INSA Rennes is the most important public engineering school in Brittany. It welcomes 2040 students and apprentices. More than 340 engineers, 60 masters students and 40 PhDs graduate each year. With 9 teaching departments, including 7 engineering specialties and 1 apprenticeship program, and 7 research laboratories, INSA employs around 540 public-sector staff (researchers, teachers, administrative and support staff) and more than 70 part-time employees from companies.
These last years have seen an explosion of novel tactile technologies providing various haptic sensations across all the user’s body. However, while these technologies have now been made available, virtual reality systems are still struggling to convey compelling tactile sensations for 3D interaction. The project ADVHANDTURE aims at introducing an original computational approach for handling multimodal tactile feedback within immersive environments. For that purpose, the project relies on a multidisciplinary methodology, gathering knowledge in human perception, haptics, virtual reality mechanics and 3D interactions.
Within the context of ADVHANDTURE, the goal of the post-doctoral position is to design interaction techniques for 3D interaction using ultrasound mid-air haptic (UMH) interfaces. The post-doc will be composed of several key aspects and will focus on :
Designing 3D interaction techniques using UMH for visuo-haptic feedback
Designing methods for UMH rendering based on biomechanical properties of the hand
Characterizing UMH perception through the measurement of physiological responses
Designing robotics solutions to enhance the use of UMH in Virtual Reality.
The applicant should have a strong interest in working in a multidisciplinary team. Ideally, she/he has a strong experience in haptics domain:
skills on neurosciences;
expertise in computer science and virtual reality;
expertise in conducting perceptual experiments and analyzing the data;
knowledge in data dissemination.
The candidate should be able to speak and write in English and in French.
Candidates should provide a cover letter, a CV and a list of references via email to Maud Marchal (Full Professor at INSA Rennes, IRISA, maud.marchal(a)irisa.fr).
Start date : As soon as possible from 05/01/2026.
12 month contract.
We recruit on the basis of skills, regardless of origin, age or gender, and all our positions are open to people with disabilities.