The Virtual isn’t Real

BackgroundVR simulation has been suggested as a resource-efficient tool in the education and training of doctors. Few studies have been conducted on what motivates different groups to use VR simulation, particularly during the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate learning. A deeper understanding of first-year residents’ experiences and attitudes may improve the development of VR simulation as an effective learning tool during this transitional phase. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the attitudes of Norwegian first-year residents towards this well-established yet rapidly evolving technology and their experiences of using it.MethodsFirst-year residents at Levanger Hospital, Norway were offered VR-based simulation from October 2022 to August 2023. Data were collected using semi-structured focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews. Eleven first-year residents were interviewed. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Our results were interpreted in the light of Self-determination theory to better understand the influence of motivational factors on actual usage of VR simulation.ResultsThree themes were generated from the data: (1) The playground of emergency medicine: Learning in a safe environment, (2) Barriers to be overcome and (3) Recognizing one’s reality in a virtual world. The findings showed that the participants considered VR simulation to be a safe and flexible learning tool for training in emergency care. The data also revealed various physical and psychological factors as barriers to using the tool. Variation, adaptation to individual needs and realistic experiences in VR simulations appeared to be important factors relevant to the clinical work of first-year residents.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that facilitating the use of VR simulation and offering content relevant to the target group may increase motivation. In this study, the perceived transferability from VR simulation to clinical practice appeared to influence its successful implementation and use. Future research should further explore applicability, the effect of incorporating learning theory into VR simulation software development, and the role of VR simulation in soft skills training.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-026-08729-3.

Virtual Reality based training is becoming more and more popular because of its capabilities for immersive training experiences. Despite many advantages and capabilities, these systems have some shortcomings. A major shortcoming is the interaction with the environment. To experience immersive training environments the users use a head mounted display (HMD) which blocks all the external vision to produce a fully virtual immersive experience. The trainees can only see the virtual world but not real objects like controllers, buttons, steering wheel, pedals, or even their hands. This paper describes design of a virtual reality based training system where the users are able to see real and virtual reality images. The trainees are able to see the combination of virtual and physical elements via a head-mounted-display and camera unit. When a user looks towards the wheel, controllers, and other preselected objects, they are detected by the computer vision algorithms and blended with the virtual image.

Mixed reality applications use techniques from computer vision, augmented reality and virtual reality to allow real and virtual objects interact physically together on a user’s computer screen. This paper will describe two mixed reality applications which allow the user to play games that appear to take place on top of their physical desk. The games described are a desktop racing game and a desktop based game of ten pin bowling. In the desktop racing game virtual cars, controlled by the user, interact with both virtual objects (such as trees, walls and lampposts) and real ones (such as ramps and blocks). In the bowling game the player throws a real ball at a set of virtual bowling pins which react realistically as the ball appears to hit them. These initial games are being used as a springboard to investigate the core competencies required to make mixed reality games.

In the paper, the author notes that the development of modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, unmanned transport, robotics, portable and embedded digital devices, already has a great impact on the daily life of a person and can fundamentally change the existing social order in the near future.Virtual reality as a technology was born in the cross-section of research in the field of three-dimensional computer graphics and human-machine interaction. The spectrum of mixed reality includes the real world itself, the one that is before our eyes, the world of augmented reality — an improved reality that results from the introduction of sensory data into the field of perception in order to supplement information about the surrounding world and improve the perception of information; the world of virtual reality, which is created using technologies that provide full immersion in the environment. In some studies, augmented virtuality is also included in the spectrum, which implies the addition of virtual reality with elements of the real world (combining the virtual and real world).The paper substantiates the conclusion that in the near future both the legislator and judicial practice will have to find a balance between the interests of the creators of virtual worlds and virtual artists exclusive control over their virtual works, on the one hand, and society in using these virtual works and their development, on the other hand. It is necessary to allow users to participate, interact and create new forms of creative expression in the virtual environment.The author concludes that a broader interpretation of the fair use doctrine should be applied in this area, especially for those virtual worlds and virtual objects that imitate the real world and reality. However, it is necessary to distinguish between cases where the protection of such objects justifies licensing and those where it is advisable to encourage unrestricted use of the results for the further development of new technologies.

This article offers an analysis of intentionality for virtual objects and explores some of the ethical implications of this analysis. The main example which serves as a motivation for the article is the case of a Chinese gamer who, in 2005, committed murder in retaliation for the theft of a virtual object, the theft of his virtual dragon sabre. The intentional analysis reveals that the way in which we experience virtual objects shares a structural similarity with the way in which we experience physical objects. Both virtual and physical objects are accessible through action and intersubjectively available. The final part of the article introduces three ethical points based on the intentional analysis. First, virtual objects can have the same ethical significance as physical objects. Second, it will be important to consider empirical results on the factors which influence one's subjective level of immersion in the virtual world. Finally, the intentional analysis of virtual objects suggests specific questions for future research.

