Joseph Giacomin - Professor

Research interests include the study of the human perception of vibrotactile and acoustic stimuli to analyse the nature and intensity of the perceptual experiences which occur at a product or service interface with particular emphasise on automotive applications. My research interests cover also the areas of signal data acquisition, signal processing analysis and psychophysical scaling methods of vibro-acoustic stimuli.

My research is focused on the human perception of hand-arm vibration from the automotive steering wheel. A unified method is being developed for evaluating the effect of steering wheel rotational vibration on automobile drivers. Psychophysical tests of human subjective discomfort are being performed in a laboratory setting by exposing test participants to representative steering wheel vibration stimuli obtained from measurements in real vehicles.

My research exploits the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of the Tangible User Interface for digital information from a user-centric point of view and find an appropriate design opportunity for it. The study investigates user perception in TUI, including the role of analogy and similarity, constraints and affordances of a physical form, and distributed representation in the world to inquire into the trade-offs between reality and virtuality in TUI design process.

My research focuses on the human perception of thermal images, considered as a possible "energy six sense" in our daily life. The main idea is to make energy easily perceivable and understandable by everyone. Psychology and Biomedical Engineering are involved in this project to develop a method of evaluating the human perceptual, cognitive and emotional responses to thermal images. The objective is to understand the potential for achieving understanding and behavioural change when thermal imaging is incorporated into things as diverse as the home thermostat or the car dashboard.