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Consortium for Augmented Reality and Virtual Environments (VR/AR/MR) Engineering (CAVE)

The Consortium for VR/AR/MR Engineering Mission in India (CAVE), is an India specific group of academia, industries, startups, government bodies, at the IIT Madras.

The CAVE’s Engineering Mission is to promote engineering of XR technology development, not just using XR, and adoption of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality globally, particularly in India, with best practices, dialogue with all stakeholders, government policy makers, and research institutions. The CAVE is a resource for industry, academia, consumers, and policymakers interested in virtual, augmented, and mixed reality.

The main objective of this consortium is to enable members to create new advanced technologies and applications in XR together. Our research collaboration is with industrial sponsors and participants from industry, academia, and government.

Members

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ADVANCING TOUCH TECHNOLOGY

Our Research

Pioneering innovation in haptics, robotics, and human-machine interaction

Explore Back Home

Research Insights

Detailed exploration of our key research initiatives

Virtual Reality

VR Research & Applications

Haptics

Touch & Sensing Research

Spin-offs

Companies & Foundations

Opportunities

PhD & Research Positions

Virtual Reality and Haptic Feedback

Virtual Reality (VR) uses computer or computer-aided technology to simulate an environment for the individual. Unlike older forms of interfaces such as TV or mouse control, VR places the user inside an experience. Instead of receiving visual feedback from a single direction, the user receives visual, audio, and haptic feedback from multiple directions.

Our VR Research Areas:

  • Innovative Haptic Feedback in VR - Developing advanced tactile feedback mechanisms for immersive virtual experiences
  • VR-based Medical and Training Simulations - Creating realistic simulation environments for medical training and surgical procedures
  • Computer Vision Applications in VR - Integrating visual recognition and tracking technologies for enhanced VR interactions

Course Offering: We offer a course called Virtual Reality Engineering (AM5011), providing an overview of VR and its subcategories. It is offered every fall semester.

Consortium: We are part of the Consortium for AR/VR Engineering (CAVE), advancing research in augmented and virtual reality technologies.

Haptics Research

Haptics pertains to the sensing and manipulation using touch between human and machine, machine and machine, or human and human in virtual, teleoperated, or real environments. Haptics is an interdisciplinary research field studying sensing and manipulation through touch.

Touch Lab Research Goals:

The Touch Lab at IIT Madras (established June 2005) focuses on:

  • Understanding human haptics through multidisciplinary investigations involving skin biomechanics, neurophysiology, and psychophysics
  • Developing machine haptics for advanced feedback systems
  • Enhancing human-machine interactions in real, virtual, and teleoperated environments

Research Classification:

Our haptics research is classified into three broad areas:

Human Haptics

Understanding human haptics mechanisms and sensory systems:

  • Three Radial Artery Pulse Sensor Design for Siddha Based Disease Diagnosis
  • Correlation between Two Point Discrimination with sensory loss measures in Diabetic Mellitus Patients
  • Comparison of Law of mobility in Upper and Lower Extremities of Diabetic patients
  • Study of Foot and Ankle Joint Mobility among Diabetic Subjects
  • Automation of Monitoring Hypnotic Analgesia
Machine Haptics

Developing machines and devices for haptic feedback:

  • Combat Tactile Jacket
  • Hybrid 1DOF Haptic Device
  • DC Motor Damping Strategy to Increase Passive Stiffness of Haptic Devices
Computer Haptics

Enhancing human-machine interactions through haptic rendering:

  • Tangible Images
  • Recordable Haptic Textures
Medical Simulations

Advanced simulation technologies for medical training:

  • Haptic Guided Laparoscopic Simulation
  • Catheter Insertion Simulator
  • Virtual Tissue Cutting

Spin-off Companies and Research Foundation

Spin-off Companies:

  • Merkel Haptic Systems
  • Ariano Instruments
  • Abhipsta Technologies
  • UDYAM Labs LLP

Research Foundations:

  • IoE-CoE on Virtual Reality and Haptics
  • Varma Research Foundation
  • Consortium for AR/VR Engineering Mission in India (CAVE)

Research Opportunities

Open PhD Positions: TouchLab is actively seeking students interested in Virtual Reality and Haptics. We welcome candidates with:

  • Bachelor's/Master's degree in Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Systems and Control, Mathematics, or Physics
  • Strong interest in systems theory
  • Exceptional embedded programming skills
  • Experience in microcontroller programming, robotics, and practical electronics

Interested candidates should apply by sending an email with a CV to the lab coordinator.

Keywords and Technologies

Virtual Reality, Haptics, Medical Simulation for Training, Immersion, Presence, HMD (Head-Mounted Display), Interactive VR, Head Tracking, AR (Augmented Reality), XR (Extended Reality), Mixed Reality, VR Engineering, Haptic Feedback, Teleoperation, Sensory Feedback, Computer Vision, Robotics, Human-Machine Interaction

Demos

Useful Links

Upcoming conference on VR – Visit Link