Collaborative Virtual Reality Research Articles

A multiplayer VR showdown game for people with visual impairment

ABSTRACT Researchers have developed virtual reality (VR) systems for people with visual impairment using various audio feedback techniques. However, few studies have investigated collaborative VR systems where people with and without visual impairment can participate together. We developed a VR Showdown, similar to a real showdown game, where players with and without visual impairment can play together in a remote virtual environment. We incorporated auditory distance perception using a head-related transfer function based on the spatial position of the Showdown ball in VR. We developed two modes of VR Showdown. One is the player vs. AI agent (PvA) mode, where visually impaired people can play alone. The other is the player vs. player (PvP) mode, in which visually impaired people can play with another player in a network. The user study results showed that people with and without visual impairment enjoyed playing VR Showdown games that were well-matched.

Collaborative virtual reality environment in disaster medicine: moving from single player to multiple learners.

The use of virtual reality (VR) in healthcare education is on the increase. In disaster medicine, it could be a solution to the cost and logistic constraints for a "full-scale" scenarios. However, VR is mainly designed for single players, which is not appropriate for the objectives pursued in disaster medicine. We decided to evaluate the educational value of using individual VR simulation in disaster medicine on a group of learners. The VR scenario used was a reproduction of a major train crash, with 21 victims and whose objectives were START triage and first aid techniques. The sessions were carried out in multi-participant groups with different roles (active and immersed with headset, paper triage without headset, and active for communications not immersed in the headset). Their perceived self-efficacy was assessed before (T0), after (T1) and 2months (T2) after the training. Satisfaction and confidence in learning were also measured. The median levels of satisfaction and confidence in learning were of 21/25 and 32/40 respectively. Their perceived self-efficacy increased significantly between T0 and T1 (p < 0.001), and remained stable until T2. The different roles of participant showed no difference in terms of satisfaction, confidence in learning or changes in perceived self-efficacy. One third of the participants agreed that the number of participants had interfered with their learning. A significant negative correlation (rS = -0.51, p = 0.002) was found between satisfaction and the fact of having been hindered by the number of participants. Around 90% of participants found the activity entertaining and found the new technologies appropriate for learning technical skills. This first experience of VR in a group setting is satisfactory and shows its positive effects. The limitations highlighted here will enable areas of improvement to be identified for the use of VR in disaster medicine, pending the development of multi-player tools. It would now be appropriate to analyse the impact of this type of simulation on learning and its retention over time.

Automatic Control of Virtual Cameras for Capturing and Sharing User Focus and Interaction in Collaborative Virtual Reality

As VR technology advances and network speeds rise, social VR platforms are gaining traction. These platforms enable multiple users to socialize and collaborate within a shared virtual environment using avatars. Virtual reality, with its ability to augment visual information, offers distinct advantages for collaboration over traditional methods. Prior research has shown that merely sharing another person’s viewpoint can significantly boost collaborative efficiency. This paper presents an innovative non-verbal communication technique designed to enhance the sharing of visual information. By employing virtual cameras, our method captures where participants are focusing and what they are interacting with, then displays these data above their avatars. The direction of the virtual camera is automatically controlled by considering the user’s gaze direction, the position of the object the user is interacting with, and the positions of other objects around that object. The automatic adjustment of these virtual cameras and the display of captured images are symmetrically conducted for all participants engaged in the virtual environment. This approach is especially beneficial in collaborative settings, where multiple users work together on a shared structure of multiple objects. We validated the effectiveness of our proposed technique through an experiment with 20 participants tasked with collaboratively building structures using block assembly.

Understanding the relationship of academic motivation and social support in graduate nursing education in Egypt.

Obtaining a postgraduate nursing education in Egypt requires substantial resources, including a robust academic drive and supportive relationships. These resources help students overcome challenges and navigate their educational journey. This study examines the relationship between academic motivation and social support among nursing graduate students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at two nursing colleges in Egypt, involving 410 randomly selected graduate students. The Academic Motivation Scale-College Version (AMS-C 28) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used. Findings revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between academic motivation and perceived social support (r = 0.515, p < 0.001). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that 12.9% (Adjusted R² = 0.129) of the variance in academic motivation could be explained by perceived social support and level of education. This study pinpointed intrinsic motivation as the primary impetus for graduate nursing students. Robust social support and active participation in social and recreational activities were also significant motivators. Nursing education programs can enhance intrinsic motivation by integrating authentic learning experiences, providing empowering mentorship, offering condensed doctoral programs, and ensuring substantial peer support. The exploration of the role of novelty in graduate nursing education, facilitated by innovative teaching methods such as collaborative virtual reality simulations, gamification, and team-based research projects, can be advantageous. Building robust social networks is vital for establishing a supportive and motivating learning environment for nursing graduates in Egypt.

