scholarly journals Design and Evaluation of a Virtual Restorative Walk With Room-Scale Virtual Reality and Impossible Spaces

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Rockstroh ◽  
Johannes Blum ◽  
Véronique Hardt ◽  
Anja S. Göritz
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Treatment Condition ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Restorative Environments ◽  
Restorative Environment ◽  
Environment Control ◽  
Walking Exercise ◽  
Randomized Controlled Experiment

Nature walks are an effective and popular means to replenish fatigued mental resources. Alas, nature walks are not always accessible due to a lack of time or limited availability. We report on the design and pilot test of a room-scale virtual reality (VR) application that makes use of actual walking and impossible spaces to simulate dynamic restorative walks. We conducted a randomized controlled experiment in VR using a between-subjects design. Thirty-one participants went for an 8-min virtual walk either in a fixed virtual restorative environment (control condition) or in the proposed dynamic virtual restorative environment (treatment condition). The treatment condition with the proposed room-scale approach yielded increased user involvement, higher present moment awareness, increased perceived restorativeness of the experience, better subjective restoration, and an improved positive affect. Behavioral analysis showed that the proposed approach led to a reduced walking speed over the course of the walking exercise. The results suggest that room-scale VR in conjunction with virtual restorative environments and impossible spaces can be used to create sophisticated virtual restorative walks in confined spaces. Future research and development are needed to further establish the effects, to identify moderating and mediating factors and to investigate such VR applications in relevant real-world contexts.

Virtual Restorative Environments

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 73-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
James F. Knight ◽  
Robert J. Stone ◽  
Cheng Qian
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Display System ◽  
Restorative Environments ◽  
Urban City ◽  
Restorative Environment ◽  
Natural Settings ◽  
Olfactory Display

Previous restorative environment (RE) research suggests that exposure of individuals to natural settings can reduce stress, improve feelings of well-being, and help individuals to recover from fatigue following intensive mental activities. This paper focuses on possible future opportunities for exploring Virtual Environments (VE) in the pursuit of restorative and rehabilitative therapies. The paper presents early work in developing such a Virtual Restorative Environment (VRE) and includes results from two preliminary studies. The first study compared two VEs (an urban city scene and a rural coastal scene) and showed the effect of ambient sounds on ratings of anxiety and relaxation. The second study explored the opportunity of incorporating odours into a VE using a novel olfactory display system and evaluated methods for measuring their effect on the user. Throughout, the paper discusses human factors and usability issues for VRE technologies and future research opportunities.

The application of virtual reality in health professions� digital education: a narrative review (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine Tudor Car ◽  
Bhone Myint Kyaw ◽  
Josip Car
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Health Professions Education ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Educational Content ◽  
Potential Applications

BACKGROUND Digital technology called Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly employed in health professions’ education. Yet, based on the current evidence, its use is narrowed around a few most applications and disciplines. There is a lack of an overview that would capture the diversity of different VR applications in health professions’ education and inform its use and research. OBJECTIVE This narrative review aims to explore different potential applications of VR in health professions’ education. METHODS The narrative synthesis approach to literature review was used to analyse the existing evidence. RESULTS We outline the role of VR features such as immersion, interactivity and feedback and explain the role of VR devices. Based on the type and scope of educational content VR can represent space, individuals, objects, structures or their combination. Application of VR in medical education encompasses environmental, organ and micro level. Environmental VR focuses on training in relation to health professionals’ environment and human interactions. Organ VR educational content targets primarily human body anatomy; and micro VR microscopic structures at the level of cells, molecules and atoms. We examine how different VR features and health professional education areas match these three VR types. CONCLUSIONS We conclude by highlighting the gaps in the literature and providing suggestions for future research.

