measure for largescale assessment of attachment in children aged 5-9, in the general population. SAM offers automatic presentation, on computer, of story-stems based on the Ma...

Segmenting audio into homogeneous sections such as music and speech helps us understand the content of audio. It is useful as a pre-processing step to index, store, and modify audio recordings, radio broadcasts and TV programmes. Deep learning models for segmentation are generally trained on copyrighted material, which cannot be shared. Annotating...

This paper examines key challenges in supporting passenger use of augmented and virtual reality headsets in transit. These headsets will allow passengers to break free from the restraints of physical displays placed in constrained environments such as cars, trains and planes. Moreover, they have the potential to allow passengers to make better use...

This paper describes a novel category of affective vibrotactile stimuli which evoke real-world sensations and details a study into emotional responses to them. The affective properties of short and abstract vibrotactile waveforms have previously been studied and shown to have a narrow emotional range. By contrast this paper investigated emotional r...

Background Attachment research has been limited by the lack of quick and easy measures. We report development and validation of the School Attachment Monitor (SAM), a novel measure for largescale assessment of attachment in children aged 5-9, in the general population. SAM offers automatic presentation, on computer, of story-stems based on the Manc...

With the development of consumer virtual reality (VR), people have increasing opportunities to experience cybersickness (CS)-a kind of visually-induced motion sickness (MS). In view of the importance of CS mitigation (CSM), this paper reviews the methods of electrostimulation-based CSM (e-CSM), broadly categorised as either "VR-centric" or "Human-c...

Many head-mounted virtual reality display (VR-HMD) applications that involve moving visual environments (e.g., virtual rollercoaster, car and airplane driving) will trigger cybersickness (CS). Previous research Arshad et al. (2015) has explored the inhibitory effect of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on vestibular cortical e...

The gradual implementation of automated driving systems opens a wide range of opportunities for researchers and vehicle designers to transform vehicle interiors into a place for productivity and well-being. Former events held by the organizers have identified a research agenda to transform vehicles into a space for office work. This second edition...

Ultrasonic tactile stimulation can give the user contactless tactile feedback in a variety of human-computer interfaces. Parameters, such as duration, rhythm, and intensity, can be used to encode information into tactile sensation. The present aim was to investigate the differentiation of six ultrasonic tactile stimulations that were varied by form...

Ultrasound haptics is a contactless haptic technology that enables novel mid-air interactions with rich multisensory feedback. This paper surveys recent advances in ultrasound haptic technology. We discuss the fundamentals of this haptic technology, how a variety of perceptible sensations are rendered, and how it is currently being used to enable n...

Background Smartphone reminding applications can help overcome memory difficulties experienced by people with acquired brain injury (ABI). Cognitive difficulties with memory and attention make entering reminders into a device, and remembering to set reminders, challenging for this group. ApplTree is a reminding app with features that aim to address...

Mixed Reality (MR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets can improve upon existing physical multi-display environments by rendering large, ergonomic virtual display spaces whenever and wherever they are needed. However, given the physical and ergonomic limitations of neck movement, users may need assistance to view these display...

Levitating particle displays are an emerging technology where content is composed of physical pixels. Unlike digital displays, manipulating the content is not straightforward because physical constraints affect the placement and movement of each particle: dragging a particle may cause it to collide with others along its movement path. We describe i...

Electrotactile feedback can be used as a novel method to evoke different sensations on the skin. However, there is a lack of research exploring electrotactile feedback on the palm. This paper presents two experiments that investigate the effects of manipulating pulse width, amplitude and frequency of electrical stimulation on perceived sensations (...

Child cyclists are at greater risk for car-to-cyclist accidents than adults. This is in part due to developmental differences in the motor and perceptual-motor abilities of children and adults, and missing cycling infrastructure. To address these issues, we examine unimodal and projection-based techniques to support children in maintaining a good l...

This video shows a concept of a future mobile office in a semi-automated vehicle that uses augmented reality. People perform non-driving tasks in current, non-automated vehicles even though that is unsafe. Moreover, even for passengers there is limited space, it is not social, and there can be motion sickness. In future cars, technology such as aug...

Our research aims to improve passenger journeys across both public and private transport, in cars, buses, planes and trains by utilizing Mixed Reality head-mounted (e.g. visual/auditory augmented and virtual reality) displays. This paper discusses our initial motivations and formative work in this area, both for in-car VR [33, 32] and for in-flight...

Automated vehicles will allow users to engage in non-driving activities related to work and well-being. This workshop will explore a number of questions related to human-computer interaction in vehicles with the ultimate goal of allowing users to be productive in automated vehicles, as well as to engage in activities that successfully increase thei...

With the increasing development of Augmented reality (AR), the number of its purposes and applications in vehicles rises. Augmented reality may help to increase road safety, support more immersive (non-) driving related activities, and finally enhance driving and passenger experience. AR may also be the enabling technology to increase trust and acc...