An exploratory study of social presence and cognitive engagement association in a collaborative virtual reality learning environment

As the utilization of virtual reality (VR) in engineering education increases, researchers are increasingly focused on enhancing teaching and learning within VR environments. Cognitive engagement among the participants is a fundamental outcome in any learning environment, where social interaction often plays a pivotal role. This study contributes to VR teaching and learning research by investigating the association between social presence indicators and modes of cognitive engagement in a desktop collaborative virtual reality (VR) learning environment based on the social presence theory and the cognitive engagement definition of the Interactive-Constructive-Active-Passive framework. The study participants logged into the VR platform to collaboratively solve simulated engineering statics problems. The transcripts of students' interaction videos were coded based on codebooks for both social presence and cognitive engagement. The study revealed that social presence indicators are significantly associated with the three modes of cognitive engagement (active, constructive, and interactive). Additionally, interactive open communication emerged as the primary social presence element utilized by students during cognitive engagement with peers in the learning environment. This study's findings have implications for research and practice in enhancing students' cognitive engagement through their social interactions within VR learning environment.

Collaborative Virtual Reality in Higher Education: Students' Perceptions on Presence, Challenges, Affordances, and Potential

Collaborative Virtual Reality in Higher Education: Students' Perceptions on Presence, Challenges, Affordances, and Potential

Collaborative Virtual Reality Real-Time 3D Image Editing for Chest Wall Resections and Reconstruction Planning

The integration of extended reality (XR) technologies into health care procedures presents transformative opportunities, particularly in surgical processes. This study delves into the utilization of virtual reality (VR) for preoperative planning related to chest wall resections in thoracic surgery. Leveraging the capabilities of 3-dimensional (3D) imaging, real-time visualization, and collaborative VR environments, surgeons gain enhanced anatomical insights and can develop predictive surgical strategies. Two clinical cases highlighted the effectiveness of this approach, showcasing the potential for personalized and intricate surgical planning. The setup provides an immersive, dynamic representation of real patient data, enabling collaboration among teams from separate locations. While VR offers enhanced interactive and visualization capabilities, preliminary evidence suggests it may support more refined preoperative strategies, potentially influence postoperative outcomes, and optimize resource management. However, its comparative advantage over traditional methods needs further empirical validation. Emphasizing the potential of XR, this exploration suggests its broad implications in thoracic surgery, especially when dealing with complex cases requiring multidisciplinary collaboration in the immersive virtual space, often referred to as the metaverse. This innovative approach necessitates further examination, marking a shift toward future surgical preparations. In this article, we sought to demonstrate the technique of an immersive real-time volume-rendered collaborative VR-planning tool using exemplary case studies in chest wall surgery.

Manipulation Guidance Field for Collaborative Object Manipulation in VR

Object manipulation is a fundamental interaction in virtual reality (VR). Efficient and accurate manipulation is important for many VR applications, especially collaborative VR applications. We introduce a collaborative method based on the manipulation guidance field (MGF) to improve manipulation accuracy and efficiency. MGF aims to guide users of different manipulation types to different manipulation viewpoints to efficiently and collaboratively manipulate objects. First, we introduce the concept of MGF and its construction method. Two strategies are offered to accelerate the MGF updating process. A collaborative manipulation method to manipulate objects using the guidance of MGF is then proposed. Finally, a user study (n = 36 participants) was conducted to evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of our MGF-based collaborative object manipulation method in three scenes: (1) Livingroom scene; (2) WaveHouse scene; (3) Pipe scene. Compared to a control method without MGF, the results show that our MGF-based method has significantly reduced task completion time, position error, rotation error, and task load.

Fitted avatars: automatic skeleton adjustment for self-avatars in virtual reality

In the era of the metaverse, self-avatars are gaining popularity, as they can enhance presence and provide embodiment when a user is immersed in Virtual Reality. They are also very important in collaborative Virtual Reality to improve communication through gestures. Whether we are using a complex motion capture solution or a few trackers with inverse kinematics (IK), it is essential to have a good match in size between the avatar and the user, as otherwise mismatches in self-avatar posture could be noticeable for the user. To achieve such a correct match in dimensions, a manual process is often required, with the need for a second person to take measurements of body limbs and introduce them into the system. This process can be time-consuming, and prone to errors. In this paper, we propose an automatic measuring method that simply requires the user to do a small set of exercises while wearing a Head-Mounted Display (HMD), two hand controllers, and three trackers. Our work provides an affordable and quick method to automatically extract user measurements and adjust the virtual humanoid skeleton to the exact dimensions. Our results show that our method can reduce the misalignment produced by the IK system when compared to other solutions that simply apply a uniform scaling to an avatar based on the height of the HMD, and make assumptions about the locations of joints with respect to the trackers.

