Can I trust my ears in VR? Head-related transfer functions and valuation methods with descriptive attributes in virtual reality

In this article, we present the current state of the art in binaural audio with the focus on head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) and valuation methods of virtual acoustics with descriptive attributes. This combination provides a methodology, which delivers the basis for research studies in virtual reality (VR) on individual and non-individual head-related transfer functions. Based on the largely explored localization perception of static audio signals, this review offers an overview of the directional hearing during head and sound source movement and multimodality in audiovisual virtual environments. Perceptual quality characteristics provide evaluation methods from which future HRTF VR experiments and virtual environments studies on binaural acoustics could benefit.

A Systematic Literature Review on Extended Reality: Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality in Working Life

Extended reality (XR), here jointly referring to virtual, augmented, and mixed (VR, AR, MR) reality, is becoming more common in everyday working life. This paper presents a systematic literature review of academic publications on XR indicating changes in practical organization of work. We analyse both application areas of XR and theoretical and methodological approaches of XR research. The review process followed the PRISMA statement. Design, remote collaboration, and training were the main application areas of XR. XR enabled overcoming of obstacles set by time and space, safety, and resources by mediating experience of space. Research on XR applications in actual working life settings is yet relatively rare and covers primarily three areas: collaboration, evaluation of knowledge transfer, and work practices. Virtual reality was the most common form of applied XR, although the hardware used varied case by case. We identified four research areas regarding XR: collaboration, work practices, and evaluation of knowledge transfer, which somewhat followed the application areas. We did not find XR-specific methodologies in the reviewed articles, only few recent studies used novel ways of collecting research material, such as recording the movement in virtual reality. For now, XR still holds significant potential rather than clearly confirmed general advantages in working life.

ConVRgence (VRIC) Virtual Reality International Conference Proceedings

This document presents the proceedings of the VRIC - ConVRgence conference held on July 7-9, 2021. The conference was organized again this year in a particular context, that of the COVID-19 health crisis, and the usual dates were shifted from March to July to allow for a hybrid format both in-situ in Laval, and in the Laval Virtual World. We hope that next year will be back to normal, both in terms of organization and volume of submissions. We would like to thank the authors who submitted their research works, as well as the reviewers for their contributions. Simon Richir, Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, Scientific Director of Laval VirtualOlivier Christmann, Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, Co-chairGeoffrey Gorisse, Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, Co-chair.

Designing a Mixed Reality Extension for an Educational Board Game on Fractions

Fractions are one of the most complex and challenging notions for children and can often lead to frustration and a revulsion for mathematics in general. In this article, we present the Magic Cauldron, a Mixed Reality (MR) application, designed to help children apprehend fractions in a fun and interactive way. The proposed solution is a digital extension to a board game, called the Potion Workshop that is used to introduce fractions in more than 2000 schools in France. We put together a team, composed of the mathematics didacticians who designed the Potion Workshop, several teachers who use this game in their class, a multimedia designer and computer scientists, in order to create a MR game that would tackle several of the key notions that are still hard to grasp. In this article, we present the Design-Based method followed by this team. It offers insights on how to implicate non-computer scientists in the design of complex custom MR interactions. Through several cycles of collaborative design, involving three teachers and their students and the development of three prototypes, this method allowed us to produce a truly original MR application.

Tracking motor activity in Virtual Reality to reveal cognitive functioning: A preliminary study

A challenge for cognitive research is the better understanding of how motor activity influences and is influenced by other cognitive domains. We developed a preliminary study to investigate whether tracking motor functioning in virtual reality provides useful insight on cognitive functioning. We chose the flankers task as an assessment measure and built a VR environment into which seven participants completed more than 1250 trials. In addition to classical results of the flankers task showing that incongruent stimuli induce slower responses than others., we also identified how individuals are able to correct their initially incorrect motor response. This indicator may shed new light into the functioning of cognitive control in the future. We discuss the potential offered by virtual reality technology for cognitive assessment through embodied considerations of cognition.

Photorealism in Mixed Reality: A Systematic Literature Review

In Augmented Reality systems, virtual objects are combined with real objects, both three dimensional, interactively and at run-time. In an ideal scenario, the user has the feeling that real and virtual objects coexist in the same space and is unable to differentiate the types of objects from each other. To achieve this goal, research on rendering techniques have been conducted in recent years. In this paper, we present a Systematic Literature Review aiming to identify the main characteristics concerning photorealism in Mixed and Augmented Reality systems to find research opportunities that can be further exploited or optimized. The objective is to verify if exists a definition of photorealism in Mixed and Augmented Reality. We present a theoreticalfundamental over the most used methods concerning realism in Computer Graphics. Also, we want to identify the most used methods and tools to enable photorealism in Mixed and Augmented Reality systems.

Using virtual reality treadmill as a locomotion technique in a navigation task: Impact on user experience – case of the KatWalk

This paper reports empirical results from a study on the impact of the KatWalk virtual reality omnidirectional treadmill on the user experience. The omnidirectional treadmill is a mechanical device, that allows the user to perform locomotive motion in any direction, allowing for 360 degrees of horizontal movement. This locomotion method appeared as a potential solution of the locomotion problem in virtual reality after the emergence and the democratization of the new generation of head-mounted display systems such as HTC Vive and Oculus Rit. However, little empirical work has been done to test the efficiency of the tool as a locomotion technique in virtual environments. Twenty-four subjects (13 females, mean age = 30.38, SD = 6.32) participated in the experiment. Results showed that the tool is suitable for traveling in virtual environments seen through head-mounted display systems, whether they are composed of plan or bumpy ground, with or without obstacles.