scholarly journals VR Pedestrian Simulator Studies at Home: Comparing Google Cardboards to Simulators in the Lab and Reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Maruhn
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Other ◽  
Home Setting ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Data Points ◽  
The University ◽  
At Home

Virtual Reality is commonly applied as a tool for analyzing pedestrian behavior in a safe and controllable environment. Most such studies use high-end hardware such as Cave Automatic Virtual Environments (CAVEs), although, more recently, consumer-grade head-mounted displays have also been used to present these virtual environments. The aim of this study is first of all to evaluate the suitability of a Google Cardboard as low-cost alternative, and then to test subjects in their home environment. Testing in a remote setting would ultimately allow more diverse subject samples to be recruited, while also facilitating experiments in different regions, for example, investigations of cultural differences. A total of 60 subjects (30 female and 30 male) were provided with a Google Cardboard. Half of the sample performed the experiment in a laboratory at the university, the other half at home without an experimenter present. The participants were instructed to install a mobile application to their smartphones, which guided them through the experiment, contained all the necessary questionnaires, and presented the virtual environment in conjunction with the Cardboard. In the virtual environment, the participants stood at the edge of a straight road, on which two vehicles approached with gaps of 1–5 s and at speeds of either 30 or 50 km/h. Participants were asked to press a button to indicate whether they considered the gap large enough to be able to cross safely. Gap acceptance and the time between the first vehicle passing and the button being pressed were recorded and compared with data taken from other simulators and from a real-world setting on a test track. A Bayesian approach was used to analyze the data. Overall, the results were similar to those obtained with the other simulators. The differences between the two Cardboard test conditions were marginal, but equivalence could not be demonstrated with the evaluation method used. It is worth mentioning, however, that in the home setting with no experimenter present, significantly more data points had to be treated or excluded from the analysis.

Large Models for Virtual Environments: A Review of Work by the Architectural Walkthrough Project at UNC

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Mine ◽  
Hans Weber
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Graphics Hardware ◽  
Extra Effort ◽  
Chapel Hill ◽  
Model Dynamics ◽  
To Come ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Oth law of model dynamics: In a finite (and usually very short) amount of time, users of a graphics system will generate a model that shall bring said system to its knees. The purpose of this paper is to discuss our experiences with the impact of megamodels on interactive virtual environments. We consider a megamodel to be any model that causes the Oth law of model dynamics to come into effect. We will demonstrate how working with megamodels quickly reveals the limitations of the graphics hardware and software being used to support the virtual environment. We will give examples, based upon our experiences on the Architectural Walkthrough Project here at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), of the kinds of extra effort required to overcome these limitations.

The Effect of the Agency and Anthropomorphism on Users' Sense of Telepresence, Copresence, and Social Presence in Virtual Environments

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 481-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine L. Nowak ◽  
Frank Biocca
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Virtual Image ◽  
Computer Controlled ◽  
Set Up

We report on an experiment that examined the influence of anthropomorphism and perceived agency on presence, copresence, and social presence in a virtual environment. The experiment varied the level of anthropomorphism of the image of interactants: high anthropomorphism, low anthropomorphism, or no image. Perceived agency was manipulated by telling the participants that the image was either an avatar controlled by a human, or an agent controlled by a computer. The results support the prediction that people respond socially to both human and computer-controlled entities, and that the existence of a virtual image increases tele-presence. Participants interacting with the less-anthropomorphic image reported more copresence and social presence than those interacting with partners represented by either no image at all or by a highly anthropomorphic image of the other, indicating that the more anthropomorphic images set up higher expectations that lead to reduced presence when these expectations were not met.

scholarly journals Correcting Drift, Head and Body Misalignments between Virtual and Real Humans

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Vitor Reus ◽  
Márcio Mello ◽  
Luciana Nedel ◽  
Anderson Maciel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Inertial Sensors ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Head Tracking ◽  
Desktop Computer ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Incremental Information ◽  
Ms Kinect ◽  
Head Rotations

