Effect of Degrees of Freedom on the Sense of Presence Generated by Virtual Reality (VR) Head-Mounted Display Systems: A Case Study on the Use of VR in Early Design Studios

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilanka Chandrasekera ◽  
Kinkini Fernando ◽  
Luis Puig
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Student Perception ◽  
Early Design ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Simulated Environment ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Being There

The purpose of this research was to explore the use of virtual reality (VR) in early design studios. In this research project, two different types of Head-Mounted Display (HMD) systems were used. One type of HMD provided six degrees of freedom and the other HMD provided three degrees of freedom. The research findings provide comparison on the functionality of the different types of HMDs and the sense of presence in VR environments. Sense of presence is defined as the sense of “being there” in a computer-simulated environment. The outcomes of this research are (a) development of a new presence questionnaire that focuses on newer VR systems and (b) understanding student perception of using VR in design projects.

scholarly journals Method to Grasp a Feeling of Being There by Turning a Head Forcibly while Watching a Tourism Video using a VR Headset

Electronics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1470
Author(s):  
Naoya Isoyama ◽  
Tsutomu Terada ◽  
Masahiko Tsukamoto
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
The Other ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Perception Of Self ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Being There ◽  
Self Motion

In virtual reality (VR) tourism, when watching a video of a tourist location, the feeling of presence improves the experience. Furthermore, it is desirable to be able to give a feeling of having been there before to the users visiting the site afterward. In this study, we aimed to reveal the factors that provide these feelings. We hypothesized that one of the factors is the perception of self-motion. Therefore, we proposed a method wherein the users were induced to turn their heads to the left and right when watching the video of a tourist site via a VR head-mounted display. We conducted two experiments and found that the proposed method conveyed the greatest sense of presence. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in giving the feeling of having been there between the proposed method and watching the video of the site on a PC.

scholarly journals Listening, Corporeality, Place and Presence

2010 ◽  
pp. 113-127
Author(s):  
Susan Turner
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Film Studies ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Being There

This chapter considers the role of sound, and more specifically, listening, in creating a sense of presence (of “being there”) in “places” recreated by virtual reality technologies. We first briefly review the treatment of sound in place and presence research. Here we give particular attention to the role of sound in inducing a sense of presence in virtual environments that immerse their users in representations of particular places. We then consider the phenomenology of listening, the nature of different types of listening, and their application: listening is active, directed, intentional hearing, and is not merely egocentric, it is body-centric. A classification of modes of listening that draws on work in film studies, virtual reality, and audiology is then proposed as a means of supporting the design of place-centric virtual environments in providing an effective aural experience. Finally, we apply this to a case study of listening in real and simulated soundscapes, and suggest directions for further applications of this work

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.

Freehand Gesture and Tactile Interaction for Shape Design

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Bordegoni ◽  
Mario Covarrubias ◽  
Giandomenico Caruso ◽  
Umberto Cugini
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
3D Model ◽  
Shape Design ◽  
Leap Motion ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Tactile Interaction ◽  
Metallic Strip ◽  
6 Degrees Of Freedom

This paper presents a novel system that allows product designers to design, experience, and modify new shapes of objects, starting from existing ones. The system allows designers to acquire and reconstruct the 3D model of a real object and to visualize and physically interact with this model. In addition, the system allows designer to modify the shape through physical manipulation of the 3D model and to eventually print it using a 3D printing technology. The system is developed by integrating state-of-the-art technologies in the sectors of reverse engineering, virtual reality, and haptic technology. The 3D model of an object is reconstructed by scanning its shape by means of a 3D scanning device. Then, the 3D model is imported into the virtual reality environment, which is used to render the 3D model of the object through an immersive head mounted display (HMD). The user can physically interact with the 3D model by using the desktop haptic strip for shape design (DHSSD), a 6 degrees of freedom servo-actuated developable metallic strip, which reproduces cross-sectional curves of 3D virtual objects. The DHSSD device is controlled by means of hand gestures recognized by a leap motion sensor.

scholarly journals I walk, therefore I am: a multidimensional study on the influence of the locomotion method upon presence in virtual reality

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 577-590
Author(s):  
José L Soler-Domínguez ◽  
Carla de Juan ◽  
Manuel Contero ◽  
Mariano Alcañiz
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Objective Measure ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Head Bobbing ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
Being There ◽  
First Time

