Transfer of training from virtual reality

This experiment compared the value of real-world training, virtual reality training, and no training in the transfer of learning to the same task performed in real-world conditions. Results provide no evidence of transfer from a virtual reality training environment to a real-world task. There was no significant difference between the virtual reality training group and the group that received no training on the task. The group that received real-world training performed significantly better than both of the other two groups. The results question the utility of virtual training and suggest that in the present configuration, individuals learn performance characteristics specific only to the virtual reality context. Needed improvements to virtual reality for the purpose of enabling the transfer of training are indicated.     

Virtual reality exposure therapy in flight anxiety: A quantitative meta-analysis

BackgroundFlight anxiety and the fear-related avoidance draw serious personal and financial negative consequences. Although classical exposure techniques for flight anxiety are widely used, they involve significant limits. Efforts to develop the benefits and access to evidence-based psychotherapies have led to a new method of delivering exposure technique, namely virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET). Until now, there has been no meta-analysis which assumed as a primary objective the analysis of VRET effectiveness in flight anxiety.MethodsThe present meta-analysis aimed to investigate the efficacy of VRET interventions for flight anxiety compared to various control conditions, at post-test and follow-up. We conducted a quantitative review of 11 randomized studies, we examined potential moderators of the efficacy of interventions and we investigated the presence and the degree of publication bias.ResultsResults pointed out significant overall efficiency of VRET in flight anxiety at post-test and follow-up. Analysis highlighted the superiority of VRET vs. control conditions at post-test and follow-up and the superiority of VRET vs. classical evidence-based interventions at post-test and follow-up. Results revealed similar efficacy between VRET and exposure based interventions at post-test, and showed better treatment gains over time when using VRET vs. exposure based interventions. Moderation analyses revealed that low quality trials, with smaller and younger samples led to a larger effect size of VRET for flight anxiety. Also, outcome types, the number of exposure sessions and follow-up intervals were significant moderators of the efficiency of VRET in this disorder.ConclusionsThe present meta-analysis supports the efficiency of VRET in flight anxiety and encourages the use of this type of exposure both in clinical practice and research field.     

Haptics-based virtual reality periodontal training simulator

This paper focuses upon the research and development of a prototype dental simulator for training of periodontal procedures. By the use of virtual reality and haptics technology, the periodontal simulator allows trainees to learn performing diagnosis and treatment of periodontal diseases by visualizing a three-dimensional virtual human mouth and feeling real tactile sensations while touching the surface of teeth, gingiva, and calculi with virtual dental instruments. Since periodontics requires dentists to depend primarily on tactile sensations to perform diagnostic and surgical procedures, the use of haptics is unquestionably crucial for a realistic periodontal simulator. The haptics-based virtual reality periodontal training simulator has been validated by a experiment conducted by the College of Dentistry at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) with faculty members and dental students, which demonstrates the scientific contribution and usefulness of the simulator as a vital part of the curriculum of the Department of Periodontics at UIC.

交互式虚拟现实系统的实现

对变互式虚拟现实系统的州论与技术进行了研究。理论研究主要针对二维数据存数捌席中的存储、二维坐标的对应算法及虚拟现实交互式技术的应用。存WEB环境下,能够创造一个实时逼真的虚拟现实环境,并将此环境应用于查询等交互式过程。     

Using virtual reality technology for aircraft visual inspection training: presence and comparison studies

The aircraft maintenance industry is a complex system consisting of several interrelated human and machine components. Recognizing this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has pursued human factors related research. In the maintenance arena the research has focused on the aircraft inspection process and the aircraft inspector. Training has been identified as the primary intervention strategy to improve the quality and reliability of aircraft inspection. If training is to be successful, it is critical that we provide aircraft inspectors with appropriate training tools and environment. In response to this need, the paper outlines the development of a virtual reality (VR) system for aircraft inspection training.

VR has generated much excitement but little formal proof that it is useful. However, since VR interfaces are difficult and expensive to build, the computer graphics community needs to be able to predict which applications will benefit from VR. To address this important issue, this research measured the degree of immersion and presence felt by subjects in a virtual environment simulator. Specifically, it conducted two controlled studies using the VR system developed for visual inspection task of an aft-cargo bay at the VR Lab of Clemson University. Beyond assembling the visual inspection virtual environment, a significant goal of this project was to explore subjective presence as it affects task performance. The results of this study indicated that the system scored high on the issues related to the degree of presence felt by the subjects. As a next logical step, this study, then, compared VR to an existing PC-based aircraft inspection simulator. The results showed that the VR system was better and preferred over the PC-based training tool.     

Integrated manufacture: A role for virtual reality?