Correction to: Emotional contagion in collaborative virtual reality learning experiences: an eSports approach

Correction to: Emotional contagion in collaborative virtual reality learning experiences: an eSports approach

Emotional Contagion in Collaborative Virtual Reality Learning Experiences: An eSports Approach

Emotional contagion is an intriguing subject in many academic fields, and it is also relevant in collaborative learning where learners share a physical or virtual space. We aimed at exploring the possibilities of motivating, fascinating, and experiential elements of virtual reality (VR) in a collaborative learning context, with a focus on emotional contagion. We adopted the eSports mode as a competency development strategy in collaborative learning, using VR to evaluate emotional contagion that is invoked between the presenters and spectators. For this purpose, we created a VR application (HHVR) that allows freshmen students to learn about the premises and academic life at a university. We then divided 43 adult participants into presenters (N = 9) and spectators (N = 34); the presenters experienced the HHVR application first-hand, whereas the spectators watched the experience through a monitor. We used a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to measure what feelings of being — existential feelings that affect the way we react to the world — the participants experienced. The collected data were analyzed by Principal Component Analysis and qualitative data coding and the results revealed emotional contagion; the spectators who followed the presenters on a monitor showed similar emotional engagement with the presenters who used the application. In conclusion, the proposed eSports mode can be a useful pedagogical technique in the context of collaborative learning with VR, as it engages emotionally both the presenters and spectators. These findings can be helpful for designing emotionally engaging collaborative learning experiences with VR and for conducting group-based UX evaluations of VR applications.

VRArchEducation: Redesigning building survey process in architectural education using collaborative virtual reality

Architectural education requires students to work as a group under the supervision of a teacher in the same physical environment since they need interaction to learn how to do a set of measurements in practice. However, a number of obstacles, such as pandemic situations, weather conditions, and the crowdedness of working sites, do not allow them to be and work together in a physical environment. Existing digital solutions, such as online and distance education, do not provide the required immersive and collaborative learning environment to assist students to practice in the same virtual environment. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to develop an immersive architectural educational environment, named VRArchEducation, using Virtual Reality (VR). Specifically, we design and implement a system that allows students and teachers to enjoy direct and simultaneous interaction through their virtual avatars regardless of their current physical location. Furthermore, the proposed VRArchEducation will enable users to have hands-on immersive experience while performing a set of measurement tasks. VRArchEducation presents four virtual fundamental measurement tools: water level hose, plumb, measurement tape, and a sketching board. Using these tools, students can perform a building survey process together in the VRArchEducation system just like in a traditional class environment. We conduct a user study to evaluate the system’s effectiveness, success, accuracy, and usability. The proposed VRArchEducation has a great potential to be used in architectural education as an alternative to the traditional environment.

A multi-agent framework for collaborative geometric modeling in virtual environments

The use of collaborative applications in which several individuals interact to solve a problem is an important strategy both in educational settings as well as professional environments. Virtual Reality (VR) technology, in particular, has acquired a predominant role in many industries. However, as the level of immersion and realism of the VR experience increases, so does the demand for computational resources, as rendering processes become increasingly intensive and can negatively affect other communication processes that are critical in collaborative environments. In this paper, we present a software framework based on multi-agent systems that enables the separation of rendering processes from internal data management tasks and communication processes between users, which are prevalent in collaborative virtual reality applications. The results of our validation studies show that, compared to other techniques based on protocol or network enhancements, the proposed architecture can significantly improve collaborative processes in general, and virtual reality-based applications in particular.

A collaborative, immersive, virtual reality environment for training electricians

This paper presents the development of a multi-user, collaborative virtual reality environment for training electricians to work on the electric power distribution network. Typically, traditional trainings in this field have lots of constraints and don’t allow learners to experience a wide set of different equipment that is installed in the network nor bad weather conditions and the different risk analysis that should be performed. With the proposed virtual reality environment, learners will be able to practice several realistic conditions without risking themselves.

Use of virtual reality technology in chainsaw operations, education and training

Abstract Wood harvesting operations represent one of the industrial sectors with the highest risk of accidents at work. In semi-mechanized logging operations, the great majority of accidents generally occur using chainsaws during tree felling. Unfortunately, these situations frequently cause serious injuries and even the deaths of workers. In numerous cases, the accidents occurred to people who were badly trained and inexperienced, with a short employment history. One solution to reduce these harmful events is to support workers employed in this sector with training applications. This paper presents a description of a research and training programme for operating with chainsaws in tree felling operations using a Virtual Reality (VR) application called ForestVRoom. This innovative education method was compared with the traditional theoretical lesson based on a slide show. The results of the training were verified through a statistical analysis of questionnaires administered to a sample of 45 students in undergraduate and master’s degree programmes at the School of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Florence. We have shown that the combination of traditional didactics and symmetrical collaborative VR leads to an increase in knowledge and especially in the ability to understand situations in a real forest site. VR is a useful teaching tool that can complement conventional training methods because of its potential to provide an immersive and attractive experience that facilitates learning and recognition of situations in forest sites.