Abstract A defining virtual reality (VR) metric is the sense of presence, a complex, multidimensional psychophysical construct that represents how intense is the sensation of actually being there, inside the virtual environment (VE), forgetting how technology mediates the experience. Our paper explores how locomotion influences presence, studying two different ways of artificial movement along the VE: walking-in-place (through head bobbing detection) and indirect walking (through touchpad). To evaluate that influence, a narrative-neutral maze was created, from where 41 participants (N=41) had to escape. Measuring presence is a controversial topic since there is not a single, objective measure but a wide range of metrics depending on the different theoretical basis. For this reason, we have used for the first time, representative metrics from all three traditional dimensions of presence: subjective presence (SP) (self-reported through questionnaires), behavioral presence (BP) (obtained from unconscious reactions while inside the VE), and physiological presence (PP) [usually measured using heart rate or electrodermal activity (EDA)]. SP was measured with the ITC-SOPI questionnaire, BP by collecting the participants’ reactions, and PP by using a bracelet that registered EDA. The results show two main findings: (i) There is no correlation between the different presence metrics. This opens the door to a simpler way of measuring presence in an objective, reliable way. (ii) There is no significant difference between the two locomotion techniques for any of the three metrics, which shows that the authenticity of VR does not rely on how you move within the VE.

scholarly journals Impact of View-Dependent Image-Based Effects on Perception of Visual Realism and Presence in Virtual Reality Environments Created Using Multi-Camera Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 6173
Author(s):  
Grégoire Dupont de Dinechin ◽  
Alexis Paljic ◽  
Jonathan Tanant
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
User Study ◽  
Small Range ◽  
Image Based Rendering ◽  
Camera Systems ◽  
3D Space ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Being There ◽  
Visual Realism ◽  
Specular Highlights

Several recent works have presented image-based methods for creating high-fidelity immersive virtual environments from photographs of real-world scenes. In this paper, we provide a user-centered evaluation of such methods by way of a user study investigating their impact on viewers’ perception of visual realism and sense of presence. In particular, we focus on two specific elements commonly introduced by image-based approaches. First, we investigate the extent to which using dedicated image-based rendering algorithms to render the scene with view-dependent effects (such as specular highlights) causes users to perceive it as being more realistic. Second, we study whether making the scene fade out beyond a fixed volume in 3D space significantly reduces participants’ feeling of being there, examining different sizes for this viewing volume. To provide details on the virtual environment used in the study, we also describe how we recreated a museum gallery for room-scale virtual reality using a custom-built multi-camera rig. The results of our study show that using image-based rendering to render view-dependent effects can effectively enhance the perception of visual realism and elicit a stronger sense of presence, even when it implies constraining the viewing volume to a small range of motion.

scholarly journals Cyber sickness in low-immersive, semi-immersive, and fully immersive virtual reality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergo Martirosov ◽  
Marek Bureš ◽  
Tomáš Zítka
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Immersive Environment ◽  
Grooved Pegboard Test

AbstractIt is known that virtual reality (VR) experience may cause cyber sickness. One aspect of VR is an immersion or otherwise sense of presence, the sense of feeling oneself in a virtual world. In this paper an experiment which was conducted in order to find the link between level of immersion and cyber sickness felt by participants is presented. Eighty-nine participants aged between 19 and 36 years have been equally divided into four groups with different level of VR immersion. The low-immersive group was represented by PC with monoscopic screen, the semi-immersive group was represented by CAVE with stereoscopic projector, the fully immersive group was represented by VR head-mounted display, and the last group was the control group without any kind of immersion. The task for the participants was to navigate through the maze for a specified amount of time (10 min). The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire was used as a subjective measure tool for cyber sickness level and Grooved Pegboard Test for assessing the fine dexterity, both before and after the experiment. Regarding the time spend in VR the fully immersive environment had the biggest problems as more than half of the participants had to stop before 10 min (p < 0.001). Concerning the cyber sickness, the significant increase in nausea score between pre-test and post-test scores has been observed in semi-immersive group (p = 0.0018) and fully immersive group (p < 0.0001). The increase in oculomotor score was smaller. The significant difference was noted only in fully immersive group (p = 0.0449). In spite of great nausea factor after the VR immersion the participants did not show a decrease of fine dexterity in any group (p < 0.001).

scholarly journals Reducing Cybersickness in 360-Degree Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Iqra Arshad ◽  
Paulo De Mello ◽  
Martin Ender ◽  
Jason D. McEwen ◽  
Elisa R. Ferré
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Simulator Sickness ◽  
Six Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Motion System ◽  
Translational Movement ◽  
Vestibular Cues ◽  
Self Motion

