A comparison of guidance cues in desktop virtual environments

Designers of educational and entertainment desktop virtual environments (VEs) have employed a variety of cues for motivating users to perform actions or adopt particular viewpoints. However, there has been little formal study comparing user responses to such cues. This paper reports the results of a preliminary study of five cues (agents, signs, man-made landmarks, environmental landmarks, and trails) for motivating actions in virtual environments. Given a sample task of navigating to a target destination, no significant differences between the cues were observed in terms of overall success or speed. However, significant differences between the cues were found on other measures, including minimization of detours (trails) and awareness of guidance (agents, signs, trails). Frequency of desktop VE usage was also found to influence performance.     

Integration of manufacturing services into virtual environments over the internet

Virtual reality (VR) is a rapidly developing technology that has a wide spectrum of industrial and commercial applications. Networked (distributed or shared) virtual environments (VE) are of growing interest to modern manufacturing industry; a dominating use of networked virtual manufacturing environments (VMEs) is on-line visualisation and collaborative control of 3D information. This has to be supported by real-time data transfer. To meet a broad range of common requirements for Internet-based VE communications, particularly for virtual manufacturing and collaborative design and control, this paper presents a networked virtual environment system that is designed to support networked virtual design and manufacturing. The system is implemented with manufacturing message specification (MMS) standards so as to integrate a range of manufacturing services into networked VEs over the Internet.     

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.     

Applying virtual reality for trust-building e-commerce environments

The application of virtual reality in e-commerce has enormous potential for transforming online shopping into a real-world equivalent. However, the growing research interest focuses on virtual reality technology adoption for the development of e-commerce environments without addressing social and behavioral facets of online shopping such as trust. At the same time, trust is a critical success factor for e-commerce and remains an open issue as to how it can be accomplished within an online store. This paper shows that the use of virtual reality for online shopping environments offers an advanced customer experience compared to conventional web stores and enables the formation of customer trust. The paper presents a prototype virtual shopping mall environment, designed on principles derived by an empirically tested model for building trust in e-commerce. The environment is evaluated with an empirical study providing evidence and explaining that a virtual reality shopping environment would be preferred by customers over a conventional web store and would facilitate the assessment of the e-vendor’s trustworthiness.     

The use of virtual environments based on a modification of the computer game Quake III Arena in psychological experimenting

We investigated whether newly developed virtual 3D environments (VEs) based on a modification of the computer game Quake III Arena^® are suitable for psychological experimenting. Internal validity of data collected in VEs may be threatened due to a priori individual differences in general performance in VE navigation and in susceptibility to cybersickness. The main question was whether individual differences in performance can be diminished by means of training. Additionally, the susceptibility of different subsamples to cybersickness when moving within VEs was examined. 85 participants took part in an experiment where they had to fulfill simple tasks in three VEs. Navigation performance was measured as the time participants needed to make their way through the VEs. Differences in navigation performance between different levels of experience were diminished by training, indicating that internal validity can be obtained. A classification tree reveals that game-inexperienced female participants aged over 31 years have the highest risk of experiencing cybersickness. VEs based on modifications of computer games seem to be an extremely promising and inexpensive possibility for the administration of psychological experiments.     

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。     

A model of (en)action to approach embodiment: a cornerstone for the design of virtual environments for learning

This paper presents a model of (en)action from a conceptual and theoretical point of view. This model is used to provide solid bases to overcome the complexity of designing virtual environments for learning (VEL). It provides a common grounding for trans-disciplinary collaborations where embodiment can be perceived as the cornerstone of the project. Where virtual environments are concerned, both computer scientists and educationalists have to deal with the learner/user’s body; therefore the model provides tools with which to approach both human actions and learning processes within a threefold model. It is mainly based on neuroscientific research, including enaction and the neurophysiology of action.     

Collaborative virtual learning environments: design and evaluation

E-learning systems have gone through a radical change from the initial text-based environments to more stimulating multimedia systems. Such systems are Collaborative Virtual Environments, which could be used in order to support collaborative e-learning scenarios. The main aim of this paper is to aid educational designers in selecting, designing and evaluating three dimensional collaborative virtual environments in order to gain the pedagogical benefits of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning. Therefore, this paper initially discusses the potential of three dimensional networked virtual environments for supporting collaborative learning. Furthermore, based on a two-step platform selection process this paper (a) presents and compares three dimensional multi-user virtual environments for supporting collaborative learning and (b) validates the most promising solution against a set of design principles for educational virtual environments. According to these principles, an educational environment has been implemented on top of the selected platform in order to support collaborative e-learning scenarios. The design of this environment is also presented. In addition, this paper presents the results of three small scale studies carried out in a tertiary education department, to assess the educational environment. This environment has been evaluated based on a hybrid evaluation methodology for uncovering usability problems, collecting further requirements for additional functionality to support collaborative virtual learning environments, and determining the appropriateness of different kinds of learning scenarios.

