Augmented Reality

Dr. Herman Batelaan

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY

Walking through walls and quantum degeneracy / Baseball

Walking through walls and quantum degeneracy. “Why can you not walk through walls?” This question is now a Nebraska secondary school educational standard in the curriculum with components ranging from elementary to high school education. The question is interesting on many levels; when we realize that the density of particles (nuclei and electrons) that make up atoms is extremely small and sparse, one might expect to be able to pass through walls. The answer to the question is not trivial. A next level answer is that the small particles have strong repelling Coulomb forces between them that act at a significant distance. The compressibility, the “give”, of the wall, is for a large part explained by bulk degeneracy pressure, a pure quantum phenomenon based on Pauli’s exclusion principle. One electron cannot occupy the same quantum wave function in space that its neighbor has. It is a kind of quantum musical chairs. Batelaan is funded by NSF to investigate what dominates when you bring two (or more) electrons together. Does the repulsive Coulomb force dominate, or the quantum Pauli-pressure? This is an open research question. Batelaan reported the first observation of the Coulomb force of a single electron on only one other one. The search for the quantum version is now ongoing. We will develop AR applications so that computed moving electrons can be seen with respect to the complex equipment we use and with the appropriate controls, so that an interactive experience is possible. 

Baseball training.  Positioning hands on a baseball bat, taking the initial batting position, adjusting the baseball bat swing to the pitch such as a curveball or sinker are all coaching activities for batting practice. In Augmented Reality, the initial position can be visualized, and the batter can see the desired virtual bat position and adjust the real bat position to it. The same holds for the hand and body position. The coach can control and adjust the desired virtual positions if needed, and both coach and batter see the same Augmented Reality. Sensors will be placed in the baseball bat. Sensors are already being used by the Nebraska Athletics Performance Laboratory (NAPL) to analyze the swing. This data can be used in the software package Unity to recreate and show the coach and batter the swing. For example, is the pull down on the bat sufficient to adjust for a sinker? The REU student will develop the AR-app and analyze the efficacy of the app. This general approach can be extended to other sports. The data and analysis is intended for publication in such journals as Sports Biomechanics and Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. Preliminary results indicate that a wireless, Arduino-based position sensor can be embedded in a baseball bat and that the headset can display a model bat using a wired headset (limited data privileges from the headset manufacturer prevent wireless access to the headset at present).

Dr. Chris Bourke

UNL School of Computing

Scientific Data Acquisition, Transducers, and Augmented Reality

Dr. Chris Bourke advises a group of UNL students in the School of Computing who work on the NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS) Artemis Student Challenge. SUITS is a software design initiative for undergraduate and graduate students across the US to develop information-displaying techniques using Augmented Reality devices that assist astronauts during Artemis missions to the moon.

As an example of REU projects offered in Bourke’s group, students will adapt this information-displaying technique to AR apps developed (or under development) by Henry Jones in the existing Catalyst project of the PI under the guidance of Batelaan. Jones joined our Catalyst project after he participated in our earlier REU site. In one of the apps under development, sensor data will be acquired from a real heat diffusion setup and then displayed near the heated object as a computed object inserted in the real physical world. As such the project would be a prime example of Augmented Reality. Once properly programmed, the sensors form a link between the real physical world and a computed world. The student will investigate how the sensor is to be read and write Unity codes and/or modify existing Unity codes to properly parse the acquired data and display the results in an informative and intuitive format. The experiences gained in this project will be transferrable to subsequent projects for other experimental setups.

Prof. Jesse Fleming

JOHNNY CARSON CENTER FOR EMERGING MEDIA ARTS

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM)

With scientific and technological advancements, understanding the implications for contemplative practices is necessary to bridge gaps between expert knowledge, to improve public understanding, and to foster a more empathetic and ethically guided society. As a team of artists who collaborate with scientists, educators, and contemplative practitioners, the Awareness Lab is positioned to explore the bridge between science and the non-material with unrestrained outcomes. We have license to explore both evidence-based and speculative innovation within the unknown, or non-material spaces of consciousness. This is perhaps essential for true innovation to occur – after all, does science or science fiction come first? Imagination is key to make progress in science and in society. 

Example REU student activities: We are creating an interactive AR quantum interference event, modeling spherical harmonics with their relative phases determined by the participant’s visual perception. Spherical harmonics, like all quantum mechanical wave functions, are nature’s way of balancing its books, so that the world is always prepared for the next interaction with the observer. We are creating a real-time AR experience of spherical harmonic state changes. Capturing various changes as 3D objects which we will 3D print using large ceramic 3D printers at the Nebraska Innovation Studio here at UNL. Once fired and glazed, these prints will be displayed at the Quantum Awareness symposium held at UNL next year. Students will assist in selecting, preparing, and printing the shapes. Students will also work with AR software packages such as Unity or Unreal to help finalize our project “The Cloud of Probabilities”, also to be exhibited at the symposium. This work is a multi-person shared (so, collocation) immersive experience within Augmented Reality using room-scale interactions and motion-tracked lighting. An REU student will develop code for this experience, including eye tracking on the AR headset to embody triggers for quantum-mechanical phase changes. The products of all these activities will improve the general public’s scientific literacy. 

