Student Computer Science (f/m/x) - Hand-gesture Locomotion Methods in Virtual Reality

The DLR Institute of Software Technology sees software as a catalyst for research and innovation. The institute's staff, currently numbering around 200, make a significant contribution to advancements in the fields of aviation, space, energy, transportation, and security through the development of state-of-the-art software solutions and innovative research.

Our areas of competence include reliable and safety-critical software systems, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and quantum computing, human-system interaction and visualisation, software and systems engineering as well as digital platforms and digital twins.

The Research Project
Our work focuses on eXtended Reality (XR) and its applications across various domains; for instance, drone operations. In this context, 3D maps in XR can play a key role ,e.g., Mixed Reality (MR) table-top maps can aid situational awareness, and Virtual Reality (VR) environments can offer full spatial understanding on a 1:1 scale, mimicking real-world environments. Navigating MR table-top maps through zooming in and out, sliding and panning is quite intuitive, however navigating in VR in large scale environments using hand gestures is not well explored yet. This thesis investigates how the user can move in VR with only the hand gestures that are available for interaction. The research aims to understanding how different locomotion techniques and different gesture interactions influence the user experience, including cybersickness, cognitive load, and learning. A further aim is to identify which combination of movement techniques and gesture techniques is the most efficient for the user to navigate large urban environments.

Your Tasks
* Conduct a literature review on VR hand-gesture locomotion techniques
* Design novel VR hand-gesture locomotion techniques
* Implement hand-gesture locomotion techniques in a test environment
* Conduct user evaluations to measure overall user experience
* Analyze findings and derive design recommendations for future VR hand-gesture locomotion methods
* Write and document the results

Your Qualification
* Currently enrolled in Computer Science, Informatics, Geo-informatics, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field
* Experience in XR development or game development (Unreal Engine, Unity) is desired
* Experience in C++, C#
* Interest in XR, human factors, and/or interface design
We look forward to getting to know you!

If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 5469) please contact:

Luljeta Sinani or Florian Baugé