The development of technology creates a new phenomenon in human life, one of which is virtual objects (virtual property). This study aims to find and examine various concepts about virtual objects and the position of virtual objects in the Civil Code. This research is normative legal research, using a conceptual approach and a statutory approach. The data used are primary, secondary and tertiary. The data is analyzed qualitatively. The results show that: (1) The term virtual object is not known in the Civil Code but rather intangible objects because the Civil Code has existed and been in force since May 1, 1948, while the virtual world only developed in 1970. (2) Virtual objects are categorized as objects because they meet the elements: can be mastered/attached rights by humans, can be captured by the five senses or not, can be valued with money, or economic value, is a unity of owner and object. Because virtual objects are known and exist in the virtual world, one element is added that is formed through the interconnection of computer networks. (3) The position of virtual objects in the Civil Code shall be limited insofar as intangible or disembodied objects are concerned. This is a consequence of a constantly changing society, with rules in that society. Law developed as an alternative that could follow society's development according to its era's needs. (4) Along with legal developments that follow the development of society related to virtual objects, although limited, it has been regulated in several regulations outside the Civil Code, namely Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright and Law Number 19 of 2016 concerning Amendments to Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions.

Objective: the relationship between player and character is important to understand the concept of the extended self in virtual markets. This study aims to further understand this relationship between player and online game. MMORPGs have several resources that affect the psychological experience of players, who feel connected to their characters. The online world seems to free us from our physical bodies and provide new ways to express ourselves. Thus, the archetypal structures are part of the social imaginary, as fictional universes and avatars in online games. Methods: a netnography methodology was used in order to participate in an online community of the game and collect information about the construction of the game archetype, the players’ relationships and their extended self, and the motivations that engage the players. Results: it was found that archetypes serve as limitations but also as a guarantee of involvement and satisfaction. We also identified person-building relationships in search of an ideal reality, and we found that the motivations that most drive players are the search for relationships and escapism as a way to immerse and escape from ‘real reality.’ Conclusions: the study was directed toward the archetypal construction of the game. The extended self is a form of consumption and interaction with the avatar but also an escape from ‘real reality’ and the co-construction of an archetype of a virtual fantasy world that forms part of the relationship and evolution of consumption and entertainment patterns.

Recently force-feedback has been recognized to be important for virtual reality systems, and many studies have been done in this field. Although we have proposed several methods for displaying the operating feel of a virtual object by considering its dynamics, we have not dealt with cases of multiple objects or operators. In more advanced applications of haptic virtual reality, however, multiple operators and multiple objects will generally exist in the virtual world. In this paper, we propose a systematic method of constructing a virtual world by combining the dynamics modules and interaction modules, the former denoting elements of the virtual world (virtual objects or operators) and the latter denoting interactions between them. Since this method makes it possible to regard those elements as equal, we can construct a flexible and extendable virtual world to which we can easily add new elements or remove some of its elements. An experimental result using a prototype force display system shows the validity of the proposed method.

Currently social networks are becoming important for understanding the internal structure of social groups. In this paper we are concerned with social networks for virtual people(avatars) who live in virtual worlds. For example 'Second Life' is a typical system supporting our enjoyment of virtual life. Virtual people also have virtual friends, so there must be various kinds of social groups in the virtual space. But since there are no temporal or spatial limitations in virtual space, the social network of all of the virtual avatars will be very large. In addition, virtual people try to use various virtual objects in the virtual space. In this paper, we consider virtual objects as well as avatars in order to reveal the indirect relationships among avatars via virtual people. So we propose a more generalized social network which includes virtual people and objects, and their relationships. Also we propose a single simplification algorithm for a generalized social network, which will be very useful for providing a more abstract representation or hierarchical structure of a very large social network. In our experiment, we show that our extended social network is very useful and effective for investigating a very large and complicated social network.

Recently, extended reality (XR) displays, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), have integrated eye tracking capabilities, which could enable novel ways of interacting with XR content. In natural settings, eye vergence angle (EVA) changes constantly, based on the distance of fixated objects. Here, we measured EVA for eye fixations on real and virtual target objects in three different environments: real objects in the real world (real), virtual objects in the real world (AR), and virtual objects in a virtual world (VR). In a repeated measures design with 13 participants, EVA was measured while participants fixated on targets at varying distances. As expected, the results showed a significant main effect of target depth such that increasing EVA was associated with closer targets. However, there were consistent individual differences in baseline EVA. There was also a smaller but statistically significant main effect of environment (real, AR, VR) on EVA. Importantly, EVA was stable with respect to the starting depth of previously fixated targets and invariant to the direction (convergence vs. divergence) of vergence changes. In addition, EVA proved to be a more veridical depth estimate than verbal subjective depth judgments.