HVS:构造一个虚拟实景空间

虚拟实景空间是指以实景图像或视频为素材构造出的虚拟空间.与传统的以三维造型为素材,由计算机实时绘制出的虚拟空间相比,虚拟实景空间不需要复杂的三维造型,对计算机计算能力要求低.虚拟实景空间支持用户在其中前进、后退、仰视、俯视、360度环视等操作.总结了虚拟实景空间构造系统HVS的空间模型与部分关键技术.     

Reputation mechanism for e-commerce in virtual reality environments

The interest in 3D technology and virtual reality (VR) is growing both from academia and industry, promoting the quick development of virtual marketplaces (VMs) (i.e. e-commerce systems in VR environments). VMs have inherited trust problems, e.g. sellers may advertise a perfect deal but doesn’t deliver the promised service or product at the end. In view of this, we propose a five-sense feedback oriented reputation mechanism (supported by 3D technology and VR) particularly for VMs. The user study confirms that users prefer VMs with our reputation mechanism over those with traditional ones. In our reputation mechanism, five-sense feedback is objective and buyers can use it directly in their reputation evaluation of target sellers. However, for the scenarios where buyers only provide subjective ratings, we apply the approach of subjectivity alignment for reputation computation (SARC), where ratings provided by one buyer can then be aligned (converted) for another buyer according to the two buyers’ subjectivity. Evaluation results indicate that SARC can more accurately model sellers’ reputation than the state-of-the-art approaches.     

虚拟环境的用户意图捕获

目的虚拟制造环境中需要复杂精确的3D人机交互。目前的虚拟环境(VE)的主要问题是人在交互过程中的认知和操作负荷太重,交互效率亟需提高。解决此问题的重要途径是提高机器的认知能力。方法本文研究了用户意图的分析和抽取,并建立多通道用户意图理解的算法,以此来提高交互效率。结果结合虚拟装配应用给出了典型意图的实验结果并给予分析。通过实验对多通道意图的可用性和可靠性,以及基于意图系统的实时性进行了评估。实验是虚拟装配空间中用户拾取对象意图的实验。当3维鼠标和对象距离为5 000 mm时,传统系统中操作平均耗时5.344 7 s,而基于意图的系统中平均耗时2.326 6 s。基于意图的系统极大地降低了操作的时间和复杂度。结论采用意图驱动的系统情景转换能在虚拟环境工作中有效地降低人的认知负荷,并能很好地帮助系统开发者进行混成系统的建模和分析,降低开发的复杂度。实践结果表明用户意图理解的多通道模型和算法能极大地提高交互式系统的交互自然性和交互效率。该方法不仅适用于本文所用的虚拟装配系统,对于所有的虚拟环境应用场景都有同样的有效性。     

分布式虚拟环境综述

1 引言虚拟环境是指用户借助各种直观的输入输出设备,沉浸于计算机生成的真实的或虚幻的三维世界中,漫游其中或与其中的对象交互,从而获得如同在真实物理世界中的体验。虚拟环境也称为虚拟现实、虚拟世界、灵境等,其基本特征可概括为:沉浸(Immersion)、交互(Interaction)和构想(Imagination)。它强调     

Benchmarking thermoception in virtual environments to physical environments for understanding human-building interactions

Thermal comfort influences occupant satisfaction, well-being and productivity in built environments. Several decisions during the design stage (e.g., heating, ventilation, air conditioning design, color and placement of furniture, etc.) impact the building occupants’ thermoception (i.e., the sense by which animals perceive the temperature of the environment and their body). However, understanding the influence of design decisions on occupant behavior is not always feasible due to the resources needed for creating physical testbeds and the need for controlling several contributing factors to comfort and satisfaction. Virtual environments (environments created with virtual reality technology) are novel venues for studying human behavior. However, in order to use virtual environments in the thermoception domain, validation of these environments as adequate representations of physical environments (built environments) is imperative. As the first step towards this goal, we benchmarked virtual environments to physical environments under different thermal stimuli (i.e., hot and cold indoor air temperature). We identified perceived thermal comfort and satisfaction, perceived indoor air temperature, number and type of interactions as markers for the thermoceptive comparison of virtual and physical offices. We conducted an experiment with 56 participants and pursued a systematic statistical analysis. The results show that virtual environments are adequate representations of physical environments in the thermoception domain, especially for subjective perceived thermal comfort and satisfaction assessment. We also found that the type of first adaptive interactions could be used as the markers of thermoception in virtual environments.     