Virtual Reality (VR) is fast becoming an affordable technology with potentially wide-ranging applications in many professions including education, medicine and industry. Its advantages over existing technology are primarily that users can visualise, feel involvement and interact with virtual representations of real world activities in real time.

A recently completed study, funded by the EPSRC, examined the feasibility of VR as a tool for UK manufacturing industry. Of primary interest was whether manufacturers perceive a use for VR in their inudstry and, if so, what impact they envisage it will have within their company. A national survey was distributed to over 2,000 UK manufacturing companies randomly selected and interviews carried out with existing users of VR technology. A brief summary of these results is presented.

A demonstration application was developed in desktop VR representing the manufacture of a consumer product in which various stages of the manufacturing process were featured including initial design, manufacture, and testing. The demonstration application is described in detail and user assessments are presented. On the basis of these findings, the potential future role of VR in integrated manufacture is discussed. Relevance to industry

In only a short time, virtual environments have become a focus of serious consideration as a tool for manufacturing and other industry. In order that VR has greatest industrial utility we need to examine and develop its potential as a specialism-free integrating medium within a simultaneous engineering approach.     

虚拟现实技术在数字化校园中的应用

继多媒体、计算机网络之后,虚拟现实技术成为在教育领域内最具有应用前景的技术。随着该技术的不断发展,它在数字化校园的建设与应用中将发挥其特有的优势。本文将从虚拟现实技术的概念及特点出发,进一步探讨虚拟现实技术在数字化校园中的具体应用。     

Semiotics of virtual reality as a communication process

ABSTRACT

The experience of immersive virtual reality (VR) can be considered as a communication process between human beings, mediated by computer systems, which uses visualisation and other sensory stimulation. In this paper, we analyse how VR characteristics can be explored using semiotic theory and, with methods of generative semiotics, we explore aspects of narrative and interaction in VR. We propose a semiotic analysis of VR communication focusing on syntax, semantics and pragmatics and considering also some principles of generative semiotics. The syntactic level is analysed as determined by the characteristics of the visual communication adopted. The semantic of VR is related to the functional model chosen to realise the virtual system. The pragmatic of VR is based on the human–computer interaction that changes the user's role. We explore how these aspects can be characterised in the context of VR communication design and what principles can be adopted for a VR application, and we present an analysis and a classification of the iconic signs that are being used in VR. Moreover, we present a framework that can be used to classify and describe different kinds of virtual reality systems and to better understand communication in VR, and we use it to classify eight popular systems for e-learning and collaboration.     

Experimental research into human cognitive processing in an augmented reality environment for embedded training systems

Research into human factors issues associated with the use of augmented reality (AR) technology is very limited. Consequently, there is a need for formal human factors design guidelines to underpin the integration of AR into systems. The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) Centre for Human Sciences (CHS) is evaluating the potential of AR for providing real-time training feedback in future advanced embedded training systems for the military. In order to understand the important human factors issues of augmented reality, DERA funded the Advanced VR Research Centre (AVRRC) at Loughborough University to investigate the cognitive ergonomics of this technology. An important aspect of this research is concerned with identifying any human information processing issues that may arise when information is presented via AR and overlaid upon one or more primary display surfaces such as a visual display unit (VDU). Two main issues are addressed in this research. First, the impact of AR on human information processing and second, subjective workload experienced when displaying information via the AR medium. The experiments reported in this paper assess issues of reaccommodation and reaction times to alarms on different display formats. They demonstrate also that AR performs as well as standard display formats.     

Intelligent virtual environments for virtual reality art

The development of virtual reality (VR) art installations is faced with considerable difficulties, especially when one wishes to explore complex notions related to user interaction. We describe the development of a VR platform, which supports the development of such installations, from an art+science perspective. The system is based on a CAVE™-like immersive display using a game engine to support visualisation and interaction, which has been adapted for stereoscopic visualisation and real-time tracking. In addition, some architectural elements of game engines, such as their reliance on event-based systems have been used to support the principled definition of alternative laws of Physics. We illustrate this research through the development of a fully implemented artistic brief that explores the notion of causality in a virtual environment. After describing the hardware architecture supporting immersive visualisation we show how causality can be redefined using artificial intelligence technologies inspired from action representation in planning and how this symbolic definition of behaviour can support new forms of user experience in VR.     