Abstract Despite the technological advancements in Virtual Reality (VR), users are constantly combating feelings of nausea and disorientation, the so-called cybersickness. Cybersickness symptoms cause severe discomfort and hinder the immersive VR experience. Here we investigated cybersickness in 360-degree head-mounted display VR. In traditional 360-degree VR experiences, translational movement in the real world is not reflected in the virtual world, and therefore self-motion information is not corroborated by matching visual and vestibular cues, which may trigger symptoms of cybersickness. We evaluated whether a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) software designed to supplement the 360-degree VR experience with artificial six-degrees-of-freedom motion may reduce cybersickness. Explicit (simulator sickness questionnaire and Fast Motion Sickness (FMS) rating) and implicit (heart rate) measurements were used to evaluate cybersickness symptoms during and after 360-degree VR exposure. Simulator sickness scores showed a significant reduction in feelings of nausea during the AI-supplemented six-degrees-of-freedom motion VR compared to traditional 360-degree VR. However, six-degrees-of-freedom motion VR did not reduce oculomotor or disorientation measures of sickness. No changes were observed in FMS and heart rate measures. Improving the congruency between visual and vestibular cues in 360-degree VR, as provided by the AI-supplemented six-degrees-of-freedom motion system considered, is essential for a more engaging, immersive and safe VR experience, which is critical for educational, cultural and entertainment applications.

scholarly journals The Representation of Food-Related Environments in Virtual Reality

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1309-1309
Author(s):  
James Hollis ◽  
Shelley Woodall
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Innovative Tool ◽  
Education Tool

Abstract Objectives Virtual reality (VR) potentially provides an innovative tool for nutrition education/counselling. The objective of this study was to determine the a) sense of ‘presence’ (the feeling of being in a scene) experienced in two food related VR scenes b) capture information regarding the participants experiences in VR. Methods Two 3D, food-related scenes were created for this study: supermarket or fast food restaurant. The scenes were displayed using a VR head mounted display or on a standard PC monitor. The participants were able to move around each scene and could interact with various elements to obtain nutrition information about a food. Thirty-one adults were recruited for this study and reported to the laboratory on 4 occasions separated by at least 48 hours. Participants were randomized to a treatment order. On reporting to the laboratory, the participants had surface electrodes attached to determine heart rate and electrodermal activity. The participant was then required to sit quietly for 10 minutes for baseline measures to be collected. Then, in the VR treatments, a VR headset was placed on the participants head and the relevant scene displayed. For the PC treatments, the same scenes were displayed on a PC monitor. The participants were required to remain in the different scenes for at least 5 minutes. Then, the headset was removed and the participant completed questionnaires regarding their experiences in the VR and PC scenes. Results Participants ranged in age from &lt;25 years to over 65 years. All participants used computers in their daily life but generally had no or little experience in VR. Participants reported a higher sense of presence in the VR treatments compared to the PC treatments (P &lt; 0.05). The VR scenes also created a greater sense of the scene being the ‘dominant reality’ and elicited a greater sense that the participant were actually in the scene (P &lt; 0.05). There was no difference in the participant's ability to complete tasks in the VR and PC scenes. Moreover, feelings of nausea were not different between the VR and PC scenes. The participant's heart rate was significantly higher in the VR treatments (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusions This study provides data that supports the development of VR as a nutrition education/counselling tool. Further research is required to develop VR as an effective education tool. Funding Sources None.

scholarly journals A virtual reality based psychosis simulation for education of medical students: An ongoing project

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
Majid Zare Bidaki ◽  
Bentolhoda Mousavi ◽  
Alireza Ehteshampour
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Current Method ◽  
Psychotic Experience ◽  
External Reality ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Normal Limits ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Simulated Environment

Psychosis, which is defined as the loss of contact with external reality, is a subjective and complex experience that has two major presentations: delusions and hallucinations. Delusions are defined in a spectrum from overvalued ideas that can be considered as the upper extreme of normal limits, to the presence of crystallised, systematic ideas, without any external proof that clearly interferes with the experiencer’s life. The same is true for hallucinations, as it can be experienced by any person in some point of their life or it can be multimodal which dominates the thinking process and leads to verbal or behavioural response. Despite the prevalence of both experiences, and even though medical students participate in theory-based education as well as apprenticeship in psychiatric wards, they find the experience non-tangible and difficult to digest. Improvement in technology has led to development of computer programmes, such as virtual reality (VR), by which the sense of immersion is induced in a simulated environment through combining sensory inputs with computer-generated graphics and effects and mostly is used through a head-mounted display. Constructivist movements have placed emphasis on active learning and visual-spatial abilities in education and VR has paved the way for its practical application. In this research project, along with producing an authentic virtual psychotic experience according to patients’ real-life experiences, we aim to assess its efficacy in improving knowledge, attitude and empathy towards people with psychotic experience, in comparison with the current method of education.   Keywords: Virtual reality, psychotic experience, simulation, medical education, e-learning.

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