Head-mounted displays (HMD) allow a personal and immersive viewing of virtual environments, and can be used with almost any desktop computer. Most HMDs have inertial sensors embedded for tracking the user head rotations. These low-cost sensors have high quality and availability. However, even if they are very sensitive and precise, inertial sensors work with incremental information, easily introducing errors in the system. The most relevant is that head tracking suffers from drifting. In this paper we present important limitations that still prevent the wide use of inertial sensors for tracking. For instance, to compensate for the drifting, users of HMD-based immersive VEs move away from their suitable pose. We also propose a software solution for two problems: prevent the occurrence of drifting in incremental sensors, and avoid the user from move its body in relation to another tracking system that uses absolute sensors (e.g. MS Kinect). We analyze and evaluate our solutions experimentally, including user tests. Results show that our comfortable pose function is effective on eliminating drifting, and that it can be inverted and applied also to prevent the user from moving their body away of the absolute sensor range. The efficiency and accuracy of this method makes it suitable for a number of applications in immersive VR.

scholarly journals Visual Behavior Modeling of Hazard Identification Assessment From Eye-Tracking Data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abner Cardoso Da Silva ◽  
Alberto Barbosa Raposo ◽  
Cesar Augusto Sierra Franco
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Hazard Identification ◽  
Behavior Modeling ◽  
Visual Behavior ◽  
Gaze Behavior ◽  
Hazard Detection ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Application Fields

The easier access to virtual reality head-mounted displays have assisted the use of this technology on research. In parallel, the integration of those devices with eye-trackers enabled new perspectives of visual attention analysis in virtual environments. Different research and application fields found in such technologies a viable way to train and assess individuals by reproducing, with low cost, situations that are not so easily recreated in real life. In this context, our proposal aims to develop a model to measure characteristics of safety professional’s gaze behavior during the hazard detection process.

scholarly journals The Effects of Higher Levels of Immersion on Procedure Memorization Performance and Implications for Educational Virtual Environments

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 527-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric D. Ragan
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Field Of View ◽  
Spatial Cues ◽  
Improve Performance ◽  
Conceptual Information ◽  
Performance Improvements ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Display Walls

Researchers have proposed that immersion could have advantages for tasks involving abstract mental activities, such as conceptual learning; however, there are few empirical results that support this idea. We hypothesized that higher levels of immersion would benefit such tasks if the mental activity could be mapped to objects or locations in a 3D environment. To investigate this hypothesis, we performed an experiment in which participants memorized procedures in a virtual environment and then attempted to recall those procedures. We aimed to understand the effects of three components of immersion on performance. The results demonstrate that a matched software field of view (SFOV), a higher physical field of view (FOV), and a higher field of regard (FOR) all contributed to more effective memorization. The best performance was achieved with a matched SFOV and either a high FOV or a high FOR, or both. In addition, our experiment demonstrated that memorization in a virtual environment could be transferred to the real world. The results suggest that, for procedure memorization tasks, increasing the level of immersion even to moderate levels, such as those found in head mounted displays (HMDs) and display walls, can improve performance significantly compared to lower levels of immersion. Hypothesizing that the performance improvements provided by higher levels of immersion can be attributed to enhanced spatial cues, we discuss the values and limitations of supplementing conceptual information with spatial information in educational VR.

Real and Illusory Interactions Enhance Presence in Virtual Environments

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Regenbrecht ◽  
Thomas Schubert
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Mental Representation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Component Model ◽  
Spatial Presence ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Actual Interaction

It has long been argued that the possibility to interact in and with a virtual environment (VE) enhances the sense of presence. On the basis of a three-component model of presence, we specify this hypothesis and argue that the mental representation of possible actions should especially enhance spatial presence, and to a lesser extent the involvement and realness of a VE. We support this hypothesis in three studies. A correlative study showed that self-reported interaction possibilities correlated significantly with spatial presence, but not with the other two factors. A first experimental study showed that possible self-movement significantly increased spatial presence and realness. A second experimental study showed that even the illusion of interaction, with no actual interaction taking place, significantly increased spatial presence.

