scholarly journals Aspects of visual avatar appearance: self-representation, display type, and uncanny valley

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Hepperle ◽  
Christian Felix Purps ◽  
Jonas Deuchler ◽  
Matthias Wölfel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Visual Representation ◽  
Display Type ◽  
Uncanny Valley ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Human Likeness ◽  
Real Person

AbstractThe visual representation of human-like entities in virtual worlds is becoming a very important aspect as virtual reality becomes more and more “social”. The visual representation of a character’s resemblance to a real person and the emotional response to it, as well as the expectations raised, have been a topic of discussion for several decades and have been debated by scientists from different disciplines. But as with any new technology, the findings may need to be reevaluated and adapted to new modalities. In this context, we make two contributions which may have implications for how avatars should be represented in social virtual reality applications. First, we determine how default and customized characters of current social virtual reality platforms appear in terms of human likeness, eeriness, and likability, and whether there is a clear resemblance to a given person. It can be concluded that the investigated platforms vary strongly in their representation of avatars. Common to all is that a clear resemblance does not exist. Second, we show that the uncanny valley effect is also present in head-mounted displays, but—compared to 2D monitors—even more pronounced.

Virtual Reality (VR) in Pediatrics: Innovative Perspectives With Special Reference To Clinical Applications and Pediatric Rehabilitation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Bittmann
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Data Glove ◽  
Input Devices ◽  
Head Mounted Displays

Virtual reality (VR) is the term used to describe representation and perception in a computer-generated, virtual environment. The term was coined by author Damien Broderick in his 1982 novel “The Judas Mandala". The term "Mixed Reality" describes the mixing of virtual reality with pure reality. The term "hyper-reality" is also used. Immersion plays a major role here. Immersion describes the embedding of the user in the virtual world. A virtual world is considered plausible if the interaction is logical in itself. This interactivity creates the illusion that what seems to be happening is actually happening. A common problem with VR is "motion sickness." To create a sense of immersion, special output devices are needed to display virtual worlds. Here, "head-mounted displays", CAVE and shutter glasses are mainly used. Input devices are needed for interaction: 3D mouse, data glove, flystick as well as the omnidirectional treadmill, with which walking in virtual space is controlled by real walking movements, play a role here.

scholarly journals Active Learning Through The Use Of Virtual Environments

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Mayrose
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Learning Engagement ◽  
Military Industry ◽  
Immersive Environment ◽  
The Military

Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) has seen explosive growth over the last decade. Immersive VR attempts to give users the sensation of being fully immersed in a synthetic environment by providing them with 3D hardware, and allowing them to interact with objects in virtual worlds. The technology is extremely effective for learning and exploration, and has been widely adopted by the military, industry and academia. This current study set out to study the effectiveness of 3D interactive environments on learning, engagement, and preference. A total of 180 students took part in the study where significant results were found regarding preference for this new technology over standard educational practices. Students were more motivated when using the immersive environment than with traditional methods which may translate into greater learning and retention. Larger studies will need to be performed in order to quantify the benefits of this new, cutting edge technology, as it relates to understanding and retention of educational content. 

Fourth VR: Indigenous virtual reality practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 135485652094308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keziah Wallis ◽  
Miriam Ross
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Indigenous Activism ◽  
Living Things ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Geographical Locations

Indigenous creators are currently using virtual reality (VR) tools, techniques and workflows in wide-ranging geographical locations and across multiple VR formats. Their radical adaptation of this new technology folds together cultural traditions and VR’s unique audiovisual configurations to resist dominant, particularly colonial, frameworks. Within this context, we ask how VR is being used to create space and capacity for Indigenous creatives to tell their stories and how do Indigenous creatives negotiate Eurocentric modes of production and distribution? To answer these questions, our Fourth VR database provides a snapshot of Indigenous VR works. By drawing on three case studies drawn from the database – The Hunt (2018), Future Dreaming (2019) and Crow: The Legend (2018) – as well as the wider patterns emerging across the database, it is possible to see an Indigenous-centred VR production framework. This framework is diverse but also contains repeated trends such as the ability to use VR to express and realize Indigenous Futurism; foreground native languages in virtual worlds; provide new articulations of Indigenous activism; embody connections between the past, present and future and demonstrate the interconnectivity of all living things. In turn, this growing body of work, engaging with the full spectrum of VR formats and tools, provides a rich contribution to the wider arena of VR practice.