Preservice Teachers’ Professional Noticing When Viewing Standard and 360 Video

2020 ◽  
pp. 002248712093954
Author(s):  
Karl W. Kosko ◽  
Richard E. Ferdig ◽  
Maryam Zolfaghari
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teacher Noticing ◽  
Professional Noticing ◽  
Novel Technology

Use of video as a representation of practice in teacher education is commonplace. The current study explored the use of a new format (360 video) in the context of preservice teachers’ professional noticing. Findings suggest that preservice teachers viewing 360 videos attended to more student actions than their peers viewing standard video. In addition, using a virtual reality headset to view the 360 videos led to different patterns in where preservice teachers looked in the recorded classroom, and to increased specificity of mathematics content from the scenario. Thus, findings and results support the use of 360 video in teacher education to facilitate teacher noticing. However, future research is needed to further explore this novel technology.

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.

scholarly journals Rear-Seat Productivity in Virtual Reality: Investigating VR Interaction in the Confined Space of a Car

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Jingyi Li ◽  
Ceenu George ◽  
Andrea Ngao ◽  
Kai Holländer ◽  
Stefan Mayer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Rear Seat ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Confined Space ◽  
Physical Restraints ◽  
Working Environments ◽  
Research And Design

Ubiquitous technology lets us work in flexible and decentralised ways. Passengers can already use travel time to be productive, and we envision even better performance and experience in vehicles with emerging technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) headsets. However, the confined physical space constrains interactions while the virtual space may be conceptually borderless. We therefore conducted a VR study (N = 33) to examine the influence of physical restraints and virtual working environments on performance, presence, and the feeling of safety. Our findings show that virtual borders make passengers touch the car interior less, while performance and presence are comparable across conditions. Although passengers prefer a secluded and unlimited virtual environment (nature), they are more productive in a shared and limited one (office). We further discuss choices for virtual borders and environments, social experience, and safety responsiveness. Our work highlights opportunities and challenges for future research and design of rear-seat VR interaction.

scholarly journals The effect of water immersion on vection in virtual reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Géraldine Fauville ◽  
Anna C. M. Queiroz ◽  
Erika S. Woolsey ◽  
Jonathan W. Kelly ◽  
Jeremy N. Bailenson
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Motion Sickness ◽  
Water Immersion ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Visually Induced Motion Sickness ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Induced Motion ◽  
Ground Condition ◽  
The Impact

AbstractResearch about vection (illusory self-motion) has investigated a wide range of sensory cues and employed various methods and equipment, including use of virtual reality (VR). However, there is currently no research in the field of vection on the impact of floating in water while experiencing VR. Aquatic immersion presents a new and interesting method to potentially enhance vection by reducing conflicting sensory information that is usually experienced when standing or sitting on a stable surface. This study compares vection, visually induced motion sickness, and presence among participants experiencing VR while standing on the ground or floating in water. Results show that vection was significantly enhanced for the participants in the Water condition, whose judgments of self-displacement were larger than those of participants in the Ground condition. No differences in visually induced motion sickness or presence were found between conditions. We discuss the implication of this new type of VR experience for the fields of VR and vection while also discussing future research questions that emerge from our findings.

Investigating a Virtual Reality-based Emergency Response Scenario and Intelligent User Interface for First Responders

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 2114-2118
Author(s):  
Randall Spain ◽  
Jason Saville ◽  
Barry Lui ◽  
Donia Slack ◽  
Edward Hill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
User Interface ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
User Interfaces ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Intelligent User Interfaces ◽  
Intelligent User Interface

Because advances in broadband capabilities will soon allow first responders to access and use many forms of data when responding to emergencies, it is becoming critically important to design heads-up displays to present first responders with information in a manner that does not induce extraneous mental workload or cause undue interaction errors. Virtual reality offers a unique medium for envisioning and testing user interface concepts in a realistic and controlled environment. In this paper, we describe a virtual reality-based emergency response scenario that was designed to support user experience research for evaluating the efficacy of intelligent user interfaces for firefighters. We describe the results of a usability test that captured firefighters’ feedback and reactions to the VR scenario and the prototype intelligent user interface that presented them with task critical information through the VR headset. The paper concludes with lessons learned from our development process and a discussion of plans for future research.