An Immersive Virtual Environment for Varying Risk and Immersion for Effective Training

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Harter ◽  
Shulan Lu ◽  
Pratyush Kotturu ◽  
Devin Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Training Outcomes ◽  
Immersive Virtual Environment ◽  
Effective Training

We present an immersive virtual environment being developed to study questions of risk perception and their impacts on effective training. Immersion is known to effect the quality of training in virtual environments, and the successful transfer of skills to real world situations. However, the level of perceived immersiveness that an environment invokes is an ill defined concept, and effects of different types of immersion are known to have greater and lesser influences on training outcomes. We concentrate on how immersiveness effects perceived risk in virtual environments, and how risk impacts training effectiveness. Simulated risk can invoke an alief of danger in subjects using a virtual environment. Alief is a concept useful in virtual training that describes situations where the person experiencing a simulated scenario knows it is not real, but suspends disbelief (willingly or unwillingly). This suspension of belief (alief) can cause the person to experience the same sorts of autonomic reactions as if they were experiencing the situation in real life (for example, think of fear invoked on amusement park rides). Alief of risk or danger has been proposed as one phenomenon that can influence training outcomes, like the experience of immersion, when training in virtual environments. In this paper we present work on developing a low-cost virtual environment for the manipulation of immersion and risk for cognitive studies. In this environment we provide several alternative input modalities, from mouse to Wii remote interactivity, to control a virtual avatar’s hand and arm for performing risky every day tasks. Immersion can be manipulated in several ways, as well as the type and risk associated with tasks. Typical tasks include performing kitchen preparation work (using knives or hot items), or wood or metal working tasks (involving manipulation of dangerous tools). This paper describes the development and technologies used to create the virtual environment, and how we vary risk perception and immersion of users for various cognitive tasks. The capabilities and manipulations of immersiveness and risk are presented together with some findings on using Wii motes as input devices in several ways for virtual environments. The paper concludes with some preliminary results of varying perceived risk on cognitive task performance in the developed environment.

Design and Development of Virtual Reality Environments for Biomedical and Engineering Applications

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eder Govea ◽  
Hugo I. Medellín-Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Design And Development ◽  
Engineering Applications ◽  
Virtual Objects

Virtual Reality (VR) is one of the areas of knowledge that have taken advantage of the computer technological development and scientific visualization. It has been used in different applications such as engineering, medicine, education, entertainment, astronomy, archaeology and arts. A main issue of VR and computer assisted applications is the design and development of the virtual environment, which comprises the virtual objects. Thus, the process of designing virtual environment requires the modelling of the virtual scene and virtual objects, including their geometry and surface characteristics such as colours, textures, etc. This research work presents a new methodology to develop low-cost and high quality virtual environments and scenarios for biomechanics, biomedical and engineering applications. The proposed methodology is based on open-source software. Four case studies corresponding to two applications in medicine and two applications in engineering are presented. The results show that the virtual environments developed for these applications are realistic and similar to the real environments. When comparing these virtual reality scenarios with pictures of the actual devices, it can be observed that the appearance of the virtual scenarios is very good. In particular the use of textures greatly helps in assessing specific features such as simulation of bone or metal. Thus, the usability of the proposed methodology for developing virtual reality applications in biomedical and engineering is proved. It is important to mention that the quality of the virtual environment will also depend on the 3D modelling skills of the VR designer.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by E. Litwin

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Frail
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Web Site ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Early Elementary School ◽  
The University ◽  
The Web ◽  
At Home

