Collaboration | Étienne Peillard

Perception and Representation of Urban Night Lighting Ambiances in Virtual Reality

Mon, 19 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Urban-lighting projects are often assessed through quantitative standards and energy targets, while their effects on the human experience of the night, biodiversity, and light pollution receive less attention. They are also difficult to discuss with decision-makers when meetings take place during daytime and proposed nocturnal ambiances cannot be experienced directly.

This PhD project develops immersive tools for representing and evaluating urban night lighting. Virtual-Reality simulations, perceptual studies, and photometric models are combined to help stakeholders compare lighting scenarios, understand their environmental effects, and make more informed decisions about sustainable lighting design.

Research challenges

Perceiving nocturnity — characterize the scene-dependent sense of being at night beyond a simple reduction in brightness.
Low-light vision — study how mesopic and scotopic visual effects influence the perception of virtual nocturnal environments.
Representing light pollution — calculate and visualize direct, reflected, and scattered light so that environmental impacts can be considered during the design phase.
Supporting decisions — develop realistic, schematic, and false-colour representations adapted to the needs of urban-lighting professionals, public authorities, and other stakeholders.

Current research

The project has introduced the concept of nocturnity, defined as the feeling of being at night elicited by a scene. A first 42-item questionnaire organizes this experience into perceptual, activity-related, and inner-state dimensions. Its content was reviewed by urban-lighting experts and is being evaluated through Virtual-Reality experiments and broader image-based studies.

This metric provides a basis for future experiments on the simulation of night vision, including colour desaturation, reduced visual acuity, and luminance shifts. The research also examines physical presence, cybersickness, chronotype, and fatigue as factors that may influence responses to virtual nocturnal scenes.

Industrial developments

Research prototypes are integrated into Obscura, L’Observatoire de la Nuit’s real-time lighting-simulation software. Developments include photon mapping for estimating indirect light, visualisation of photometric distributions, support for architectural DXF plans, and assistance in selecting luminaires for street-lighting renovation. These tools connect quantitative photometric calculations with the qualitative experience of urban night environments.

People involved

PhD student

Anthony Le Gourriérec

Anthony Le Gourriérec is a CIFRE PhD student working with L’Observatoire de la Nuit, AAU-CRENAU, and Lab-STICC. His research investigates the perception and representation of urban night lighting ambiances in Virtual Reality.

Academic supervision

The PhD is directed by Myriam Servières at AAU-CRENAU, École Centrale de Nantes, and co-supervised by Étienne Peillard within the INUIT team at Lab-STICC.

Etienne Peillard

Since August 1, 2026, I have been an Associate Professor in the Department of Automatic Control, Production Engineering and Computer Science (DAPI) at IMT Atlantique, on the Nantes campus. I am a member of the PACCE team at the LS2N (UMR CNRS 6004).

Industrial supervision

The research is followed at L’Observatoire de la Nuit by Nicolas Houel, who contributes expertise in urban planning, lighting sobriety, and the design of nocturnal ambiances.

Partners

L’Observatoire de la Nuit provides the industrial context, lighting expertise, field cases, and the Obscura simulation environment.
AAU-CRENAU contributes expertise in urban digital models, spatial perception, and the study of architectural and urban ambiances.
Lab-STICC — INUIT contributes immersive systems, interaction methods, and experimental expertise in Virtual and Augmented Reality.

Publications

Funding

This research project is carried out through a Convention Industrielle de Formation par la Recherche (CIFRE) managed by the French National Association for Research and Technology (ANRT).

Enhancing Perceptual and Cognitive Processes in Augmented Reality Studies to Real-World Applications

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Augmented Reality (AR) experiments are commonly carried out in tightly controlled laboratories, although real applications involve moving users, complex backgrounds, changing illumination, shadows, and interactions with both physical and virtual objects. These factors can create conflicts between real and augmented perceptual cues and limit the direct transfer of laboratory findings to ecological situations.

This cotutelle PhD project investigates how perceptual and cognitive processes studied in controlled AR experiments can be understood and supported in realistic environments. The work combines computer science, psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, experimental methods, and perception-driven spatial design.

Research objectives

Characterize laboratory–field differences — identify perceptual conflicts caused by motion cues, lighting, shadows, backgrounds, and real–virtual interactions.
Develop transferable methods — devise approaches for adapting controlled experimental results to realistic AR scenarios.
Validate in ecological conditions — evaluate perceptual and cognitive performance in representative environments and tasks.
Support real applications — improve visual assistance, navigation, and interactive guidance in complex environments.

People involved

PhD student

Min Ni

Min Ni is a multidisciplinary designer and researcher in Virtual and Augmented Reality. She is pursuing a cotutelle PhD at IMT Atlantique and the University of Adelaide within CNRS IRL CROSSING through the MSCA COFUND AUFRANDE program, investigating how perceptual and cognitive findings from controlled AR studies can transfer to real-world applications.

