Virtual Reality to Improve the User Experience of Traditional Museums

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Spadoni ◽  
Marina Carulli ◽  
Monica Bordegoni
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Virtual Reality Application ◽  
Museum Exhibition

Abstract Museums have been subjected to important changes in the approach they use to involve visitors. Among the other trends, storytelling and interactive exhibitions are two of the most used approaches used to make exhibitions more interesting for users. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality methods can be effectively used in the context of a museum exhibition to support both storytelling and interaction. The primary objective of the use of these technologies is to make the visit of museums much more engaging, and suitable for different types of visitors. Among the several museums that are moving in this direction, there is the Museo Astronomico di Brera. The museum mainly consists of a corridor, hosting instruments used by astronomers, and the Cupola Schiaparelli, which is an observatory dome. The aim of the research presented in this paper is to develop an interactive Virtual Reality application to be used for improving the users’ experience of visits to the Museo Astronomico di Brera. Specifically, the paper presents a VR application to virtually visit the Dome. Preliminary tests have been carried out for evaluating the users’ sense of presence in the VR environment. An analysis of the collected data is presented in the paper.

scholarly journals The New Mirror: Reflecting on inhabitant behaviour in VR and VR visualisation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Wang ◽  
Tane Moleta ◽  
Marc Aurel Schnabel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Software Development ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Computational Design ◽  
Digital Representations ◽  
Traditional Design ◽  
Design Cycle ◽  
Immersive Systems ◽  
Modern Era

Technology inevitably evolves and develops rapidly in the modern era, industries and professions continue to strive in integrating, adapting and utilising these advancements to improve, optimise and improve the process of design to manufacture to the user experience. One such system that fits into this category is the advent of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. The numerous possibilities to which these visually and spatially immersive systems opportunities for immense innovation often lacks direction or an ultimate goal thus rendering this piece of software to often be little more than a visualisation tool.This paper recognises the unique position that VR allows and seeks to interrogate and deconstruct current, traditional design processes to better utilise VR in aiding and reinforcing the idea of partial testing of ideas and concepts throughout the design cycle. Different sciences such as psychology, processes and automation from computational design and considerations within software development will be employed and injected into the broader architectural context in which this research presides. In addition to the VR headset, eye tracking external hardware are integrated to develop a seamless tool and workflow that allows us, as designers to better interrogate clients behaviour within our designed digital representations which leads to validations, evaluations and criticisms of our actions within the architectural realm.

Development of a Low-Cost Augmented Reality Head-Mounted Display Prototype

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Thiago D'Angelo ◽  
Saul Emanuel Delabrida Silva ◽  
Ricardo A. R. Oliveira ◽  
Antonio A. F. Loureiro
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
User Interaction ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Time Performance ◽  
Work Tasks ◽  
Head Mounted Displays

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) have been emerging in the last years. These technologies sound like the new hot topic for the next years. Head-Mounted Displays have been developed for many different purposes. Users have the opportunity to enjoy these technologies for entertainment, work tasks, and many other daily activities. Despite the recent release of many AR and VR HMDs, two major problems are hindering the AR HMDs from reaching the mainstream market: the extremely high costs and the user experience issues. In order to minimize these problems, we have developed an AR HMD prototype based on a smartphone and on other low-cost materials. The prototype is capable of running Eye Tracking algorithms, which can be used to improve user interaction and user experience. To assess our AR HMD prototype, we choose a state-of-the-art method for eye center location found in the literature and evaluate its real-time performance in different development boards.

scholarly journals Augmented and Virtual Reality Evolution and Future Tendency

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Muñoz-Saavedra ◽  
Lourdes Miró-Amarante ◽  
Manuel Domínguez-Morales
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Future Trend ◽  
The Other ◽  
Videogame Industry ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Technological Improvements

Augmented reality and virtual reality technologies are increasing in popularity. Augmented reality has thrived to date mainly on mobile applications, with games like Pokémon Go or the new Google Maps utility as some of its ambassadors. On the other hand, virtual reality has been popularized mainly thanks to the videogame industry and cheaper devices. However, what was initially a failure in the industrial field is resurfacing in recent years thanks to the technological improvements in devices and processing hardware. In this work, an in-depth study of the different fields in which augmented and virtual reality have been used has been carried out. This study focuses on conducting a thorough scoping review focused on these new technologies, where the evolution of each of them during the last years in the most important categories and in the countries most involved in these technologies will be analyzed. Finally, we will analyze the future trend of these technologies and the areas in which it is necessary to investigate to further integrate these technologies into society.

