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.

Determining the Important Subjective Criteria in the Perception of Human-Like Robot Movements Using Virtual Reality

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (02) ◽  
pp. 1550033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Hugues ◽  
Vincent Weistroffer ◽  
Alexis Paljic ◽  
Philippe Fuchs ◽  
Ahmad Abdul Karim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Velocity Profile ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
User Study ◽  
Use Case ◽  
Robot Arm ◽  
End Effector ◽  
Human Likeness ◽  
Industrial Use ◽  
Different Levels

This paper deals with the design and the evaluation of human-like robot movements. Three criteria were proposed and evaluated regarding their impact on the human-likeness of the robot movements: The inertia of the base, the inertia of the end-effector and the velocity profile. A specific tool was designed to generate different levels of anthropomorphism according to these three parameters. An industrial use case was designed to compare several robot movements. This use case was implemented with a virtual robot arm in a virtual environment, using virtual reality. A user study was conducted to determine what were the important criteria in the perception of human-like robot movements and what were their correlations with other notions such as safety and preference. The results showed that inertia on the end-effector was of most importance for a movement to be perceived as human-like and nonaggressive, and that those characteristics helped the users feel safer, less stressed and more willing to work with the robot.

A Neuroscience Approach to Virtual Reality Experience Using Transcranial Doppler Monitoring

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Alcañiz ◽  
Beatriz Rey ◽  
Jose Tembl ◽  
Vera Parkhutik
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Measurement Technique ◽  
Transcranial Doppler ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Activity Measurement ◽  
Validated Questionnaires ◽  
Different Levels

Virtual reality enables people to behave and feel as if they were present in a virtual environment and therefore is a useful tool in many fields. In order to study the usefulness of virtual environments, the concept of presence is examined. Up to now, the most common method to measure presence has been to use subjective measures based on validated questionnaires about user experience. However, more objective measurements, such as physiological measurements, are now being considered. In this study, transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography is presented as a brain activity measurement technique that can be used to study presence in virtual environments. Thirty-two subjects navigated in a virtual environment in different immersive conditions while TCD was monitored. The results show that there are changes in blood flow velocity in the subjects during moments associated with different levels of presence.

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.

Designing virtual environments for the treatment of social phobia

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Klinger ◽  
I. Chemin ◽  
P. Legeron ◽  
S. Roy ◽  
F. Lauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Phobia ◽  
Virtual Environments

Virtual reality therapy for social phobia: Its efficacy through a control study

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyne Klinger ◽  
Stephane Bouchard ◽  
Patrick Legeron ◽  
Stephane Roy ◽  
Francoise Lauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Phobia ◽  
Reality Therapy ◽  
Virtual Reality Therapy ◽  
Control Study

LIRKIS Global Collaborative Virtual Environments: Current State and Utilization Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-106
Author(s):  
Marián Hudák ◽  
Štefan Korečko ◽  
Branislav Sobota
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Collaborative Virtual Environments ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Smart Client ◽  
Input Devices ◽  
User Input ◽  
History Of ◽  
Shared Virtual Environments

AbstractRecent advances in the field of web technologies, including the increasing support of virtual reality hardware, have allowed for shared virtual environments, reachable by just entering a URL in a browser. One contemporary solution that provides such a shared virtual reality is LIRKIS Global Collaborative Virtual Environments (LIRKIS G-CVE). It is a web-based software system, built on top of the A-Frame and Networked-Aframe frameworks. This paper describes LIRKIS G-CVE and introduces its two original components. The first one is the Smart-Client Interface, which turns smart devices, such as smartphones and tablets, into input devices. The advantage of this component over the standard way of user input is demonstrated by a series of experiments. The second component is the Enhanced Client Access layer, which provides access to positions and orientations of clients that share a virtual environment. The layer also stores a history of connected clients and provides limited control over the clients. The paper also outlines an ongoing experiment aimed at an evaluation of LIRKIS G-CVE in the area of virtual prototype testing.

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Environments: Demonstrations of Current Technologies and Future Directions

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 2119-2123
Author(s):  
Sarah Beadle ◽  
Randall Spain ◽  
Benjamin Goldberg ◽  
Mahdi Ebnali ◽  
Shannon Bailey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Risk Environment ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Simulated Environments ◽  
Interactive Session ◽  
Immersive Technologies

Virtual environments and immersive technologies are growing in popularity for human factors purposes. Whether it is training in a low-risk environment or using simulated environments for testing future automated vehicles, virtual environments show promise for the future of our field. The purpose of this session is to have current human factors practitioners and researchers demonstrate their immersive technologies. This is the eighth iteration of the “Me and My VE” interactive session. Presenters in this session will provide a brief introduction of their virtual reality, augmented reality, or virtual environment work before engaging with attendees in an interactive demonstration period. During this period, the presenters will each have a multimedia display of their immersive technology as well as discuss their work and development efforts. The selected demonstrations cover issues of designing immersive interfaces, military and medical training, and using simulation to better understand complex tasks. This includes a mix of government, industry, and academic-based work. Attendees will be virtually immersed in the technologies and research presented allowing for interaction with the work being done in this field.

scholarly journals Gamification and Hazard Communication in Virtual Reality: A Qualitative Study

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 4663
Author(s):  
Janaina Cavalcanti ◽  
Victor Valls ◽  
Manuel Contero ◽  
David Fonseca
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Training Environment ◽  
Hazard Communication ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Compliance Behavior ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Recorded Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels

An effective warning attracts attention, elicits knowledge, and enables compliance behavior. Game mechanics, which are directly linked to human desires, stand out as training, evaluation, and improvement tools. Immersive virtual reality (VR) facilitates training without risk to participants, evaluates the impact of an incorrect action/decision, and creates a smart training environment. The present study analyzes the user experience in a gamified virtual environment of risks using the HTC Vive head-mounted display. The game was developed in the Unreal game engine and consisted of a walk-through maze composed of evident dangers and different signaling variables while user action data were recorded. To demonstrate which aspects provide better interaction, experience, perception and memory, three different warning configurations (dynamic, static and smart) and two different levels of danger (low and high) were presented. To properly assess the impact of the experience, we conducted a survey about personality and knowledge before and after using the game. We proceeded with the qualitative approach by using questions in a bipolar laddering assessment that was compared with the recorded data during the game. The findings indicate that when users are engaged in VR, they tend to test the consequences of their actions rather than maintaining safety. The results also reveal that textual signal variables are not accessed when users are faced with the stress factor of time. Progress is needed in implementing new technologies for warnings and advance notifications to improve the evaluation of human behavior in virtual environments of high-risk surroundings.

scholarly journals From virtual to real healing: a critical overview of the therapeutic use of virtual reality to cope with mourning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Francesca Maria Pizzoli ◽  
Dario Monzani ◽  
Laura Vergani ◽  
Virginia Sanchini ◽  
Ketti Mazzocco
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Therapeutic Use ◽  
Health Care Needs ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Critical Overview

AbstractIn recent years, virtual reality (VR) has been effectively employed in several settings, ranging from health care needs to leisure and gaming activities. A new application of virtual stimuli appeared in social media: in the documentary ‘I met you’ from the South-Korean Munhwa Broadcasting, a mother made the experience of interacting with the avatar of the seven-year-old daughter, who died four years before. We think that this new application of virtual stimuli should open a debate on its possible implications: it represents contents related to grief, a dramatic and yet natural experience, that can have deep psychological impacts on fragile subjects put in virtual environments. In the present work, possible side-effects, as well as hypothetical therapeutical application of VR for the treatment of mourning, are discussed.

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