Practical Evaluation of Maintenance Work in a Mixed Reality Environment

Author(s):  
Ralph Stelzer ◽  
Matthias Klaus ◽  
Wolfgang Steger ◽  
Erik Steindecker ◽  
Gregor Tauscher

Virtual testing is a significant part of the product development process. It is possible to completely solve many problems through the interaction of geometric models, simulation tools, human models with the help of the appropriate software. If, in the course of testing, it is necessary to take into account subjective human perception, one may profitably use a full-size system for immersive projection (VR system). Such a system particularly makes sense in evaluating manufacturing, operating, application or maintenance. The human being interacts with a product whose physical shape does not yet exist in a virtual environment. In this case, the movements of product components are generally indirectly controlled by using a flystick, a wand or a similar input device. In reality many operations in maintenance are determined by the position and posture of the maintenance personal as well as by the mass, center of gravity and dimensions of the object to be manipulated. In a Mixed Reality Environment, it is possible to achieve a meaningful subjective ergonomic evaluation of the abovementioned operations. The paper elucidates a strategy to integrate real product components into a virtual environment. The user applies the real components or tools in the immersive full-size projection of the VR system. The VR system tracks the real object. This way, it is possible to move an invisible object model in the VR system in sync with the movements of the real object. The collision detection tool provided in the VR system is available and signalises contact of the real object with the virtual environment. The demonstrated solution is under consideration for the planning and ergonomic evaluation of service activities. The need of industry for a process that can be controlled in a safe manner is of particular concern. The solution given here is aimed at maintenance to be performed on the brake system of a light-duty truck.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 275-284
Author(s):  
S. G. Kunnen ◽  
D. Adamenko ◽  
R. Pluhnau ◽  
A. Nagarajah

AbstractThe maintenance of an industrial plant is mainly based on analogue and manual methods and processes. In the future, the maintenance data of the real object should be determined digital and transferred to a PDM system in real time. This is made possible with a digital method of component identification. This publication presents a system-based component identification using Mixed Reality. Coordinates are determined by the terminal device and compared with a reference structure. After successful identification, maintenance data can be determined and automatically transferred to a PDM System.


Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Lasala ◽  
Jara ◽  
Alamán

During the last decade some technologies have achieved the necessary maturity to allow the widespread emergence of Virtual Worlds; many people are living an alternative life in them. One objective of this paper is to argue that the blending of real and virtual worlds has been happening for centuries, and in fact is the mark of “civilization”. This project presents a proposal to improve student motivation in the classroom, through a new form of recreation of a mixed reality environment. To this end, two applications have been created that work together between the real environment and the virtual environment: these applications are called “Virtual Craft” and “Virtual Touch”. Virtual Craft is related with the real world and Virtual Touch is related with the virtual world. These applications are in constant communication with each other, since both students and teachers carry out actions that influence the real or virtual world. A gamification mechanics was used in the recreated environment, in order to motivate the students to carry out the activities assigned by the teacher. For the evaluation of the proposal, a pilot experiment with Virtual Craft was carried out in a Secondary Educational Center in Valls (Spain).


Author(s):  
Stefano Di Tore ◽  
Paola Aiello ◽  
Pio Alfredo Di Tore ◽  
Maurizio Sibilio

Up to which point can people consider as part of their body the Pong racket, or an avatar on the screen, on which do people exert direct motor control as well? When individuals move in a virtual environment, do the proprioceptors convey information about the location of which body? In which environment? How will the information contaminate each other? How does the temperature felt on the real environment influence the interaction in the virtual environment? This paper is not intended to answer these questions, it is rather intended to raise fundamental questions of perception and phenomenology in a digital context in which bodies “are not born; they are made” (Haraway, 1991). The work should act as a positio quaestionis, with the aim of affirming the urgent need for a necessarily interdisciplinary reflection on the overall design of the body - perception - cognition - technology perimeter; it also identifies in the Berthoz simplexity and Ginzburg evidential paradigms, and in the Hansen concept of mixed reality, the building blocks of a theoretical framework aimed to the solution of these questions.


Author(s):  
Oksana Elkhova ◽  

This article provides a philosophical justification for the concept of virtuality index (VR Index). The use of the index method is the novelty of this research and allows us to consider virtual reality from a new methodological perspective. In the study, VR Index is schematized: in the author’s opinion, it acts as a certain generalized relative indicator that serves to characterize changes in such a phenomenon as virtual reality. The basic components of VR Index are distinguished: immersion, involvement, and interactivity. They can be represented in quantitative and qualitative terms. VR Index can be schematically presented in the following way: VR Index = Im·Inv·Int (where Im – immersion, Inv – involvement, Int – interactivity). For each specific case, the above pattern takes the following form: VR Index = Imm·Invn·Intp (where the coefficients m, n, p > 0). Immersion characterizes the coverage of senses of a person in an artificially created environment. Involvement indicates the rational and the emotional components of a person’s mental sphere. Interactivity, in its turn, determines the user’s interaction with the virtual environment. Each of these components affects the value of VR Index. The author distinguishes two extreme cases: virtual realities with low and high VR Index. Virtual realities with low VR Index involve two main channels of human perception, i.e. vision and hearing, are characterized by minimal user involvement and weak interactivity; the users are well aware of the fact that they are interacting with a simulation of the real world. Virtual realities with high VR Index cover a large number of channels of human perception and have a high level of user involvement and interactivity; for the user, the events of the real and virtual worlds become indistinguishable from each other.