Supervisors at IMT Atlantique

Gilles Coppin

Gilles Coppin is Professor of Computer Science at IMT Atlantique and member of the INUIT team. His roles involve both teaching and conducting pioneering research, particularly in the areas of human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence

Etienne Peillard

University of Adelaide

The cotutelle is supervised at the University of Adelaide by Tim Chen, within the broader AUFRANDE collaboration developed with Anna Ma-Wyatt.

Cotutelle

Min Ni is jointly enrolled at IMT Atlantique and the University of Adelaide from February 1, 2025 to January 31, 2028.

Research environment

The cotutelle is developed within the CNRS International Research Laboratory CROSSING, the French–Australian laboratory for Human / Autonomous Agents Teaming. CROSSING connects the IMT Atlantique and Adelaide research environments supporting this doctoral collaboration.

Publications

Min Ni, Etienne Peillard, Gilles Coppin, Tim Chen (2026). How Opacity and Background Affect Surface Contact Perception in Optical See-Through AR. IEEE TVCG.

Project

Funding

This research project is funded through the Australia-France Network of Doctoral Excellence (AUFRANDE), a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND doctoral programme under grant agreement No. 101081465, with support from IMT Atlantique and the University of Adelaide. AUFRANDE is the funding and doctoral-training programme, not the name of this research project.

Body Perception and Morphology in Augmented Reality

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

PERCEMOA — Perception of the Body and its Morphology in Augmented Reality

Abstract

Virtual Reality can replace a user’s visible body with an avatar, whereas Augmented Reality can preserve the view of the physical body while adding or substituting a modified virtual representation. This coexistence raises fundamental questions: can users embody the augmented body, how does it affect their perception of their physical body, and what happens when the two representations differ in shape or appearance?

PERCEMOA investigates this distinctive form of embodied self-perception. The project combines cognitive psychology, immersive-system development, and user studies to understand the mechanisms of identification, ownership, agency, and body representation in Augmented Reality. It also explores how controlled virtual body modifications could support research and future clinical protocols related to body image.

Research objectives

Characterize embodiment in Augmented Reality — determine how embodiment mechanisms established in Virtual Reality change when the physical body and environment remain visible.
Study dual body representation — examine how embodying a modified virtual body affects perception of the user’s physical or “initial” body, affordances, movement, and interaction capabilities.
Design controlled body transformations — develop rendering and interaction techniques that make virtual modifications measurable, reproducible, and suitable for experimental studies.
Explore health applications — evaluate how Augmented-Reality representations could complement fixed images and mirrors in research and future clinical work on body-image disturbances.

Methodology

The project combines a review of embodiment and body-perception research with experiments using Virtual- and Augmented-Reality headsets, immersive displays, motion capture, eye tracking, and other physiological measures. User studies compare different real–virtual body configurations and quantify their effects on embodiment and self-perception.

Health-related applications remain a longer-term research perspective. The work focuses on quantifying how modified body representations affect perception and on deriving design recommendations, without presuming clinical validation or therapeutic effectiveness.

People involved

PhD student

Marie-Cécile Léculier is a PhD student at IMT Atlantique, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, and Lab-STICC. Her background in cognitive psychology and immersive technologies supports the project’s combination of perceptual experiments and Augmented-Reality system development.

Academic supervision

The PhD is directed by Gilles Coppin at IMT Atlantique and co-supervised by Nathalie Le Bigot at Université de Bretagne Occidentale and Étienne Peillard. The project connects the INUIT and COMMEDIA teams at Lab-STICC.

Gilles Coppin

Nathalie Le Bigot

Nathalie Le Bigot is an Associate Professor in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Western Brittany (Université de Bretagne Occidentale) and a member of the Lab-STICC laboratory. Her research has focused on perception–action interactions, particularly in the context of virtual and augmented reality.

Etienne Peillard

Publications

The first results of PERCEMOA were published in ACM Transactions on Applied Perception and selected for presentation as an invited TAP paper at the ACM Symposium on Applied Perception (SAP 2026).

Etienne Peillard, Marie-Cécile Léculier, Malena Joly, Nathalie Le Bigot (2026). Investigating Self-Body Perception and its Effect on Affordance in Augmented Reality. ACM TAP.

Project DOI

Funding

This PhD is funded by the Institut Mines-Télécom through its Futur, Ruptures & Impacts doctoral research programme, formerly known as Futur & Ruptures. The Lab-STICC record for Marie-Cécile’s PhD identifies the project as part of the 2024 Futur & Ruptures call for IMT excellence doctoral theses.

