Showing papers in "Virtual Reality in 2017"

Industry use of virtual reality in product design and manufacturing: a survey

Abstract: In 1999, Fred Brooks, virtual reality pioneer and Professor of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, published a seminal paper describing the current state of virtual reality (VR) technologies and applications (Brooks in IEEE Comput Graph Appl 19(6):16, 1999). Through his extensive survey of industry, Brooks concluded that virtual reality had finally arrived and "barely works". His report included a variety of industries which leveraged these technologies to support industry-level innovation. Virtual reality was being employed to empower decision making in design, evaluation, and training processes across multiple disciplines. Over the past two decades, both industrial and academic communities have contributed to a large knowledge base on numerous virtual reality topics. Technical advances have enabled designers and engineers to explore and interact with data in increasingly natural ways. Sixteen years have passed since Brooks original survey. Where are we now? The research presented here seeks to describe the current state of the art of virtual reality as it is used as a decision-making tool in product design, particularly in engineering-focused businesses. To this end, a survey of industry was conducted over several months spanning fall 2014 and spring 2015. Data on virtual reality applications across a variety of industries was gathered through a series of on-site visits. In total, on-site visits with 18 companies using virtual reality were conducted as well as remote conference calls with two others. The authors interviewed 62 people across numerous companies from varying disciplines and perspectives. Success stories and existing challenges were highlighted. While virtual reality hardware has made considerable strides, unique attention was given to applications and the associated decisions that they support. Results suggest that virtual reality has arrived: it works! It is mature, stable, and, most importantly, usable. VR is actively being used in a number of industries to support decision making and enable innovation. Insights from this survey can be leveraged to help guide future research directions in virtual reality technology and applications.

When brands come to life: experimental research on the vividness effect of Virtual Reality in transformational marketing communications

Abstract: Mobile Virtual Reality provides a gateway for marketers to innovatively reach consumers. This study examines the impact of Virtual Reality in the context of transformational brand experience appeals, focussing specifically on the determining role of vividness. A three-dimensional conceptual framework is presented, offering a systematic review of the literature on vividness effects in marketing communications, revealing the major gap that most available studies only focus on informational messages. We conducted an experiment to address this gap and demonstrate in the context of a transformational ad that Virtual Reality generates higher perceptions of vividness and presence than a regular two-dimensional video, with vividness positively affecting attitude toward the ad, both directly and indirectly via presence. Our study also reveals that vividness in turn elicits a positive effect on brand attitudes which stimulates consumers' purchase intentions. As such, the strategic potential of Virtual Reality for marketing communications is highlighted.

Hand posture and gesture recognition techniques for virtual reality applications: a survey

Abstract: Motion recognition is a topic in software engineering and dialect innovation with a goal of interpreting human signals through mathematical algorithm. Hand gesture is a strategy for nonverbal communication for individuals as it expresses more liberally than body parts. Hand gesture acknowledgment has more prominent significance in planning a proficient human computer interaction framework, utilizing signals as a characteristic interface favorable to circumstance of movements. Regardless, the distinguishing proof and acknowledgment of posture, gait, proxemics and human behaviors is furthermore the subject of motion to appreciate human nonverbal communication, thus building a richer bridge between machines and humans than primitive text user interfaces or even graphical user interfaces, which still limits the majority of input to electronics gadget. In this paper, a study on various motion recognition methodologies is given specific accentuation on available motions. A survey on hand posture and gesture is clarified with a detailed comparative analysis of hidden Markov model approach with other classifier techniques. Difficulties and future investigation bearing are also examined.

