Biography

Alexander joined the iSpace Lab in Fall 2020 as a PhD stu­dent work­ing on a Locomotion Interface for Virtual Reality and Telepresence. He is fas­ci­nated by altered states of con­scious­ness and Human-Machine Interfaces. In his Bachelor in Cognitive Science from the University of Osnabrück, Germany he con­cen­trated on psy­chol­ogy, com­puter sci­ence, math, and phi­los­o­phy. His Master’s in the inter­dis­ci­pli­nary stud­ies of ‘Intelligence and Movement’ at the University of Bielefeld, Germany focused on under­stand­ing human inter­ac­tions with envi­ron­ments. He is excited to develop and design tech­nolo­gies merg­ing humans with machines and enhance usabil­ity in order to target prob­lems of our future.

He recently started a job in industry.

Projects

Autoethnographic Close Reading of Self-transcendent VR Experiences

Sipping the Virtual Elixir: An autoethno­graphic close read­ing of Ayahuasca Kosmik Journey a self-transcendent vir­tual expe­ri­ence. Recently self-transcendent experiences are gaining interest in the research community because of their ability to support wellbeing. Experiences of self-transcendence can be transformative, leading to a diminishment of self/ego and the feeling of unity with n...

By noah miller, john desnoyers stewart, katerina stepanova, alexandra kiston, reese muntean, alexander bretin, ashu adhikari, jim bizzochi & bernhard riecke Read more

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Integrating Continuous and Teleporting VR Locomotion into a Seamless "HyperJump" Paradigm

Here we propose a hybrid interface that allows user to seamlessly transition between a slow 'continuous' mode and a fast 'hyperjump' mode. The interface aims to maintain the immersion, presence, accuracy and spatial updating of continuous locomotion while adding the travel efficiency and minimizing the cybersickness. Continuous locomotion in VR provides uninterrupted optical flow, which mimics re...

By ashu adhikari, alexander bretin, daniel zielasko, kenneth karthik, markus von der heyde, ernst kruijff & bernhard riecke Read more

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Embodied & Intuitive Flying for VR, Gaming, and TeleOperation

Flying has been a dream for mankind for millenia - but flying interfaces for VR, gaming, and teleoperation (e.g., drones) typically rely on cumbersome double-joystick/gamepads and do not allow for intuitive and embodied flying experiences. Here, we develop low-cost embodied flying interfaces that adapt leaning-based motion cueing paradigms thus freeing up hands for additional tasks beyond just na...

By bernhard riecke, abraham hashemian, ashu adhikari, ivan aguilar, noah miller, alexander bretin, matin lotfaliei & ernst kruijff, Read more

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Publications