Dr Chris Christou

Cutting Edge Research in VR

Dr Christou received his DPhil from the University of Oxford in the field of Computer Graphics and Human Visual Perception and was previously a member of the Virtual Environments and Computer Graphics Group at University College London. His interest in Virtual Reality (VR) started at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, where he developed VR systems for studying human cognition. He holds an MSc in Knowledge-Based Systems from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and a BA (Hons.) in Philosophy and Cognition from the University of Sussex, UK. His research interests include virtual reality, virtual embodiment, intelligent virtual agents, human-computer interaction, 3D user interfaces, locomotion, navigation, and human perception.

“I have always been interested in both the arts and sciences. My current research in VR combines both. VR provides a means of experiencing not just realistic artificial worlds but also environments that are limited only by the human imagination. VR facilitates immersive animations, interactive games and realistic training. My work has two directions: firstly, in developing techniques that improve VR itself, and, secondly, in using VR to address issues of human psychology. Recent experiments explore techniques for locomotion in virtual worlds and ways of reducing cyber sickness. For such endeavours, we often need to create 3D environments, write software, develop controlled experiments, and use a variety of measures such as psychophysiology (e.g. cardiac responses and skin conductance).”