A Virtual Reality Drumkit Simulator System with a Kinect Device

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Rosa-Pujazón ◽  
Isabel Barbancho ◽  
Lorenzo J. Tardón ◽  
Ana M. Barbancho
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Real Time ◽  
User Experience ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wiener Filtering ◽  
Detection Model ◽  
Time Interaction ◽  
Kinect Camera ◽  
Drumkit Simulator

In this paper, an implementation of a virtual reality based application for drumkit simulation is presented. The system tracks user motion through the use of a Kinect camera sensor, and recognizes and detects user-generated drum-hitting gestures in real-time. In order to compensate the effects of latency in the sensing stage and provide real-time interaction, the system uses a gesture detection model to predict user movements. The paper discusses the use of two different machine learning based solutions to this problem: the first one is based on the analysis of velocity and acceleration peaks, the other solution is based on Wiener filtering. This gesture detector was tested and integrated into a full implementation of a drumkit simulator, capable of discriminating up to 3, 5 or 7 different drum sounds. An experiment with 14 participants was conducted to assess the system's viability and impact on user experience and satisfaction.

Current Trends, Challenges, and Future Prospects for Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
pp. 275-281
Author(s):  
Sathiya Narayanan ◽  
Nikshith Narayan Ramesh ◽  
Amit Kumar Tyagi ◽  
L. Jani Anbarasi ◽  
Benson Edwin Raj
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Real Time ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Real World ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Current Trends

In the recent years, innovations such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and internet of things have enhanced user experience dramatically. In general, AR is completely different from VR and provides real-time solutions to users by projecting layers of information on real-world environments. Advancements in computer-generated sensory have made the concept of believable virtual environments a reality. With the availability of such technologies, one can investigate “how these technologies can be applied beyond gaming or other useful applications” and “how further improvements can be made to allow for full digital immersion.” This chapter provides a detailed description about AR and VR, followed by interesting real-world examples of AR applications. In addition, this chapter discusses the issues and challenges faced with AR/VR with a motivation of exploring the options for improvement.

A Virtual Reality Application with Autistic Children

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy Strickland
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Customized Learning ◽  
Virtual Reality Application

Using the advantages of the sense of presence generated by virtual reality, a system to help children with autism was developed. Two case studies with children showed virtual reality has the potential to provide a safer, customized learning environment for individuals with autism. A model of reality that discusses historical and perceptual rules as well as input stimuli in forming a sense of presence is described.

scholarly journals Understanding How Virtual Reality Can Support Mindfulness Practice: Mixed Methods Study

10.2196/16106 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. e16106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Seabrook ◽  
Ryan Kelly ◽  
Fiona Foley ◽  
Stephen Theiler ◽  
Neil Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
General Population ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Simulator Sickness ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
State Mindfulness

Background Regular mindfulness practice has been demonstrated to be beneficial for mental health, but mindfulness can be challenging to adopt, with environmental and personal distractors often cited as challenges. Virtual reality (VR) may address these challenges by providing an immersive environment for practicing mindfulness and by supporting the user to orient attention to the present moment within a tailored virtual setting. However, there is currently a limited understanding of the ways in which VR can support or hinder mindfulness practice. Such an understanding is required to design effective VR apps while ensuring that VR-supported mindfulness is acceptable to end users. Objective This study aimed to explore how VR can support mindfulness practice and to understand user experience issues that may affect the acceptability and efficacy of VR mindfulness for users in the general population. Methods A sample of 37 participants from the general population trialed a VR mindfulness app in a controlled laboratory setting. The VR app presented users with an omnidirectional video of a peaceful forest environment with a guided mindfulness voiceover that was delivered by a male narrator. Scores on the State Mindfulness Scale, Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, and single-item measures of positive and negative emotion and arousal were measured pre- and post-VR for all participants. Qualitative feedback was collected through interviews with a subset of 19 participants. The interviews sought to understand the user experience of mindfulness practice in VR. Results State mindfulness (P<.001; Cohen d=1.80) and positive affect (P=.006; r=.45) significantly increased after using the VR mindfulness app. No notable changes in negative emotion, subjective arousal, or symptoms of simulator sickness were observed across the sample. Participants described the user experience as relaxing, calming, and peaceful. Participants suggested that the use of VR helped them to focus on the present moment by using visual and auditory elements of VR as attentional anchors. The sense of presence in the virtual environment (VE) was identified by participants as being helpful to practicing mindfulness. Interruptions to presence acted as distractors. Some uncomfortable experiences were discussed, primarily in relation to video fidelity and the weight of the VR headset, although these were infrequent and minor. Conclusions This study suggests that an appropriately designed VR app can support mindfulness practice by enhancing state mindfulness and inducing positive affect. VR may help address the challenges of practicing mindfulness by creating a sense of presence in a tailored VE; by allowing users to attend to visual and auditory anchors of their choice; and by reducing the scope of the content in users’ mind-wandering. VR has the unique capability to combine guided mindfulness practice with tailored VEs that lend themselves to support individuals to focus attention on the present moment.