Author(s):  
Roy C. Davies ◽  
Gerd Johansson ◽  
Anita Linden ◽  
Kersin Boschian ◽  
Berigt Sonesson ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-242
Author(s):  
Siyuan Chen ◽  
Minchen Wei

Color appearance models have been extensively studied for characterizing and predicting the perceived color appearance of physical color stimuli under different viewing conditions. These stimuli are either surface colors reflecting illumination or self-luminous emitting radiations. With the rapid development of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR), it is critically important to understand how the color appearance of the objects that are produced by AR and MR are perceived, especially when these objects are overlaid on the real world. In this study, nine lighting conditions, with different correlated color temperature (CCT) levels and light levels, were created in a real-world environment. Under each lighting condition, human observers adjusted the color appearance of a virtual stimulus, which was overlaid on a real-world luminous environment, until it appeared the whitest. It was found that the CCT and light level of the real-world environment significantly affected the color appearance of the white stimulus, especially when the light level was high. Moreover, a lower degree of chromatic adaptation was found for viewing the virtual stimulus that was overlaid on the real world.


Author(s):  
Michal Kafri ◽  
Patrice L. Weiss ◽  
Gabriel Zeilig ◽  
Moshe Bondi ◽  
Ilanit Baum-Cohen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Virtual reality (VR) enables objective and accurate measurement of behavior in ecologically valid and safe environments, while controlling the delivery of stimuli and maintaining standardized measurement protocols. Despite this potential, studies that compare virtual and real-world performance of complex daily activities are scarce. This study aimed to compare cognitive strategies and gait characteristics of young and older healthy adults as they engaged in a complex task while navigating in a real shopping mall and a high-fidelity virtual replica of the mall. Methods Seventeen older adults (mean (SD) age = 71.2 (5.6) years, 64% males) and 17 young adults (26.7 (3.7) years, 35% males) participated. In two separate sessions they performed the Multiple Errands Test (MET) in a real-world mall or the Virtual MET (VMET) in the virtual environment. The real-world environment was a small shopping area and the virtual environment was created within the CAREN™ (Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment) Integrated Reality System. The performance of the task was assessed using motor and physiological measures (gait parameters and heart rate), MET or VMET time and score, and navigation efficiency (cognitive performance and strategy). Between (age groups) and within (environment) differences were analyzed with ANOVA repeated measures. Results There were no significant age effects for any of the gait parameters but there were significant environment effects such that both age groups walked faster (F(1,32) = 154.96, p < 0.0001) with higher step lengths (F(1,32) = 86.36, p < 0.0001), had lower spatial and temporal gait variability (F(1,32) = 95.71–36.06, p < 0.0001) and lower heart rate (F(1,32) = 13.40, p < 0.01) in the real-world. There were significant age effects for MET/VMET scores (F(1,32) = 19.77, p < 0.0001) and total time (F(1,32) = 11.74, p < 0.05) indicating better performance of the younger group, and a significant environment effect for navigation efficiency (F(1,32) = 7.6, p < 0.01) that was more efficient in the virtual environment. Conclusions This comprehensive, ecological approach in the measurement of performance during tasks reminiscent of complex life situations showed the strengths of using virtual environments in assessing cognitive aspects and limitations of assessing motor aspects of performance. Difficulties by older adults were apparent mainly in the cognitive aspects indicating a need to evaluate them during complex task performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Telmo Adão ◽  
Luís Pádua ◽  
David Narciso ◽  
Joaquim João Sousa ◽  
Luís Agrellos ◽  
...  

MixAR, a full-stack system capable of providing visualization of virtual reconstructions seamlessly integrated in the real scene (e.g. upon ruins), with the possibility of being freely explored by visitors, in situ, is presented in this article. In addition to its ability to operate with several tracking approaches to be able to deal with a wide variety of environmental conditions, MixAR system also implements an extended environment feature that provides visitors with an insight on surrounding points-of-interest for visitation during mixed reality experiences (positional rough tracking). A procedural modelling tool mainstreams augmentation models production. Tests carried out with participants to ascertain comfort, satisfaction and presence/immersion based on an in-field MR experience and respective results are also presented. Ease to adapt to the experience, desire to see the system in museums and a raised curiosity and motivation contributed as positive points for evaluation. In what regards to sickness and comfort, the lowest number of complaints seems to be satisfactory. Models' illumination/re-lightning must be addressed in the future to improve the user's engagement with the experiences provided by the MixAR system.


Author(s):  
Stefan Bittmann

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.


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