CALLFORPARTICIPATION

The Ultrahaptics Student Challenge jointly promoted byULTRAHAPTICS and EUROHAPTICS 2018 invites participants from allovertheworldtodevelopanddemonstratenewapplicationsoftouchinterfacesusingtheUltrahapticsDevelopmentKit.In this challenge, students will be provided with an advancedhardware development platform and an API, and will be tasked withexploring new applications in the field ofmid-air hapticswith specialinterest in thebroadareasof:AR/VR,Entertainment,Communication,Healthcare,orSecurity.Maindates

HowtoParticipateToparticipate,eachteammustsubmita3-pagepdfproposalviaemailtoEHC2018@ultrahaptics.com(seefullsubmissioninformationbelow)byNovember30,2017.SelectionProcessFiveteamswillbechosenandnotifiedbyDecember15,2017.Ultrahaptics will allocate one TOUCH Development Kit (UHDK5) toeach of the 5 selected teams in December 2017. The selected teamswill be given access to supporting documents, the SDK, and examplecode.CompetitionDemoandAwardThe Ultrahaptics Student Challenge will take place during theEuroHaptics 2018 conference inPisa (Italy), from13th-16th June2018.Each team will demonstrate their final results at the conference,where apanel of expert judgeswill evaluate them. Thewinnerof theStudentChallengewillbeannouncedduringtheawardceremony.The

Proposalsubmission 30thNovember2017

Announcementofselectedproposals 15thDecember2017

Progressreportsfromselectedteams FebruaryandMay2018

EHC2018CompetitioninPisa(Italy) 13th-16thJune2018

winner will be awarded 1000€ and an internship program sponsoredbyUltrahaptics(internshipsubjecttoproofofeligibilitytoworkintheUK).Qualifications:Thechallengeisopentoundergraduateandgraduatestudents.Teamsmay have between two and four members. Teams can enlistprofessors,teachers,andprofessionalsasadvisors,buttheworkmustbedoneby the studentsonly, andall teammembersmustbeeligibletoregisterfortheconferenceinthestudentcategory.At leastonememberofeach teammustattend the full conference topresent the team’s application(s) and will be responsible for anyapplicable conference registration fees. EuroHaptics 2018 organizerswill provide support for travel (300€ European teams, 500€ non-European teams) and accommodation to 1 participant per team. Allattending students must register for the conference. We suggeststudents seek funding opportunities for their attendance as early aspossible, such as asking for sponsorship from local research labs,applying for student volunteerships, and watching out for possiblestudenttravelgrants.TheChallengeUltrahaptics uses focused ultrasound at 40 kHz to create up to 4pressure points of about 8mm in diameter, and each pressure pointcan be touched and felt in mid-air. These points can be dynamicallymoved in 3D space forming different geometrical shapes, ormodulated over time to give the sensation of tapping or buttonclicking. Students are invited to explore the uses of this newtechnology, and propose novel mid-air haptic environments andapplications.Weencourageteamstostructuretheirapplicationsandenvironmentsaround the broad topics of: AR/VR, Entertainment, Communication,Healthcare,orSecurity.Haptic interaction using the Ultrahaptics Development Kit must be asignificantpartof theapplication, i.e.,applicationsshouldrelyonthehaptic feedback, rather than the haptic feedback being added post-hoc or in a nonessential way to an existing graphically-presented

environment.Teamscanuseothermodalities, likevisualand/oraudiofeedbackalongwiththehaptics.SubmissionRequirementsStudentsmustsubmita3-pageproposaldocument.Thepdfdocumentshouldcontainthefollowing:

• Teammember’sdetails(Name,Surname,degree)• TeamContactemail• ProjectName• 30-wordnon-technicalpitch• 150-wordabstract• Projectdescriptionwitharoadmapandconceptdiagrams• Allstudentapplicantsshouldalsocompleteandsubmitthe

ParticipationAgreementfoundat:https://goo.gl/forms/8hbDSOPtyEEC92NB3

Submissionsshouldbemadeviaemailwithsubject“Proposal”to:EHC2018@ultrahaptics.combythe30thofNovember2017.Youshouldreceiveanautomatedconfirmationemail.JudgingCriteriaApplicationswillbejudgedonthefollowingthreecategories:• Haptics feedback quality, i.e., the effective use of haptics, and

device capabilities – Does the application takemaximal advantageofwhatthedevicecando,andgracefullyaccommodateitslimits?

• Originality, creativity andengagement–How innovative, inspiring,originalandengagingistheapplicationandtheteam’sapproach

• Delivery and presentation – The environment or application mustconvey the main idea in a clear and transparent manner,highlighting the technical advantages and difficulties of thechallenge.

Hardware:TheUltrahapticsTOUCHDevelopmentKit(UHDK5)contains:Ø The development kit hardware: a 192

(14×14) transducer array and controlboard,mounted in a cradlewith a LeapMotionControllerdevice.

Ø Multi-regionalpowersupply,USBcablesand compliance, warranty and healthandsafetybooklet.

The UHDK5 supports “Amplitude Modulation” API and can producemid-airhapticswithuptofoursimultaneousControlPoints toarangeof 40cm. Thepositions of these canbeupdated in real-time at a rateof up to 400 times a second. The SDK contains a full API and suite ofexample code (C++) for you to work through to create your ownapplications. We also provide C# libraries for integration within theUnityGameDevelopmentplatform.Formoreinformation,contact:EHC2018@ultrahaptics.comDetailed information about the ULTRAHAPTICS TOUCH DevelopmentKit(UHDK5)andtheSDKisavailablehere:https://www.ultrahaptics.com/products/touch-development-kithttps://developer.ultrahaptics.com/faq/sdkWritingaGoodSubmission: Hands-on educational activities help students learn concepts bylinking abstract concepts to students’ physical experience. TheUltrahaptics Development Kit allows students to explore the newabilities of the non-contact mid-air haptic solutions. There are manydifferent application concepts that could be translated to mid-air. AgoodsubmissionwilldescribeacreativeenhancedhapticenvironmentinwhichastudentwilluseULTRAHAPTICSDevelopmentKit.Your3-pageproposalshouldhelpusunderstand:

• Theconceptofyourapplicationandwhyitisunique.• What your application will consist of and how a user will

interactwithit.• Whyamid-airhapticdeviceisappropriateforyourapplication.• A roadmapwith keymilestones for development and how your

team’sskillscanachievethem.Gooddesign requires iteration,andwedon’texpectyour final resultsto be exactly as you describe in your submission, but your conceptdescriptionshouldbewell thoughtout,and it shouldhaveaplausiblechanceofworking.Past examples of successful submissions can be found from the 2017and2016EuroHapticsStudentInnovationChallengewebsites.