scholarly journals Augmented reality learning: education in real-world contexts

2021 ◽  
pp. 115-120
Author(s):  
Mark Pegrum
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Real World ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Real ◽  
The World ◽  
Digital Simulations ◽  
The Continuum

What is it? Augmented Reality (AR) bridges the real and the digital. It is part of the Extended Reality (XR) spectrum of immersive technological interfaces. At one end of the continuum, Virtual Reality (VR) immerses users in fully digital simulations which effectively substitute for the real world. At the other end of the continuum, AR allows users to remain immersed in the real world while superimposing digital overlays on the world. The term mixed reality, meanwhile, is sometimes used as an alternative to AR and sometimes as an alternative to XR.

scholarly journals Using virtual reality to allow paramedics to familiarise themselves with a new ambulance patient compartment design

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Alinier ◽  
Tooba Salahuddin ◽  
AbdelGhani Karkar ◽  
Ahmed Gueddes ◽  
Suresh Devaraj ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Interior Design ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
The Real ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Potential Applications

Background: Virtual reality (VR) is still an evolving domain that presents a versatile medium to simulate various environments and scenarios that can be easily reset between users, which can be particularly useful for training purposes. In this pilot study, we recreated the interior of a modular ambulance patient compartment with elements that can be moved and also had access to the real physical ambulance with the same interior design and equipment. The primary objective of this study was to determine the usability of the VR patient compartment in terms of functionality and sense of presence. Methods: Paramedics were invited to take part in this pilot study which involved them attending a 15-minute presentation about ambulance safety and ergonomics, familiarise themselves with the VR equipment, position the modular elements of the ambulance patient compartment in the VR or real setting (and vice versa), and complete a questionnaire corresponding to the task completed and adapted from an existing tool. They were unknowingly timed during the activities inside the real and VR ambulance for comparative purposes. Results: Twenty-seven participants were recruited, 77.8% of whom had no prior VR experience. On the 7-point Likert scale questionnaire, the participants scored the various aspects of usability (ease of grabbing elements, ease of recognising fixed/movable elements, distinguishing close from far objects, ease of “playing” the game…) between 5.59 to 6.26 and their sense of presence as 6.11 (SD = 1.121). Participants were faster arranging the modular elements in the VR setting than in the real one (8.78 min, SD = 4.47 versus 13.05 min, SD = 5.04). Conclusion: VR technology and potential applications are still rapidly developing. This pilot study shows promising results in terms of ease of use and sense of presence for the paramedics. This demonstrates that VR can be used for interactive familiarisation with an environment such as an ambulance patient compartment and can be used to assist in their design.

scholarly journals USE OF ADAPTIVE-INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS IN THE PROCESS OF STAFF TRAINING

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleksandr Litorovych ◽  
◽  
Oleh Karyy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Staff Training ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Interactive Systems ◽  
Personnel Training ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Different Types

The active development of adaptive-interactive systems, in particular virtual, augmented and mixed reality, in the field of education makes it appropriate to study the possibilities of using these systems directly to train personnel. The reduction of costs and increase of the availability of adaptive-interactive systems, including those that can be used in the training process, encourages their use in a growing number of companies around the world. The aim of the article is to study the usage of modern adaptive-interactive systems in the field of personnel training, such as virtual, augmented and mixed reality, to determine their advantages and disadvantages, as well as prospects for mass implementation of these systems in the practice of personnel training. Different types of virtual reality systems are distinguished, the delimitation of which lies in the plane of ways and modes of their interaction with the user. The research methodology is based on the semantic analysis of the interpretation of different types of adaptive-interactive systems of personnel training and analysis of their usage cases on existing enterprises. The expediency of using virtual and augmented reality technologies as methods of active learning in order to study various subjects is described and examples of personnel training systems using mixed reality are presented. The advantages and disadvantages of using these technologies in staff training are analyzed. Examples of application of adaptive-interactive systems at Ukrainian and foreign enterprises are given. The limited supply of adaptive-interactive systems of personnel training by the developers of such software and hardware indicates a lack of relevant specialists and the unwillingness of domestic enterprises to invest in these systems. At the same time, modern digital technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality using artificial intelligence provide in practice high efficiency of the educational process in the enterprise by increasing concentration and attention of learners, easiness of information retrieval, providing practical skills, independence and simultaneous safety of employee training. In response, the directions of further researches in implementation of modern technologies of training of the personnel of the enterprises in Ukraine are offered.

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