scholarly journals Integrated jerk as an indicator of affinity for artificial agent kinematics: laptop and virtual reality experiments involving index finger motion during two-digit grasping

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9843
Author(s):  
James Hirose ◽  
Atsushi Nishikawa ◽  
Yosuke Horiba ◽  
Shigeru Inui ◽  
Todd C. Pataky
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Index Finger ◽  
Artificial Agents ◽  
Uncanny Valley ◽  
Artificial Agent ◽  
Hand Model ◽  
Minimum Jerk ◽  
Human Likeness ◽  
Finger Motion ◽  
Maximally Smooth

Uncanny valley research has shown that human likeness is an important consideration when designing artificial agents. It has separately been shown that artificial agents exhibiting human-like kinematics can elicit positive perceptual responses. However the kinematic characteristics underlying that perception have not been elucidated. This paper proposes kinematic jerk amplitude as a candidate metric for kinematic human likeness, and aims to determine whether a perceptual optimum exists over a range of jerk values. We created minimum-jerk two-digit grasp kinematics in a prosthetic hand model, then added different amplitudes of temporally smooth noise to yield a variety of animations involving different total jerk levels, ranging from maximally smooth to highly jerky. Subjects indicated their perceptual affinity for these animations by simultaneously viewing two different animations side-by-side, first using a laptop, then separately within a virtual reality (VR) environment. Results suggest that (a) subjects generally preferred smoother kinematics, (b) subjects exhibited a small preference for rougher-than minimum jerk kinematics in the laptop experiment, and that (c) the preference for rougher-than minimum-jerk kinematics was amplified in the VR experiment. These results suggest that non-maximally smooth kinematics may be perceptually optimal in robots and other artificial agents.

scholarly journals Real brains in virtual worlds: Validating a novel oddball paradigm in virtual reality

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan W. P. Kuziek ◽  
Abdel R. Tayem ◽  
Jennifer I. Burrell ◽  
Eden X. Redman ◽  
Jeff Murray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Spectral Composition ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Oddball Paradigm ◽  
Auditory Oddball ◽  
Oddball Task ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Head Mounted Displays

Electroencephalography (EEG) research is typically conducted in controlled laboratory settings. This limits the generalizability to real-world situations. Virtual reality (VR) sits as a transitional tool that provides tight experimental control with more realistic stimuli. To test the validity of using VR for event-related potential (ERP) research we used a well-established paradigm, the oddball task. For our first study, we compared VR to traditional, monitor-based stimulus presentation using visual and auditory oddball tasks while EEG data was recorded. We were able to measure ERP waveforms typically associated with such oddball tasks, namely the P3 and earlier N2 components, in both conditions. Our results suggest that ERPs collected using VR head mounted displays and typical monitors were comparable on measures of latency, amplitude, and spectral composition. In a second study, we implemented a novel depth-based oddball task and we were able to measure the typical oddball-related ERPs elicited by the presentation of near and far stimuli. Interestingly, we observed significant differences in early ERPs components between near and far stimuli, even after controlling for the effects of the oddball task. Current results suggest that VR can serve as a valid means of stimulus presentation in novel or otherwise inaccessible environments for EEG experimentation. We demonstrated the capability of a depth-based oddball in reliably eliciting a P3 waveform. We also found an interaction between the depth at which objects are presented and early ERP responses. Further research is warranted to better explain this influence of depth on the EEG and ERP activity.

Influence of Realistic Virtual Environments and Humanlike Avatars on Patients With Social Phobia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milena Stefanova ◽  
Margherita Pillan ◽  
Alberto Gallace
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Phobia ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
Social Phobias ◽  
Effect Theory ◽  
Human Likeness ◽  
Direct Contrast ◽  
Visual Realism ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract The practice of treating phobias with Virtual Reality-based therapies is a well-established field. Understanding the level of realism required by the therapy to be most effective is an essential matter of study. This research aims to explore the effects of visual realism on the emotional response in subjects with social phobia when exposed to VR-based applications. Social phobias are triggered by the presence of other people, which translated into virtual environments, refers to avatars. Our hypothesis is that patients with social phobia experience different emotional response to humanlike avatars compared to people without social phobia. To try the hypothesis, a prototype-based survey is conducted. Three types of avatars are implemented with different levels of human likeness: low, medium, and high. The analysis of the collected data suggests that for people with social phobias the anxiety is lowest for avatars with high levels of human likeness. This result is in direct contrast with the uncanny valley effect theory. The research explores how we should design virtual environments to make them more effective in the treatment of phobias. Moreover, the research produces new knowledge about the perception of humanlike avatars in virtual reality.