scholarly journals Visualizing molecular structures and shapes: a comparison of virtual reality, computer simulation, and traditional modeling

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Corina E. Brown ◽  
Ben Whaley ◽  
Richard M. Hyslop
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Chemistry Education ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Molecular Geometry ◽  
Molecular Structures ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Students Attitudes

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of three methods used to assist in teaching molecular geometry to college chemistry students. A pre- and post-test quasi-experiment was used to collect data about students’ performance in a given chemistry exercise. One research question was intended to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the three methods in assisting students to understand the topic and carry out the exercise correctly, and a second research question addressed students’ attitudes towards the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in chemistry education. Results show a positive attitude towards the use of VR as an assisting tool to aid in understanding chemistry concepts. While the difference among the three methods was not significant, the results show that the VR brought more enthusiasm and positive attitudes toward the topic of molecular geometry among the students. Educational implications and recommendations for future research are presented as well.

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for treating social anxiety in stuttering: A scoping review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Chard ◽  
Nejra van Zalk
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Exposure Therapy ◽  
Treatment Success ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Effective Technique ◽  
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Virtual Reality Exposure

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) has been shown to be an effective technique for reducing social anxiety. People who stutter are at greater risk of developing heightened social anxiety. Cognitive behavior therapy protocols have shown promise in reducing social anxiety in people who stutter, but no studies have investigated VRET targeting social anxiety associated with stuttering. The aim of the current review is to provide an overview of VRET techniques used to treat social anxiety and insights into how VRET might be adopted in the case of comorbid stuttering and social anxiety. Twelve studies were reviewed to understand key distinctions in VRET protocols used to treat social anxiety. Distinctions include exercises targeting public speaking vs. general social anxiety, computer-generated virtual environments vs. 360 video, and therapist guided vs. automated VRET. An overview of wider research questions surrounding VRET is then presented to aid the understanding of treatment success and outline important directions for future research. Based on the review findings, suggestions are made regarding VRET design for stuttering. In sum, VRET should be tailored to situations and cognitive-behavioral processes that underlie the experience of social anxiety amongst people who stutter, with automated VRET using a virtual therapist a potentially suitable format for delivering treatment.

Virtual Reality in Medical Students’ Education: A Scoping Review (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haowen Jiang ◽  
Sunitha Vimalesvaran ◽  
Jeremy King Wang ◽  
Kee Boon Lim ◽  
Sreenivasulu Reddy Mogali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychomotor Skills ◽  
Group Setting

BACKGROUND Virtual reality (VR) is a digital education modality that produces a virtual manifestation of the real world and it has been increasingly used in medical education. As VR encompasses different modalities, tools and applications, there is a need to explore how VR has been employed in medical education. OBJECTIVE The objective of this scoping review is to map existing research on the use of VR in undergraduate medical education and to identify areas of future research METHODS We performed a search of 4 bibliographic databases in December 2020, with data extracted using a standardized data extraction form. The data was narratively synthesized and reported in line with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. RESULTS Of 114 included studies, 69 studies (61%) reported the use of commercially available surgical VR simulators. Other VR modalities included 3D models (15 [14%]) and virtual worlds (20 [18%]), mainly used for anatomy education. Most of the VR modalities included were semi-immersive (68 [60%]) and of high interactivity (79 [70%]). There is limited evidence on the use of more novel VR modalities such as mobile VR and virtual dissection tables (8 [7%]), as well as the use of VR for training of non-surgical and non-psychomotor skills (20 [18%]) or in group setting (16 [14%]). Only 3 studies reported the use conceptual frameworks or theories in the design of VR. CONCLUSIONS Despite extensive research available on VR in medical education, there continues to be important gaps in the evidence. Future studies should explore the use of VR for the development of non-psychomotor skills and in areas other than surgery and anatomy.

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