Success factors for serious games to enhance learning: a systematic review

Abstract: There is no doubt that an abundance of factors exists that makes learning with serious games successful. Research articles reporting on these factors, however, tend to focus on select serious game elements and do not combine all salient factors for successful learning with serious games. Addressing this gap is a necessity for the success of serious games and may even alleviate long-standing debates about pedagogy over enjoyment, how much realism is enough or whether artificial intelligence is worth the cost. This article examines existing academic literature from 2000 to 2015, extracting shared serious game success factors that have had an encouraging impact on gameful learning experiences. As such, we subsequently aim to withdraw the field from a perpetual spiral of does-my-game-work research toward more worthwhile why-does-my-game-not-work research. Qualitative content analysis through the constant comparison method (CCM) analyzed a total of 63 articles from a variety of recognized electronic libraries and databases. Through this analysis, we reveal five central serious game themes: backstory and production; realism; artificial intelligence and adaptivity; interaction; and feedback and debriefing, all of which require deliberate intertwining with pedagogical content to ensure successful learning. This review unravels each of the five themes into their constituent factors and consequently presents the factors as practical guidelines that serious games producers should strive to include in their game productions. Applying these recommendations whenever serious games are considered will provide a foundation for effective gameful learning experiences.

Using augmented reality technology in storytelling activities: examining elementary students' narrative skill and creativity

Abstract: The aim of the study was to examine the effects of augmented reality technology on stories in terms of narrative skill, story length and creativity and also to examine correlations between these variables. Posttest-only design with a nonequivalent group model was used. In this study, the sample consisted of 100 fifth-grade elementary students, comprising 46 boys and 54 girls. Purposive and convenience sampling methods were applied. For purposive sampling, the group's ages, education levels, and experiences in storytelling activities were gathered, and for convenience sampling, easy access to schools was considered. As data collection tools, a suitable narrative scale was used which was found in the literature and creative story form was developed by the researcher. According to the findings, mean scores for all variables for the experimental group were higher than those for the control group. Also, a statistically significant mean difference was found between the experimental and control groups with regard to narrative skill, length of stories, and creativity in stories. In fact, a positive correlation was found between all variables. It is important to recognize when a technology is found to contribute positively to narrative skill and creativity in telling stories, and to ensure this technology is used. Determining correlation between these variables may provide a contribution to studies about evaluating the effect of the new technologies.

Exposure to an unpleasant odour increases the sense of Presence in virtual reality

Abstract: While olfactory cues affect the everyday human experience in the physical world, few studies have empirically examined the effect they could have on the human experience in virtual reality (VR). This project's goal was to determine whether the exposure to olfactory stimuli would affect the senses of Presence (primary measure), Reality and Realism (exploratory measures) in VR. In a virtual kitchen devoid of obvious visual cues linking the visual scene to an odour, three groups of 20 randomly assigned participants (12 females and 8 males per group), unaware of the potential exposure to olfactory stimuli, were exposed to either ambient air, a pleasant odour, or an unpleasant odour. The results reveal that the unpleasant odour had a statistically significant effect on the sense of Presence (as measured by repeated brief measures of Presence and the Independent Television Commission Sense of Presence Inventory), but the pleasant one did not. The lower perceived intensity of the pleasant odour may have contributed to its lower detection rate which, in turn, may have contributed to the pleasant odour's lack of effect on the sense of Presence. Neither of the olfactory stimuli had an effect on either the sense of Reality or the sense of Realism.

A virtual reality keyboard with realistic haptic feedback in a fully immersive virtual environment

Abstract: This study presents a 3D virtual reality (VR) keyboard system with realistic haptic feedback. The system uses two five-fingered data gloves to track finger positions and postures, uses micro-speakers to create simulated vibrations, and uses a head-mounted display (HMD) for 3D display. When users press a virtual key in the VR environment, the system can provide realistic simulated key click haptic feedback to users. The results of this study show that the advantages of the haptic VR keyboard are that users can use it when wearing HMDs (users do not need to remove HMDs to use the VR keyboard), the haptic VR keyboard can pop-up display at any location in the VR environments (users do not need to go to a specific location to use an actual physical keyboard), and the haptic VR keyboard can be used to provide realistic key click haptic feedback (which other studies have shown enhances user performance). The results also show that the haptic VR keyboard system can be used to create complex vibrations that simulate measured vibrations from a real keyboard and enhance keyboard interaction in a fully immersive VR environment.