Litwin, Eric. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.  Illus. James Dean. New York: Harper, 2012. Print. Pete, the laid back, imperturbable puss is back and this time author and children’s performer Eric Litwin incorporates math into the story. Pete puts on his favourite shirt and begins to sing about his buttons. There is lots of repetition to help kids learn about numbers and subtraction. First Pete thinks about the total number of buttons and the numeral is displayed. Then the word “four” appears twice in the refrain: “My buttons my buttons, my four groovy buttons”. One by one the buttons pop-off and each time the resulting equation is displayed: “How many buttons are left? 4-1=3”.  This sequence repeats until he is down to his belly button! As with the other Pete books, there is also a very important underlying message: don’t sweat the small stuff.  Each time he loses another button, the author asks: “Did Pete cry? Goodness, no! Buttons come and buttons go”. This is reinforced in the conclusion: “I guess it simply goes to show that stuff will come and stuff will go.  But do we cry? Goodness, No! We keep on singing”. Artist James Dean first painted an image of Pete in 1999 and the little bluish-black cat with the big yellow eyes is still going strong.  His images are composed of bright, high-contrast colours. The visible brush strokes and thick black outlines create lots of interesting textures and highlights.  Of particular note are the buttons that leave long spirals of black trailing behind them and look as if they are popping right off the page. Again, as with previous Pete books, ( I Love my White Shoes and Rockin’ My School Shoes),  there is a free downloadable song available from the Harper Collins Web site (http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat/). The book is certainly engaging enough to be enjoyed on its own. However, there is also a substantial amount of bonus material on the web site that can be incorporated into school lessons or enjoyed at home: the song, links to a YouTube video that pairs animated images from the book with the song, printable activities and a link to a “School Jam” ipad/iphone app featuring Pete. A clever fusion of music and math sprinkled with a life lesson in resilience, this book would make a groovy addition to school and home libraries for preschool to early elementary school-aged children. Highly Recommended: 4 out 4 starsReviewer: Kim Frail Kim is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta. Children’s literature is a big part of her world at work and at home. She also enjoys gardening, renovating and keeping up with her two-year old.

CONFORTO TÉRMICO NAS ESCOLAS DO CRATO - CE

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 948-961
Author(s):  
Thiago Felix De Lima ◽  
Juliana Maria Oliveira Silva
Keyword(s):  
School Environment ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Initial Result ◽  
The Other ◽  
Measured Temperature ◽  
Human Comfort ◽  
Thermal Discomfort ◽  
De Se ◽  
Student Employees ◽  
The University

O trabalho tem como ação verificar se em algumas escolas do Município do Crato apresentam conforto/desconforto térmico para os alunos, professores e funcionários em períodos distintos do ano. O trabalho faz parte do projeto de extensão do Laboratório de Análise Geoambiental que visa também aproximar os alunos da Universidade com a escola, demonstrando que a extensão pode e deve produzir dados que podem auxiliar na melhoria das condições do ambiente onde atua. Foram selecionadas duas escolas e instalou-se três mini estações de baixo custo em três diferentes pontos, sendo o primeiro ponto instalado na sala de aula, um no pátio e outro na área externa, sendo mensurados a temperatura e a umidade de uma em uma hora. De acordo com Diagrama do Conforto Humano (INMET) foram feitos os cruzamentos dos dados a fim de se obter um resultado inicial do que ocorrem nas duas escolas no primeiro período do ano escolhido. Através dos resultados obtidos pela medição e entrevistas com alunos funcionários e professores, e de algumas observações, pode-se concluir que ocorrem em alguns horários situações de desconforto térmico, o que pode ser percebido também pelos alunos e professores quando responderam o questionário.Palavras-chave:Extensão.Pesquisa.Conforto térmico. Desconforto térmico. Ambiente escolar. ABSTRACTThe work has the effect of checking if some schools of the Municipality of Crato present some comfort / thermal discomfort for students, teachers and employees during different periods of the year. The work is part of the extension project of the Laboratory of Geoenvironmental Analysis that also aims to bring students from the University to the school, demonstrating that extension can and should produce data that can help improve the conditions of the environment where it operates. Two schools were selected and three low-cost mini-stations were installed in three different points, the first point being installed in the Geography classroom of each school, one in the courtyard and the other in the external area, being measured temperature and humidity one hour at a time. According to the Human Comfort Diagram, the data were cross-checked in order to obtain an initial result of what happens in the two schools in the first period of the year chosen. Through the results obtained by the measurement and interviews with student employees and teachers, and some observations, it can be concluded that at certain times situations of thermal discomfort occur, which can also be perceived by students and teachers when they answered the questionnaireKeywords:Extension. Search. Thermal comfort. Thermal discomfort. School environment.

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