scholarly journals Design of Immersive Virtual Reality System to Improve Communication Skills in Individuals with Autism

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (05) ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osama Halabi ◽  
Samir Abou El-Seoud ◽  
Jihad Alja'am ◽  
Hena Alpona ◽  
Moza Al-Hemadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Natural Interaction ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Communications Skills ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Communication Impairments

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) regularly experience situations in which they need to give answers but do not know how to respond; for example, questions related to everyday life activities that are asked by strangers. Research geared at utilizing technology to mend social and communication impairments in children with autism is actively underway. Immersive virtual reality (VR) is a relatively recent technology that has the potential of being an effective therapeutic tool for developing various skills in autistic children. This paper presents an interactive scenario-based VR system developed to improve the communications skills of autistic children. The system utilizes speech recognition to provide natural interaction and role-play and turn-taking to evaluate and verify the effectiveness of the immersive environment on the social performance of autistic children. In experiments conducted, participants showed more improved performance with a computer augmented virtual environment (CAVE) than with a head mounted display (HMD) or a normal desktop. The results indicate that immersive VR could be more satisfactory and motivational than desktop for children with ASD.

scholarly journals Immersive Virtual Reality in Improving Communication Skills in Children with Autism

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osama Halabi ◽  
Samir A. Elseoud ◽  
Jihad M. Alja'am ◽  
Hena Alpona ◽  
Moza Al-Hemadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Usability Study ◽  
Daily Life Activities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Immersive Environment ◽  
Communication Impairments

Individuals in the Autism Spectrum often encounter situations where they have to respond to questions and situations that they do not know how to respond to, such as, questions asked by strangers including ones related to daily-life activities. A variety of research has been done to improve social and communication impairments in children with autism using technology. Immersive virtual reality is a relatively recent technology with a potential to bring an effective solution and used as a therapeutic tool to develop different skills. This paper presents a virtual reality solution to reduce the gap experienced by autistic children due to their inability to establish a communication. An interactive scenario-based system that uses role-play and turn-taking technique was implemented to evaluate and verify the effectiveness of immersive environment on the social performance of an autistic child. Preliminary testing of the system demonstrated the feasibility of VR-based system as a took for improving the communication skill in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children. The results of the comparative usability study show the effectiveness of immersive VR in motivating and satisfying the autistic.

scholarly journals Low-cost and home-made immersive systems

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Kuntz ◽  
Ján Cíger
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Vision System ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Simple Application ◽  
3D Vision ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Good Level ◽  
Application Sharing ◽  
Immersive Systems

A lot of professionals or hobbyists at home would like to create their own immersive virtual reality systems for cheap and taking little space. We offer two examples of such "home-made" systems using the cheapest hardware possible while maintaining a good level of immersion: the first system is based on a projector (VRKit-Wall) and cost around 1000$, while the second system is based on a head-mounted display (VRKit-HMD) and costs between 600� and 1000�. We also propose a standardization of those systems in order to enable simple application sharing. Finally, we describe a method to calibrate the stereoscopy of a NVIDIA 3D Vision system.

scholarly journals Validation of the Virtual Reality Neuroscience Questionnaire: Maximum Duration of Immersive Virtual Reality Sessions Without the Presence of Pertinent Adverse Symptomatology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Kourtesis ◽  
Simona Collina ◽  
Leonidas A. A. Doumas ◽  
Sarah E. MacPherson
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Brief Assessment ◽  
Game Mechanics ◽  
Maximum Duration

There are major concerns about the suitability of immersive virtual reality (VR) systems (i.e., head-mounted display; HMD) to be implemented in research and clinical settings, because of the presence of nausea, dizziness, disorientation, fatigue, and instability (i.e., VR induced symptoms and effects; VRISE). Research suggests that the duration of a VR session modulates the presence and intensity of VRISE, but there are no suggestions regarding the appropriate maximum duration of VR sessions. The implementation of high-end VR HMDs in conjunction with ergonomic VR software seems to mitigate the presence of VRISE substantially. However, a brief tool does not currently exist to appraise and report both the quality of software features and VRISE intensity quantitatively. The Virtual Reality Neuroscience Questionnaire (VRNQ) was developed to assess the quality of VR software in terms of user experience, game mechanics, in-game assistance, and VRISE. Forty participants aged between 28 and 43 years were recruited (18 gamers and 22 non-gamers) for the study. They participated in 3 different VR sessions until they felt weary or discomfort and subsequently filled in the VRNQ. Our results demonstrated that VRNQ is a valid tool for assessing VR software as it has good convergent, discriminant, and construct validity. The maximum duration of VR sessions should be between 55 and 70 min when the VR software meets or exceeds the parsimonious cut-offs of the VRNQ and the users are familiarized with the VR system. Also, the gaming experience does not seem to affect how long VR sessions should last. Also, while the quality of VR software substantially modulates the maximum duration of VR sessions, age and education do not. Finally, deeper immersion, better quality of graphics and sound, and more helpful in-game instructions and prompts were found to reduce VRISE intensity. The VRNQ facilitates the brief assessment and reporting of the quality of VR software features and/or the intensity of VRISE, while its minimum and parsimonious cut-offs may appraise the suitability of VR software for implementation in research and clinical settings. The findings of this study contribute to the establishment of rigorous VR methods that are crucial for the viability of immersive VR as a research and clinical tool in cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology.