Dr. Jinku Kim

JOHNNY CARSON CENTER FOR EMERGING MEDIA ARTS

Exploring Spatial Sounds for Immersive Multi-Modal Installation Arts

This project explores the integration of spatial sounds to create a unique, immersive audio-visual installation that blends real and virtual worlds. By leveraging multimodal integration, we aim to deliver a rich auditory experience that interacts with visual and tactile stimuli, enhancing engagement with scientific concepts such as light, time, space, and beyond. Using wearable AR devices and beam projectors, the installation will seamlessly merge physical and digital environments, allowing participants to experience the interplay between real-world and virtual elements. Central to the project is spatial sound design, employing advanced audio technologies to create immersive soundscapes that respond dynamically to participants’ movements and interactions.

The installation will address fundamental physics topics like light, reflection, and propagation, extending to quantum physics. These concepts will be sonified—transformed into sound—and visualized, encouraging participants to explore profound questions about time, light, space, and the nature of reality. Students will actively contribute to developing this immersive experience, engaging in AR application coding, physical computing, digital fabrication, audio and video editing, 3D modeling, and animation. This hands-on approach will provide them with valuable skills in digital media and immersive technology, fostering creativity and technical expertise.

Dr. Kevin Lee

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY

Augmented Reality Using Smartphones

Students will assist in the development of HTML5 apps for college introductory astronomy targeted at student smartphones and generate knowledge regarding simulation efficacy. It will take advantage of the tremendous prevalence of smartphones. The selected subject matter will focus on commonly taught topics spanning introductory astronomy that lend themselves well to visualization and qualitative analysis. Example topics for REU participants are seasons/daylight hours, lunar phases, retrograde motion, absorption spectra, blackbody spectra, sunspot rotation, the HR diagram, stellar evolution, spectroscopic binary stars, galactic rotation curves, the condensation sequence, tidal heating, and nuclear fusion in the sun.

Dr. Kees Uiterwaal

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY

Nonlinear Optics, Optical Vortices

1. Nonlinear Optics.  The Uiterwaal group has recently started theoretical and experimental studies of the nonlinear propagation of ultrashort laser pulses in liquid media. Nonlinear optical conditions arise naturally for high intensities. Phenomena such as self-focusing, and, under certain conditions, beam filamentation may occur, fundamentally modifying the spatial profile of the laser beam. Recently, we have started to use optical apertures in the beam, and we experimentally observed that we can trigger or suppress the onset of nonlinear propagation depending on where we position our sample cell containing the liquid with respect to the aperture. Apparently, variations in the intensity and cross-sectional profile in the three-dimensional light field after diffraction are causing this. To investigate this in more depth, it is necessary to repeat the same experiment with the cell in various suitable positions. This requires securely mounting and unmounting our delicate and fragile 30 cm long glass cell at different “trial” locations and then turning the laser on to judge how suitable the chosen position could be for experiments. To facilitate this process, students will develop Augmented Reality apps that visualize a computed 3D light field in the real laboratory. This computed light field can then be observed and discussed by group members without the laser being on and without having to mount the fragile cell in trial positions. This will be of great help in designing the actual experiments. 

2. Optical Vortices and Laser Eye Surgery. The nonlinear propagation of laser beams with exotic spatial profiles dramatically differs from that of the common Gaussian spatial profile. The Uiterwaal group has extensive experience with the generation of such beams, including optical vortices. We are now interested in the nonlinear propagation of these exotic beams through liquids. This may result in the formation of special transverse beam profiles that, once formed, no longer change shape. The stable shapes of such special beams makes them attractive candidates for a novel “optical scalpel”, which may be used for non-invasive surgery of the retina of the eye (the back layer containing the photoreceptors). To reach the retina, laser pulses must travel through the interior of the eye (~25 mm of liquid) where nonlinear effects alter them. With successful control of pulse delivery and targeting, the clinical use of non-externally invasive laser cutting has the potential to revolutionize the future of vitreoretinal surgery. To guide our experimental efforts and to demonstrate the functioning of the nonlinear laser pulses, students will build an Augmented Reality (AR) model of the eye. This model will feature collocation (two or more users observe and manipulate one and the same computed object at the same time).