Hui Zhang

Hui Zhang

[resume]

Ph.D. candidate, Graphics and Visualization Laboratory
Computer Science Department
150. S. Woodlawn Ave,
Lindley Hall Room 215#
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7104
USA

See also my page at Computational Cognition and Learning Lab

Contact:

812-856-5230 (Office)

huizhang (at) cs.indiana.edu

Research Projects

I am currently a Research Assistant in Graphics and Visualization laboratory. I have been working with Dr. Andrew J. Hanson on my dissertation research for the last several years. My research focuses on several areas involved with Scientific Visualization. I have participated in a number of projects, including the virtual exploration of a digitally animated universe, depiction of objects in higher dimensions, and especially the development of haptic (touch-based interfaces with force-feedback) approaches to the exploration of knots and mathematical objects in three and four dimensions.

I also work with Dr. Chen Yu, investigating an interactive virtual reality platform for studying the role of embodied social interaction in the context of language learning.

Haptic approaches to the exploration of knots

Current computer interfaces can support multimodal representations that integrate visual information with haptic feedback and interaction. In this research project, we exploit these capabilities to build a particular type of kinesthetic intuition about continuous complex geometric surfaces, and is especially suited to the families of such surfaces that result naturally from projection 4D-embedded surfaces to 3D: although the 3D graphics projection of smooth 4D topological surfaces are interrupted where one surface intersects another, the haptic proxy can be constrained to the local 4D continuity to support a continuous motion.

The image on the left shows haptic exploration of the 3D projection of the spun trefoil, a knotted embedded in 4D.

Haptic "Sketching" interface: Shadow Driven Editing

By taking advantage of physically reactive shadow-space pen technology, we transform the task of sketching to a new level physical reality. For example, starting with 3D mathematical knots projected to 2D knot diagrams, we have designed a 2D haptic interface that controls 3D knots rendered as projected images on a 2D space; sketching, editing, exploration, and manipulation of the 3D knots takes place fluidly in the shadow projected to the controller plane.

The images on the left illustrate the process of haptic creation of a 3D trefoil knot via a sequence of haptic over, under, and over.

Deforming Four Dimensions

In this research, we implement a multimodal haptics-driven interface that supports physically deforming topological surfaces embedded in 4D. Our approach is to interact physically with the simulated 4D world via its 3D projection, a world that we can work with physically and that is no less real than a 3D computer simulation.

The images on the left illustrate tightening a knotted sphere embedded in 4D, via its xyz projection.

Embodied Social Interaction

In this research project, we try to propose and implement a new experimental paradigm to study learning from multimodal interaction. We build virtual humans and measure how well real people interact with virtual humans and how they shape their behaviors to adapt to different social-cognitive skills that virtual humans possess.