scholarly journals Perceived Sensations in Architectural Spaces through Immersive Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-81
Author(s):  
Hugo C. Gomez-Tone ◽  
Jorge Martin-Gutierrez ◽  
John Bustamante-Escapa ◽  
Paola Bustamante-Escapa ◽  
Betty K. Valencia-Anci
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Group Of Seven ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Real Scale ◽  
Architectural Spaces

To design architectural spaces that not only respond to the basic needs of users, but also seek their emotional well-being, it is necessary for the architecture students to have a special sensitivity and be aware of the different sensations that their designs should and can evoke. To achieve this competence without exploring real spaces, Immersive Virtual Reality technology offers an important contribution to the field of architecture. The purpose of this research is to determine if the sensations perceived in virtual architectural spaces by students are similar to the real ones and to determine the characteristics of this technology that allow a better perception of sensations. Six architectural modules were designed to be walked through and experienced at real scale using a Head Mounted Display by 22 students of the first and fifth year of studies of Architecture career in Peru. An ad-hoc questionnaire allowed to know the perceived sensations and the benefits of the tool. The results obtained showed that the perception of sensations of the fifth year students is a little closer to those expressed by a group of seven experts compared to that of the first year students and that the students consider the characteristics of accessibility, real scale of the space and the possibility of going through and looking at the space in all directions are those that have given more realism to the experience and therefore better perception of the space, while the characteristics of natural light and shadows, construction materials and external environment have been less valued in the realism of the experience. It is concluded that the sensory experimentation in architectural spaces modelled realistically in virtual environments allows the perception of sensations very similar to those that the architect seeks to convey initially.

scholarly journals Motor learning through a non-immersive virtual task in people with limb-girdle muscular dystrophies

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-471
Author(s):  
Marcelo Prumes ◽  
Talita Dias da Silva ◽  
Camila Aparecida de Oliveira Alberissi ◽  
Camila Miliani Capellini ◽  
Lilian Del Ciello de Menezes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Genetic Disorders ◽  
Muscular Dystrophies ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Speed Increase ◽  
Daily Life Activities ◽  
Timing Task ◽  
Improved Performance

Introduction: Limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMDs) are neuromuscular and genetic disorders that progress with weakness and damage of the proximal muscles, developing with loss of functionality. Virtual reality environments are suggested as an effective alternative for performance of daily life activities. However, there is no evidence in the literature on the use of virtual reality in this population. Objective: Assess motor performance through a motor learning protocol in a coincident timing task. Methods: 10 participants with LGMD and 10 healthy individuals were selected and included in the study to perform a non-immersive virtual reality task divided into three phases: acquisition (20 attempts), retention (5 attempts), and transfer (5 attempts, with speed increase). Results: It is observed that the accuracy of movement improves from the beginning to the end of the acquisition (p = 0.01); however, there is a marginal difference between the groups in block A1 (p = 0.089). Regarding the variability of touches, observed by the variable error, both groups improved performance in all phases. Conclusion: Even with lower performance than the control group at the beginning of the practice, individuals with LGMD showed the potential to optimize motor function during the practice of a non-immersive virtual reality activity and were able to match their performance with the control group after a few attempts.

scholarly journals Development and Calibration of an Eye-Tracking Fixation Identification Algorithm for Immersive Virtual Reality

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
pp. 4956
Author(s):  
Jose Llanes-Jurado ◽  
Javier Marín-Morales ◽  
Jaime Guixeres ◽  
Mariano Alcañiz
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Identification Algorithm ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Gaze Patterns ◽  
Head Mounted Displays