Augmented Reality overlaps virtual objects on real world. It mixes a real and virtual world which can generate more semantic meanings than either one. To seamlessly merge virtual and real objects, model registration is an important problem. This paper provides a practical approach to do occlusion registration which is a key cue for users to understand the scene. We apply our method to Video-based Augmented Reality where detecting occlusion relationship is challenging because virtual objects are simply superimposed on images of real scenes. By estimating the dense depth of real objects from stereo, results show our approach can efficiently and correctly register virtual and real objects.

In this chapter, we introduced a vision-based registration method using multiple planar markers placed at arbitrary positions and poses is introduced. We also demonstrate the performance of the proposed method by applying it to two AR applications. In contrast with the previous methods using multiple markers, this method requires no time-consuming measurement of the marker arrangement. Since the marker arrangement can be estimated by the Projective Space, the markers can be distributed at arbitrary positions and poses without a prior knowledge. This method can be applied not only for on the tabletop but also inside the room. Both of the baseball system and bowling system can be enjoyed on the tabletop in the real world only with a web-camera and a handheld monitor connected a general PC. It is a big advantage for home users that these applications do not require any special device. Users can interactively change their view points by moving around the tabletop because of this registration method with multiple markers. In contrast with usual CG viewers in which a mouse or a keyboard is used for changing view points, changing view points by moving of the users is very intuitive and easy. By visualising 3D objects in front of the users, these applications will be future-oriented 3D game.

Museums and the Web is an annual conference sponsored by Archives and Museum Informatics.The 99 conference provided us with an opportunity to reflect on how museums are being transformed by the Web as well as to understand the challenges that they are being presented with by the demand for parallel virtual programming

This paper introduces a concept of augmented reality haptics close to its vision equivalent, namely the blending of information between direct input, measured in the real world, with virtual ones, computed from a VR simulation, related to the explored real world. Hence, we propose blending functions enabling the transition of haptic features, applied for forces and for position switch. Finally, to demonstrate our concept, a tele-operative system dedicated to the tele-touch-diagnosis, is presented and used for scenarios of comparison between real and virtual objects as well as experimental results.KeywordsAugmented Hapticstele-operationHaptic blending

Criminal acts can pay off in the virtual world just as in the real world. Virtual values created or traded in the virtual world, which can be changed into real money, provide incentives for committing all kinds of offences. Business transactions conducted in the virtual world by delivering mere virtual goods or services create new possibilities of money laundering. These possibilities are magnified by the worldwide accessibility of the virtual currency. Virtual criminality whose effects remain in the virtual world, in the classification used here (In-World ←→ In-World), should not trigger remedies under the criminal law. The action of a User must be considered from a Real-World perspective and the extent to which this action might constitute an offence must be ascertained. On the User-to-User level, the classic computer offences such as data espionage (unauthorized access to a computer) and data tampering, as well as intellectually communicated offences such as duress and insult have to be considered. The application of fraud and extortion laws to virtual-world crime is less clear-cut, as it is doubtful whether the virtual objects involved in the alleged “fraud” or “extortion” really can be understood as assigned to the assets of any user. An argument in favor of considering virtual objects as assigned to a user’s assets is that the user has a right to use and possibly even sell the virtual object. An argument against is that the Terms of Service regularly provide that the operator reserves the right to cancel the user’s account (and any assets within it) without granting a material compensation for any losses. Those engaged in making or distributing child pornography have found a new way to commit crimes through 3D-Worlds: the presentation of sexual acts using avatars with childlike appearances. Different legal systems provide vastly different regulations to address such practices. The divergent value standards of the different legal systems become obvious with regard to not only pornography but also such crimes as incitement to hatred and raise the question of which standards should apply in a global setting. In addition, there is a new phenomenon of “cyber mobbing” which merits analysis as to what its effects are and whether any legal action is needed. As long as cyber mobbing is not regarded as duress or persecution, which is a precondition for stalking, it cannot be punished according to German criminal law. Any duties (to take or refrain from specified acts) arising from the Provider–User relationship also requires discussion, especially with regard to whether a stronger legal involvement is needed to prevent specified offences. The establishment of virtual worlds increases the pressure to coordinate the fight against cyber criminality, which is already necessary because of the internet without borders. This coordination must be followed by further efforts of the international community of states on different (national, supranational, and international) levels in order to develop generally acknowledged “cores of injustice” (Unrechtskerne).