Using a preamble to increase presence in digital virtual environments

Abstract: Immersion in a digital virtual environment (DVE) increases the likelihood that individuals will feel present in the DVE and hence respond as they would in a similar physically grounded environment. Previous research utilizing high-fidelity technology has demonstrated that by starting a virtual experience in a virtual replica of the immediate physical environment, presence is increased. The purpose of this study was to determine whether utilizing such a transitional environment to increase presence could be replicated on a significantly less immersive system--a 2D desktop monitor with mouse and keyboard for navigation. Participants began their DVE experience either in a "preamble" DVE made to look like the surrounding physical laboratory space, or in a novel DVE (i.e., a house). Then, they were given verbal instructions to leave their respective environments and told to go up a set of stairs to explore a museum. Afterward, they reported levels of immersion and presence in the latter DVE. Results demonstrated that entering a target DVE via a familiar "preamble" environment increased perceptions of reality judgment of the virtual experience, perceptions of possibility to act, and levels of presence. These results suggest that incorporating a familiar digital preamble environment as a prelude to the target DVE enables DVE designers and enthusiasts to increase presence without having to invest in more expensive hardware, but it could also augment existing immersive technology. Their efficacy may be because they offer a gradual transition into the virtual world, such that the familiarity eases users into the novel experience.

Using smartphone technology to deliver a virtual pedestrian environment: usability and validation

Abstract: Various programs effectively teach children to cross streets more safely, but all are labor- and cost-intensive. Recent developments in mobile phone technology offer opportunity to deliver virtual reality pedestrian environments to mobile smartphone platforms. Such an environment may offer a cost- and labor-effective strategy to teach children to cross streets safely. This study evaluated usability, feasibility, and validity of a smartphone-based virtual pedestrian environment. A total of 68 adults completed 12 virtual crossings within each of two virtual pedestrian environments, one delivered by smartphone and the other a semi-immersive kiosk virtual environment. Participants completed self-report measures of perceived realism and simulator sickness experienced in each virtual environment, plus self-reported demographic and personality characteristics. All participants followed system instructions and used the smartphone-based virtual environment without difficulty. No significant simulator sickness was reported or observed. Users rated the smartphone virtual environment as highly realistic. Convergent validity was detected, with many aspects of pedestrian behavior in the smartphone-based virtual environment matching behavior in the kiosk virtual environment. Anticipated correlations between personality and kiosk virtual reality pedestrian behavior emerged for the smartphone-based system. A smartphone-based virtual environment can be usable and valid. Future research should develop and evaluate such a training system.

Faster dynamic spatial partitioning in OpenSimulator

Abstract: OpenSimulator has emerged as one of the leading tools to help researchers, developers, and practitioners working in the field of virtual worlds since it is an open-source alternative to second life, the state of the art in virtual worlds. The grid mode of OpenSimulator is highly scalable, and it places no restriction on the number of cooperating OpenSimulator instances, each of which may simulate activity in an arbitrary number of regions. However, like second life, it suffers from both over-provision and under-provision of resources due to static allocation of regions to instances and the lack of an expansion and contraction model which adjusts resource allocation according to workload. We have used OpenSimulator to implement dynamic scalability which is an integral part of our novel infrastructure presented in earlier work. This paper reports timing analysis of the basic capabilities of OpenSimulator that are used to re-locate regions to additional simulators. The focus has been on a conservative extension to OpenSimulator using existing methods. To overcome serious performance issues during reassignment of a region, we present two extended region removal methods. Comparison of timing information for both existing and extended strategies is provided on both a network of Windows systems and a cluster of Linux nodes.