Fixation identification is an essential task in the extraction of relevant information from gaze patterns; various algorithms are used in the identification process. However, the thresholds used in the algorithms greatly affect their sensitivity. Moreover, the application of these algorithm to eye-tracking technologies integrated into head-mounted displays, where the subject’s head position is unrestricted, is still an open issue. Therefore, the adaptation of eye-tracking algorithms and their thresholds to immersive virtual reality frameworks needs to be validated. This study presents the development of a dispersion-threshold identification algorithm applied to data obtained from an eye-tracking system integrated into a head-mounted display. Rules-based criteria are proposed to calibrate the thresholds of the algorithm through different features, such as number of fixations and the percentage of points which belong to a fixation. The results show that distance-dispersion thresholds between 1–1.6° and time windows between 0.25–0.4 s are the acceptable range parameters, with 1° and 0.25 s being the optimum. The work presents a calibrated algorithm to be applied in future experiments with eye-tracking integrated into head-mounted displays and guidelines for calibrating fixation identification algorithms

Older Adults’ Experiences and Perceptions of Immersive Virtual Reality: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Healy ◽  
Aisling Flynn ◽  
Owen Conlan ◽  
Jenny McSharry ◽  
Jane Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Qualitative Studies ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Thematic Synthesis ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Barriers To Use ◽  
Key Steps

BACKGROUND Immersive virtual reality (IVR) can be defined as fully computer-generated environments that are displayed through a head-mounted display. Existing research suggests that key features of IVR can assist older adults in their everyday lives–providing opportunities in health promotion and tackling social isolation and loneliness. There has been a surge in the number of qualitative studies exploring older adults’ experiences and perceptions of IVR. However, there has been no systematic synthesis of these studies to inform the design of new, more accessible IVR technologies. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to systematically review and synthesize qualitative studies exploring older adults’ experiences and perceptions of IVR. METHODS A systematic review and thematic synthesis was conducted following the ENTREQ guidelines. Two reviewers completed title and abstract screening, full-text screening, data extraction and quality appraisal. Thematic synthesis is derived from the qualitative method, thematic analysis. It involves three key steps: initial coding and grouping of these codes, the formation of descriptive themes from these codes and finally, going beyond the data to form novel insights and theories known as analytical themes. Confidence in the evidence was assessed using the GRADE-CERQual approach. RESULTS Thirteen studies were included in the final synthesis, consisting of 224 participants ranging across nine countries and five continents. Confidence in the evidence ranged from high to moderate. Four descriptive themes were generated: (1) facilitating IVR interactions, (2) experiencing unique features of IVR, (3) perceptions of IVR and (4) accounts of agency in IVR. The findings from the descriptive themes suggested that there are several improvements that need to be made to existing IVR devices to greater facilitate older adults’ use of this technology. However, despite this, older adults’ responses to IVR were generally positive. Three analytical themes were then generated: (1) tolerating the bad to experience the good, (2) buying in to IVR: don’t judge a book by its cover and (3) “it proves to me I can do it”. The analytical themes illustrated that older adults were willing to tolerate discomforts that accompany existing IVR technologies to experience features such as immersive social networking experiences, there was a discrepancy between older adults’ perceptions of IVR prior to use–which were generally negative–and after use–which were generally positive–and, IVR provided a platform for older adults to access certain activities and environments more easily than in the real world due to limitations caused by ageing. CONCLUSIONS This review highlights the need to overcome initial negative views of IVR and perceived barriers to use by emphasizing the unique ability of IVR to increase older adults’ agency through features such as presence, immersion, and embodiment, which in turn offer new opportunities to take part in meaningful activities tailored to their needs and preferences. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.1177%2F16094069211009682

Development of an immersive virtual reality head-mounted display with high performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (25) ◽  
pp. 6969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunqi Wang ◽  
Weiqi Liu ◽  
Xiangxiang Meng ◽  
Hanyi Fu ◽  
Daliang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Head Mounted Display

Immersive Virtual Reality System for Treatment of Phantom Limb Pain (PLP)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Covarrubias Rodriguez ◽  
Beatrice Aruanno ◽  
Monica Bordegoni ◽  
Mauro Rossini ◽  
Franco Molteni
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Phantom Limb Pain ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Phantom Limb ◽  
Motion Sensor ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Reality System ◽  
Limb Pain ◽  
Oculus Rift ◽  
Head Mounted Display

This paper presents an immersive virtual reality system (IVRS) that has been designed for unilateral amputees in order to reduce the phantom limb pain (PLP). The patient’s healthy limb is tracked by using a motion sensor. Data of the limb in motion are used as input parameters to move the phantom limb in the immersive virtual reality system. In this way, the patient has the illusion of moving the phantom limb while moving the real and contra-lateral limb. The system has been implemented by using low cost and open technologies, and combines the Oculus Rift SDK2 device, the LeapMotion device, a motion sensor, and an engine for interactive 3D content and gaming generation (Unity 3D). The Oculus Rift head mounted display is used to provide the immersive experience.

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