We describe a novel display concept where levitating particles are used to add a dynamic display element to static physical objects. The particles are actuated using ultrasound, for expressive output without mechanical constraints. We explore novel ways of using particles to add dynamic output to other objects, for new interactive experiences. We a...

A challenge in sonification design is mapping data param-eters onto acoustic parameters in a way that aligns with a listener’s mental model of how a given data parameter should sound. Studies have used the psychophysical scaling method of magnitude estimation to systematically evaluate how participants per-ceive mappings between data and sound param...

This article presents the School Attachment Monitor, a novel interactive system that can reliably administer the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (a standard psychiatric test for the assessment of attachment in children) without the supervision of trained professionals. Attachment problems in children cause significant mental health issues an...

Developing educational tools aimed at children with disabilities is a challenging process for designers and developers because existing methodologies or frameworks do not provide any pedagogical information and/or do not take into account the particular needs of users with some type of impairment. In this study, we propose a framework for the desig...

Haptic feedback is used in cars to reduce visual inattention. While tactile feedback like vibration can be influenced by the car's movement, thermal and cutaneous push feedback should be independent of such interference. This paper presents two driving simulator studies investigating novel tactile feedback on the steering wheel for navigation. Firs...

Designing technology for problem-free operation is vital, but equally important is considering how a user may understand or act upon errors and various other 'stuck' situations if and when they occur. Little is currently known about what children think and want for overcoming errors. In this paper we report on design-for-error workshops with childr...

A long lasting problem in the design of auditory displays is how to design audio feedback that is aesthetically appealing and comfortable to listen to. Many systems focus solely on function and do not consider these other factors. This can lead to annoyance for users, or more extremely, abandonment of the system entirely. Instead of communicating i...

Gamification can change how and why people interact with software. A common approach is to use quantitative feedback to give users a feeling of progress or achievement. There are, however, other ways to provide users with motivation or meaning during normal computer interactions, such as using emotional reinforcement. This could provide a powerful...

Background: Cognitive and behavioural difficulties after acquired brain injury (ABI) may lead to reduced engagement in leisure and social activities. Increasing participation is a goal of neuropsychological rehabilitation and assistive and behaviour change technology can play an important role in this. Focus groups and interviews were conductive wi...

Most research into haptic feedback for in-car applications has used vibrotactile feedback. In this article, two simulator studies investigate novel thermal feedback during driving for a lane change task. The distraction and time differences of audio and thermal feedback were investigated in the first, with results showing that thermal feedback does...

Tactons are structured vibrotactile messages which can be used to transmit information solely through the cutaneous sense. These are particularly useful in situations where visual or auditory displays are unavailable or inappropriate. Most data:vibration mappings do not consider the user's perceptions of the mappings being used, which can lead to c...

The use of ultrasound haptic feedback for mid-air gestures in cars has been proposed to provide a sense of control over the user's intended actions and to add touch to a touchless interaction. However, the impact of ultrasound feedback to the gesturing hand regarding lane deviation, eyes-off-the-road time (EORT) and perceived mental demand has not...

Augmented reality (AR) has the potential to improve road safety, support more immersive (non-) driving related activities, and finally enhance driving experience. AR may also be the enabling technology to help on the transition towards automated driving. However, augmented reality still faces a number of technical challenges when applied in vehicle...

Haptic feedback has been widely studied for in-car interactions. However, most of this research has used vibrotactile cues. This paper presents two studies that examine novel thermal feedback for navigation during simulated driving for a lane change task. In the first, we compare the distraction and time differences of audio and thermal feedback. T...

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) in stroke survivors is low however the ubiquitous nature of smartphone technology means smartphone-based interventions could be a feasible and cost-effective approach to increase PA. We developed STARFISH, a group behavioural change intervention delivered via a smartphone app to help increase PA. OBJECTIVE: Follow...

Levitating objects can be used as the primitives in a new type of display. We present levitating particle displays and show how research into object levitation is enabling a new way of presenting and interacting with information. We identify novel properties of levitating particle displays and give examples of the interaction techniques and applica...

The relationships between sounds and their perceived meaning and connotations are complex, making auditory perception an important factor to consider when designing sonification systems. Listeners often have a mental model of how a data variable should sound during sonification and this model is not considered in most data:sound mappings. This can...

Room-scale Virtual Reality (VR) has become an affordable consumer reality, with applications ranging from entertainment to productivity. However, the limited physical space available for room-scale VR in the typical home or office environment poses a significant problem. To solve this, physical spaces can be extended by amplifying the mapping of ph...

Acoustic levitation enables a radical new type of human-computer interface composed of small levitating objects. For the first time, we investigate the selection of such objects, an important part of interaction with a levitating object display. We present Point-and-Shake, a mid-air pointing interaction for selecting levitating objects, with feedba...

Control interfaces and interactions based on touch-less gesture tracking devices have become a prevalent research topic in both industry and academia. Touch-less devices offer a unique interaction immediateness that makes them ideal for applications where direct contact with a physical controller is not desirable. On the other hand, these controlle...