A research agenda for augmented and virtual reality in architecture,engineering and construction

This paper presents a study on the usage landscape of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in the architecture, engineering and construction sectors, and proposes a research agenda to address the existing gaps in required capabilities. A series of exploratory workshops and questionnaires were conducted with the participation of 54 experts from 36 organisations from industry and academia. Based on the data collected from the workshops, six AR and VR use-cases were defined: stakeholder engagement, design support, design review, construction support, operations and management support, and training. Three main research categories for a future research agenda have been proposed, i.e.: (i) engineering-grade devices, which encompasses research that enables robust devices that can be used in practice, e.g. the rough and complex conditions of construction sites; (ii) workflow and data management; to effectively manage data and processes required by AR and VR technologies; and (iii) new capabilities; which includes new research required that will add new features that are necessary for the specific construction industry demands. This study provides essential information for practitioners to inform adoption decisions. To researchers, it provides a research road map to inform their future research efforts. This is a foundational study that formalises and categorises the existing usage of AR and VR in the construction industry and provides a roadmap to guide future research efforts.     

Empirical evidence,evaluation criteria and challenges for the effectiveness of virtual and mixed reality tools for training operators of car service maintenance

The debate on effectiveness of virtual and mixed reality (VR/MR) tools for training professionals and operators is long-running with prominent contributions arguing that there are several shortfalls of experimental approaches and assessment criteria reported within the literature. In the automotive context, although car-makers were pioneers in the use of VR/MR tools for supporting designers, researchers started only recently to explore the effectiveness of VR/MR systems as mean for driving external operators of service centres to acquire the procedural skills necessary for car maintenance processes. In fact, from 463 journal articles on VR/MR tools for training published in the last thirty years, we identified only eight articles in which researchers experimentally tested the effectiveness of VR/MR tools for training service operators’ skills. To survey the current findings and the deficiencies of these eight studies, we use two main drivers: (i) a well-known framework of organizational training programmes, and (ii) a list of eleven evaluation criteria widely applied by researchers of different fields for assessing the effectiveness of training carried out with VR/MR systems. The analysis that we present allows us to: (i) identify a trend among automotive researchers of focusing their analysis only on car service operators’ performance in terms of time and errors, by leaving unexplored important pre- and post-training aspects that could affect the effectiveness of VR/MR tools to deliver training contents – e.g., people skills, previous experience, cibersickness, presence and engagement, usability and satisfaction and (ii) outline the future challenges for designing and assessing VR/MR tools for training car service operators.     

Tangible authoring of 3D virtual scenes in dynamic augmented reality environment

This paper proposes tangible interfaces and interactions for authoring 3D virtual and immersive scenes easily and intuitively in tangible augmented reality (AR) environment. It provides tangible interfaces for manipulating virtual objects in a natural and intuitive manner and supports adaptive and accurate vision-based tracking in AR environments. In particular, RFID is used to directly integrate physical objects with virtual objects and to systematically support the tangible query of the relation between physical objects and virtual ones, which can provide more intuitive tangibility and a new way of virtual object manipulation. Moreover, the proposed approach offers an easy and intuitive switching mechanism between tangible environment and virtual environment. This paper also proposes a context-adaptive marker tracking method which can remove an inconsistent problem while embedding virtual objects into physical ones in tangible AR environments. The context-adaptive tracking method not only adjusts the locations of invisible markers by interpolating the locations of existing reference markers and those of previous ones, but also removes a jumping effect of movable virtual objects when their references are changed from one marker to another. Several case studies for generating tangible virtual scenes and comparison with previous work are given to show the effectiveness and novelty of the proposed approach.     

A virtual reality application for geometry classes

Abstract  In communicating information about geometric figures, one drawing may be worth many hundreds of words and, therefore, visualisation aids for complicated three-dimensional (3-D) solid objects are very helpful for both teacher and students. This paper describes the use of the Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) to visualise 3-D objects for middle school geometry classes in a networked environment and shows its usefulness for both teacher and students. In class, the teachers use VRML objects retrieved from their server and students are allowed to explore these objects accessing the teachers' server via the world-wide web. A comparison of the test results from VRML-based geometry classes and traditional classes, that solely depend on verbal explanation with paper and pencil, show that the application of VRML-based 3-D objects has a positive affect on students' learning of geometric topics.     

Effects of virtual presence and learning outcome using low-end virtual reality systems

Low-cost technology is essential to integrate Virtual Reality (VR) into educative institutions around the world. However, low-cost technology usually refers to low-end technology, which may compromise the level of immersion of the VR system. This study evaluates whether low-end and high-end VR systems achieve a comparable learning outcome regardless their immersion level. We also analyze the relationship between virtual presence and the learning outcome arising from a VR educational experience. An evaluation with 42 participants was conducted. We measured learning outcome and virtual presence under three different configurations, namely: a desktop computer, a low-end VR system, and a high-end VR system. The impact of simulator sickness was also analyzed. Results revealed a lower learning outcome in the less immersive configuration (i.e. desktop) and a similar learning outcome in both low-end and high-end VR systems. Even though low-end VR systems are less immersive and produce a lower level of virtual presence than high-end VR systems, the results support the use of low-end VR systems for educative applications.     