SPH haptic interaction with multiple-fluid simulation

Abstract: Physics-based fluid interaction plays an important role in computer animation, with wide applications in virtual reality, computer games, digital entertainment, etc. For example, in virtual reality education and games, we often need fluid interactions like acting as an alchemist to create a potion by stirring fluid in a crucible. The traditional input devices such as a mouse and keyboard can basically input 2D information without feedback. In recent years, the continuous development of haptic device not only can achieve six degrees-of-freedom input, but also can calculate the force in virtual scenes and feedback to the user to make a better virtual experience. How to use haptic device in different kinds of virtual fluid scenarios to provide better experience is an important issue in the field of virtual reality. On the other hand, the researches on multiple-fluid interaction especially based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method are very lacking. Therefore, we study the key techniques of haptic interaction with SPH multiple-fluid to compensate this defect in computer graphics community. Different from the single-phase flow, interaction with multiple-fluid flow has difficulties in the realization of properties of different phases. After adding the multiple-fluid simulation, it is also important to keep haptic interaction real time. Our research is based on the mixture model. We guarantee the authenticity of multiple-fluid mixing effect while changing the drift velocity solver to improve efficiency. We employ a unified particle model to achieve rigid body–liquid coupling, and use FIR filter to smooth feedback force to the haptic device. Our novel multiple-fluid haptic simulation can provide an interactive experience for mixing liquid in virtual reality.

A hybrid optical---mechanical calibration procedure for the Scalable-SPIDAR haptic device

Abstract: In this research, a simple, yet, efficient calibration procedure is presented in order to improve the accuracy of the Scalable-SPIDAR haptic device. The two-stage procedure aims to reduce discrepancies between measured and actual values. First, we propose a new semi-automatic procedure for the initialization of the haptic device. To perform this initialization with a high level of accuracy, an infrared optical tracking device was used. Furthermore, audio and haptic cues were used to guide the user during the initialization process. Second, we developed two calibration methods based on regression techniques that effectively compensate for the errors in tracked position. Both neural networks and support vector regression methods were applied to calibrate the position errors present in the haptic device readings. A comparison between these two regression methods was carried out to show the underlying algorithm and to indicate the inherent advantages and limitations for each method. Initial evaluation of the proposed procedure indicated that it is possible to improve accuracy by reducing the Scalable-SPIDAR's average absolute position error to about 6 mm within a 1 m × 1 m × 1 m workspace.

Reusing heterogeneous data for the conceptual design of shapes in virtual environments

Abstract: Today, digital data such as 2D images, 3D meshes and 3D point clouds are widely used to design virtual environments (VE). Most of the time, only one type of those multimodal data is used to describe and specify the shapes of the objects. However, a single object can be seen as a combination of components linked with constraints specifying the relationships and the rigid transformations defining their arrangement. Thus, the definition of new methods able to combine any kind of multimodal data in an easy way would allow non-experts of VE to rapidly mock up objects and scenes. In this paper, we propose a new shape description model together with its associated constraints toolbox enabling the description of complex shapes from multimodal data. Not only rigid transformations are considered but also scale modifications according to the specified context of the constraint setting. The heterogeneous virtual objects (i.e., composed by scalable multimodal components) then result from the resolution of a constraint satisfaction problem through an optimization approach. The proposed approach is illustrated and validated with examples obtained using our prototype software.

Developing vibrotactile haptic stimuli based on measured human capabilities

Abstract: This paper describes an approach to design tactile haptic signals that help humans “visualize” an environment through the use of a vibrotactile haptic wristband that has four vibration motors. A human response map to tactile input while sitting was determined experimentally. It shows the zones where humans can classify signals with a high success rate based on minimum Duration of Stimulus (DOS) (“on” periods) and “off” periods of the haptic signals. It was also shown experimentally that a human’s ability to recognize tactile patterns depends on the level of engagement required by the activity. This paper provides an approach to predict a human response map for various activities. The map during sitting is used to design the signals to send information to a human. Two types of signals are developed: sequence stimuli and digital codes. Sequence stimuli create an on/off rhythm for the vibration motors that humans can sense directly without a decoding process. Experiments show that humans can recognize 10 levels of sequence stimuli with a success rate greater than 80%. This class of signals is useful for applications where information must be repeated frequently, e.g., range information sent to a human parking a car. The second class of signals is digital codes, similar to Morse code, where a sequence of long and short motor DOS represents each code. The meaning of the signal is associated with a specific code. From 27 digital codes, experiments showed a successful recognition rate of 78.7%. An application for the digital code method is to pick specific menu items, based on the codes, for fast food restaurants.