Research stay at TU Wien

From May to July 2026, Marie-Cécile completed a three-month doctoral mobility at the Virtual and Augmented Reality Research Unit of TU Wien, hosted by Hugo Brument. This research stay was carried out within the framework of EULiST — European Universities Linking Society and Technology, which brings together both Institut Mines-Télécom and TU Wien, as part of its 2026 short-term mobility opportunities for early-career researchers.

The mobility project extended PERCEMOA from mirror-based body modifications to first-person Augmented-Reality representations applied directly to the body. It focused on the influence of viewpoint and localized modifications, particularly of the hand, on body perception, while exploring emerging Augmented-Reality devices and dynamic or multimodal interaction techniques.

Research environment

PERCEMOA draws on the immersive facilities of Lab-STICC and the European Center for Virtual Reality in Brest, including Virtual- and Augmented-Reality headsets, immersive displays, motion capture, eye tracking, and the CAVE. Experimental development also benefits from IMT Atlantique’s CEXI-HA platform for research on augmented-human interaction.

AI “Perceptive Assistance” During Teleoperations of Rovers in Deep Space

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Future missions to the Moon and Mars will rely on remotely operated rovers for exploration and construction. Extended-Reality interfaces can help operators understand the rover’s environment, but restricted camera views, communication latency, and the absence of natural perceptual or proprioceptive feedback may reduce situational awareness and performance.

This PhD project investigates AI-based “perceptive assistance” for deep-space rover teleoperation. It combines immersive interaction, human perception, multimodal feedback, state prediction, and human-factors research to design and evaluate assistance adapted to these extreme operating conditions.

Research challenges

Situational awareness — understand how limited fields of view and non-natural head positions affect the operator’s perception of the remote environment.
Communication latency — characterize the perceptual and behavioral effects of Earth–Moon delays, including their possible contribution to cybersickness.
Missing sensory cues — determine which combinations of visual, auditory, haptic, and proprioceptive feedback best compensate for absent or degraded information.
Adaptive assistance — develop AI agents and state-prediction techniques that select or generate effective assistance according to the task and operating conditions.

Methodology and impact

The research combines controlled user studies in simulated Virtual Reality with the development of technical assistance based on sensory compensation and AI. Analogous environments, including underwater teleoperation scenarios, provide experimentally accessible settings for studying constrained perception and remote action.

Beyond space exploration, the results may support teleoperation in other environments affected by degraded communications, limited sensing, or strong physical constraints.

People involved

PhD student

Nazial Kadir

Nazial Kadir is a PhD student at IMT Atlantique and the University of Adelaide within CNRS IRL CROSSING. His research investigates AI-based perceptive assistance for deep-space rover teleoperation and is funded through the MSCA COFUND SEED programme.

Supervisors at IMT Atlantique

Guillaume Moreau

Professor of Computer Science at IMT Atlantique, Brest campus, in France, with research interests in Virtual and Augmented Reality within the Lab-STICC lab. He is also a member of the INRIA Hybrid team and currently serve as Deputy Dean for Research and Innovation at IMT Atlantique.

Gilles Coppin

Etienne Peillard

University of Adelaide

The doctoral research is jointly supervised at the University of Adelaide by Anna Ma-Wyatt, whose work addresses human factors, sensorimotor control, and eye movements.

Research environment

The project draws on the immersive-interaction and eye-tracking facilities of IMT Atlantique and the University of Adelaide. It also benefits from the research environment of the CNRS International Research Laboratory CROSSING and the Andy Thomas Space Resource Centre.

Funding

This research project is funded through SEED, IMT Atlantique’s interdisciplinary, international, and intersectoral doctoral programme co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND scheme (grant agreement No. 101126644).

4D Narrative Visualizations for Marine-Drone Mission Reporting

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Marine-drone missions generate complex spatial, temporal, and operational data that must be interpreted after a mission and communicated to different stakeholders. Conventional dashboards can make it difficult to reconstruct how events unfolded, understand the relationships between autonomous systems and their environment, and identify the information that matters for a mission report.

This doctoral project investigates 4D narrative visualizations that combine three-dimensional space with time to support the exploration, interpretation, and reporting of marine-drone missions. The research examines how interactive storytelling, temporal navigation, annotation, and coordinated views can transform heterogeneous mission data into coherent and understandable accounts.

The project is carried out by Kingsley Stephens in collaboration with the University of South Australia, Naval Group, and IMT Atlantique, within the CNRS IRL CROSSING France–Australia research framework.

Research objectives

Characterize the information and narrative structures required for marine-drone mission reporting.
Design interactive 4D representations that connect mission events, trajectories, environments, and system states.
Evaluate how narrative visualization supports understanding, communication, and decision-making after a mission.

PhD student

Kingsley Stephens

Kingsley Stephens is a PhD student working within CNRS IRL CROSSING on 4D narrative visualizations for marine-drone mission reporting, in collaboration with the University of South Australia and Naval Group.