A methodology for solid modelling in a virtual reality environment

This paper presents a methodology for solid modelling in a virtual reality (VR) environment. Solid modelling in the VR environment is precisely performed in an intuitive manner through constraint-based manipulations. A hierarchically structured and constraint-based data model is developed to support solid modelling in the VR environment. Constraint-based manipulations are realized by allowable motions for precise 3D interactions in the VR environment. A mathematical matrix is presented for representing allowable motions. A procedure-based degree-of-freedom combination method for 3D constraint solving is presented for deriving the allowable motions from constraints. A rule-based constraint recognition engine is developed for both constraint-based manipulations and implicitly incorporating constraints into the VR environment. A prototype system has been implemented to testify the feasibility of the presented methodology.     

A hypermedia authoring tool for augmented and virtual reality

Most existing hypermedia authoring systems are intended for use on desktop computers. These systems are typically designed for the creation of 2D documents and therefore employ 2D authoring mechanisms. In contrast, authoring systems for nontraditional multimedia/hypermedia experiences for 3D virtual or augmented worlds focus mainly on creating separate media objects and embedding them within the user's surroundings. As a result, linking these media objects to create 3D hypermedia is a tedious manual task. To address this issue, we present an authoring tool for creating and editing linked 3D hypermedia narratives that are interwoven with a wearable computer user's surrounding environment. Our system is designed for use by authors who are not programmers, and allows them to preview their results on a desktop workstation, as well as with an augmented or virtual reality system.     

Exploratory factor analysis and validity of the virtual reality symptom questionnaire and computer use survey

Abstract

The widespread use of virtual reality head-mounted-displays (HMDs) calls for a re-examination of the impact of prolonged exposure to fixed visual displays at close ocular proximity. The purpose of this study is to validate the Virtual Reality Symptoms Questionnaire (VRSQ), created to understand symptoms of prolonged HMDs use, and Computer Use Survey (CUS), created to assess general physical and visual discomfort symptoms. Participants (N?=?100) recorded their general discomfort symptoms using the CUS, performed an interactive task using a HMD for thirty minutes, and then answered the CUS again along with the VRSQ. VRSQ, analysed using an exploratory factor analysis, indicated a clear two-factor solution, and demonstrated very good internal consistency (α?=?0.873). The CUS, also analysed using an exploratory factor analysis, indicated a four-factor solution, and demonstrated good internal consistency (α?=?0.838).

Practitioner Summary: A quantitative-experimental study was conducted to explore the factor structure and validate both the Virtual Reality Symptoms Questionnaire (VRSQ), and the Computer Use Survey (CUS). Findings indicate the VRSQ and CUS are precise and accurate survey instruments for evaluating discomfort after VR-HMD use and the latter for computer use.

Abbreviations: VRSQ: virtual reality symptom questionnaire; CUS: computer use survey; OLED: organic light-emitting diode; MSQ: pensacola motion symptom questionnaire; SSQ: simulator sickness questionnaire; 3?D: three-dimensional computer generated space; VR: virtual reality; VR-HMD: virtual reality head-mounted-display; HMDs: head-mounted-displays; EFA: exploratory factor analysis     

Empirical analysis of consumer reaction to the virtual reality shopping mall

The Internet shopping mall has received wide attention from researchers and practitioners due to the fact that it is one of the most killing applications customers can find on the Internet. Though numerous studies have been performed on various issues of the Internet shopping mall, some research issues relating to the user interface of VR (virtual reality) shopping malls still await further empirical investigation. The objective of this study is to investigate whether the user interface of the VR shopping mall positively affects customer satisfaction in comparison with the ordinary shopping mall. For this purpose, we developed a prototype of the VR shopping mall for which the user interface consists of both 3D graphics and an avatar, using it as an experimental medium. 102 valid questionnaires were gathered from active student users of the ordinary shopping mall, and two research hypotheses were then tested to prove whether the three explanatory variables such as convenience, enjoyment, quality assurance improve in the VR shopping mall, and whether customer satisfaction is also significantly enhanced in the VR shopping mall in comparison with the ordinary shopping mall. Additionally, we conducted the PLS (partial least square) analysis to test whether the customer satisfaction is explained significantly by the three explanatory variables or not.     

计算机虚拟现实技术的教学应用与软件的开发研究

提出了利用虚拟现实技术开发的"模拟法庭教学软件",建设<模拟法庭>虚拟实验室,以解决"模拟法庭"数量不足的问题,使每一个学生都参与到实践教学中去,教学效果良好.