Evaluation of the uncanny valley hypothesis based on declared emotional response and psychophysiological reaction

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawid Ratajczyk ◽  
Marcin Jukiewicz ◽  
Pawel Lupkowski
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Response ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Time Measurement ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Uncanny Valley ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Questionnaire Response ◽  
The Uncanny ◽  
Human Likeness ◽  
Background Context

Abstract The uncanny valley (UV) hypothesis suggests that the observation of almost human-like characters causes an increase of discomfort. We conducted a study using self-report questionnaire, response time measurement, and electrodermal activity (EDA) evaluation. In the study, 12 computer-generated characters (robots, androids, animated, and human characters) were presented to 33 people (17 women) to (1) test the effect of a background context on the perception of characters, (2) establish whether there is a relation between declared feelings and physiological arousal, and (3) detect the valley of the presented stimuli. The findings provide support for reverse relation between human-likeness and the arousal (EDA). Furthermore, a positive correlation between EDA and human-likeness appraisal reaction time upholds one of the most common explanations of the UV – the categorization ambiguity. The absence of the significant relationship between declared comfort and EDA advocates the necessity of physiological measures for UV studies.

Analyzing Spatial Memory in a Virtual Reality-Based Subterranean Scenario: Implication for Military Augmented Reality Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 1119-1123
Author(s):  
Farakh Zaman ◽  
Gillian Roeca ◽  
Ioana Lupascu ◽  
Dr. Aaron Gardony ◽  
MA Natick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Navigation System ◽  
Inertial Navigation System ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Tunnel System ◽  
The Military

Utilizing virtual reality (VR) has allowed the testing of new technology for military missions not available previously, such as using head-mounted augmented reality (AR) to support complicated subterranean (sub-t) missions. Additionally, due to advances in wearable technology, the military will soon offer Soldiers the ability to wear AR head-mounted displays while conducting missions (Freedberg, 2019). Therefore, it is essential to understand how this technology will impact Soldiers’ spatial memory for sub-t environments. This paper describes the methods and preliminary results of in-progress work that uses VR and the Gardony Map Drawing Analyzer (Gardony et al., 2016) to analyze spatial memory following navigation in sub-t missions. Subjects completed a series of tasks in VR while utilizing simulated AR displays that provided navigation aid, such as a compass and an inertial navigation system (bird’s eye trace). After each mission, subjects sketched a diagram of the tunnel system they just explored. We use these sketches to measure how well subjects understood their environment and their recall and ability to recreate the environment for future intelligence purposes.

scholarly journals Cybersickness in current-generation virtual reality head-mounted displays: systematic review and outlook

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polona Caserman ◽  
Augusto Garcia-Agundez ◽  
Alvar Gámez Zerban ◽  
Stefan Göbel
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Current Generation ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Skin Response ◽  
Golden Standard

AbstractCybersickness (CS) is a term used to refer to symptoms, such as nausea, headache, and dizziness that users experience during or after virtual reality immersion. Initially discovered in flight simulators, commercial virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMD) of the current generation also seem to cause CS, albeit in a different manner and severity. The goal of this work is to summarize recent literature on CS with modern HMDs, to determine the specificities and profile of immersive VR-caused CS, and to provide an outlook for future research areas. A systematic review was performed on the databases IEEE Xplore, PubMed, ACM, and Scopus from 2013 to 2019 and 49 publications were selected. A summarized text states how different VR HMDs impact CS, how the nature of movement in VR HMDs contributes to CS, and how we can use biosensors to detect CS. The results of the meta-analysis show that although current-generation VR HMDs cause significantly less CS ($$p<0.001$$ p < 0.001 ), some symptoms remain as intense. Further results show that the nature of movement and, in particular, sensory mismatch as well as perceived motion have been the leading cause of CS. We suggest an outlook on future research, including the use of galvanic skin response to evaluate CS in combination with the golden standard (Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, SSQ) as well as an update on the subjective evaluation scores of the SSQ.

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