Peltier Haptic Interface (PHI) for improved sensation of touch in virtual environments

In this report we describe an advanced virtual reality glove that we are developing, called the Peltier Haptic Interface (PHI), which will provide improved sensation of touch in virtual environments. PHI will provide force/pressure feedback that can be varied independently on each finger, as well as temperature sensation that can be varied non-uniformly over the whole hand. The combination of these sensations will provide a more realistic sense of touch and significantly increase the realism of virtual environments. PHI will find extensive applications in biomedical simulations, teaching, industrial line training, and many other areas.     

On multiuser perspectives in passive stereographic virtual environments

The use of stereographic systems is spreading out in modern society, from the revolution of cinematography to its adoption in high‐tech products such as portable gaming devices or photo cameras. However, the fruition of immersive stereographic systems by more than one person at a time is still a research issue. In more detail, the class of passive stereo systems presents technological limitations of displaying correct multiuser perspectives. In fact, the stereo image projected onto the screen is usually rendered according to a unique point of view (PoV). Nevertheless, in multiuser systems, the selection of an appropriate PoV can minimize both optical discomfort and perspective distortion. This paper aims to evaluate which among existing PoV calculation methods provides the best performances in terms of projection realism, optical comfort and overall system usability in multiuser passive stereo systems. The performances have been evaluated in three different “distance” scenarios to take into account also the effects of binocular disparity in the PoV calculation. To accomplish this objective, we administered a questionnaire to nine couple subjects, evaluating each of the investigated PoV calculation methods for each of the three distance scenarios. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived enablers of 3D virtual environments for virtual team learning and innovation

Virtual teams consist of geographically distributed employees working with a common goal using mostly technology for communication and collaboration. Virtual teams face a number of challenges, discussed in the literature in terms of communication through technology, difficulty in building trust, conveying social cues, and creating awareness, as well as cultural differences. These challenges impact collaboration, but also learning and innovation. This research focuses on how a social medium, the 3D virtual environment, is perceived to enable learning and innovation in virtual teams. We study this through a qualitative study based on interviews of distributed work managers’ perception of VEs. The major findings are that VEs are perceived to create collaborative learning atmospheres for virtual teams in terms of enabling engagement, a shared context awareness, and support in social network building. Another finding is that VEs are perceived to enable team learning, knowledge development, and collaboration through persistence of content, information sharing, learning through role-plays and simulations, and visualization. Furthermore, VEs enable the development of co-created content as well as new ways of working in virtual teams.     

Afforded actions as a behavioral assessment of physical presence in virtual environments

A particular affordance was used as a potential candidate for behavioral assessment of physical presence in virtual environments. The subjects’ task was to walk through a virtual aperture of variable widths. In the case of presence, the subjects’ body orientation, while walking, was hypothesized to be adapted to the width of the aperture and to their own shoulder width. Results show that most subjects adapted their behavior to both their body architecture and the virtual width constraints. These subjects exhibited a behavioral transition from frontal walking to body rotation while walking through broad to narrow apertures. The same behavioral transition has already been documented in real environments (Warren and Whang in J Exp Psychol Human Percept Perform 13(3):371–383, 1987). This behavioral adjustment is thus assumed to be an objective indication of presence. Beyond these results, the present study suggests that every afforded action could be a potential tool for sensorimotor assessment of physical presence. Parts of this research have been first presented at the 11th Annual International Workshop of Presence, Padova, Italy, 16-18 October 2008.     

A multi-layered architecture for sketch-based interaction within virtual environments

In this article, we describe a multi-layered architecture for sketch-based interaction within virtual environments. Our architecture consists of eight hierarchically arranged layers that are described by giving examples of how they are implemented and how they interact. Focusing on table-like projection systems (such as Virtual Tables or Responsive Workbenches) as human-centered output-devices, we show examples of how to integrate parts or all of the architecture into existing domain-specific applications — rather than realizing new general sketch applications — to make sketching an integral part of the next-generation human–computer interface.     

Facetons: face primitives for building 3D architectural models in virtual environments

We present facetons, geometric modeling primitives designed for building architectural models especially effective for a virtual environment where six degrees of freedom input devices are available. A faceton is an oriented point floating in the air and defines a plane of infinite extent passing through the point. The polygonal mesh model is constructed by taking the intersection of the planes associated with the facetons. With the simple interaction of faceton, users can easily create 3D architecture models. The faceton primitive and its interaction reduce the overhead associated with standard polygonal mesh modeling, where users have to manually specify vertexes and edges which could be far away. The faceton representation is inspired by the research on boundary representations (B‐rep) and constructive solid geometry, but it is driven by a novel adaptive bounding algorithm and is specifically designed for 3D modeling activities in an immersive virtual environment. We describe the modeling method and our current implementation. The implementation is still experimental but shows potential as a viable alternative to traditional modeling methods. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.