Design of a Desktop Virtual Reality-Based Collaborative Activities Simulator (ViRCAS) to Support Teamwork in Workplace Settings for Autistic Adults.

Autistic adults possess many skills sought by employers, but may be at a disadvantage in the workplace if social-communication differences negatively impact teamwork. We present a novel collaborative virtual reality (VR)-based activities simulator, called ViRCAS, that allows autistic and neurotypical adults to work together in a shared virtual space, offering the chance to practice teamwork and assess progress. ViRCAS has three main contributions: 1) a new collaborative teamwork skills practice platform; 2) a stakeholder-driven collaborative task set with embedded collaboration strategies; and 3) a framework for multimodal data analysis to assess skills. Our feasibility study with 12 participant pairs showed preliminary acceptance of ViRCAS, a positive impact of the collaborative tasks on supported teamwork skills practice for autistic and neurotypical individuals, and promising potential to quantitatively assess collaboration through multimodal data analysis. The current work paves the way for longitudinal studies that will assess whether the collaborative teamwork skill practice that ViRCAS provides also contributes towards improved task performance.

VRArcheducation: Redesigning Building Survey Process in Architectural Education Using Collaborative Virtual Reality

VRArcheducation: Redesigning Building Survey Process in Architectural Education Using Collaborative Virtual Reality

Design and evaluation of a collaborative UML modeling environment in virtual reality.

Modeling is a key activity in conceptual design and system design. Through collaborative modeling, end-users, stakeholders, experts, and entrepreneurs are able to create a shared understanding of a system representation. While the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is one of the major conceptual modeling languages in object-oriented software engineering, more and more concerns arise from the modeling quality of UML and its tool-support. Among them, the limitation of the two-dimensional presentation of its notations and lack of natural collaborative modeling tools are reported to be significant. In this paper, we explore the potential of using virtual reality (VR) technology for collaborative UML software design by comparing it with classical collaborative software design using conventional devices (desktop PC/laptop). For this purpose, we have developed a VR modeling environment that offers a natural collaborative modeling experience for UML Class Diagrams. Based on a user study with 24 participants, we have compared collaborative VR modeling with conventional modeling with regard to efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction. Results show that the use of VR has some disadvantages concerning efficiency and effectiveness, but the user's fun, the feeling of being in the same room with a remote collaborator, and the naturalness of collaboration were increased.

Mitigation strategies for participant non-attendance in VR remote collaborative experiments

COVID-19 led to the temporary closure of many HCI research facilities disrupting many ongoing user studies. While some studies could easily move online, this has proven problematic for virtual reality (VR) studies. The main challenge of remote VR study is the recruitment of participants who have access to specialized hardware such as head-mounted displays. This challenge is exacerbated in collaborative VR studies, where multiple participants need to be available and remotely connect to the study simultaneously. We identify the latter as the worst-case scenario regarding resource wastage and frustration. Across two collaborative user studies, we identified the personal connection between the experimenter and the participant as a critical factor in reducing non-attendance. We compare three recruitment strategies that we have iteratively developed based on our recent experiences. We introduce a metric to quantify the cost for each recruitment strategy, and we show that our final strategy achieves the best metric score. Our work is valuable for HCI researchers recruiting participants for collaborative VR remote studies, but it can be easily extended to every remote experiment scenario.

Evaluating the Benefits of Collaborative VR Review for Maintenance Documentation and Risk Assessment

Technical documentation creation is a collaborative process involving several departments in R&amp;D. Even though virtual reality (VR) has been demonstrated to facilitate industrial collaboration and advance the product development lifecycle in earlier studies, it has not been utilized for technical documentation review and risk assessment processes in industrial companies. This article presents a case study where the benefits of VR to maintenance documentation reviews and risk assessments were studied. The virtual reality environment was tested by nine domain experts from an industrial company in a user study that replicated their actual real-life industrial collaboration tasks. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected during the study. Our findings show that collaborative VR has the potential to enhance the documentation review and risk assessment processes. Overall, the concept of using virtual reality for documentation review and risk assessment processes was rated positively by participants, and even though further development is needed for the review tools, VR was viewed as a concept that facilitates collaboration, enhances the current review practices, and increases spatial understanding. The benefits of VR are evident, especially for geographically scattered teams that rarely meet face-to-face or do not have access to the actual physical equipment. In cases where traditional means of communication are not enough, process improvements are needed for documentation review and risk assessment processes, and our proposed solution is VR.