Dynamic Virtual Environments Research Articles

A Survey of the Real-Time Metaverse: Challenges and Opportunities

The metaverse concept has been evolving from static, pre-rendered virtual environments to a new frontier: the real-time metaverse. This survey paper explores the emerging field of real-time metaverse technologies, which enable the continuous integration of dynamic, real-world data into immersive virtual environments. We examine the key technologies driving this evolution, including advanced sensor systems (LiDAR, radar, cameras), artificial intelligence (AI) models for data interpretation, fast data fusion algorithms, and edge computing with 5G networks for low-latency data transmission. This paper reveals how these technologies are orchestrated to achieve near-instantaneous synchronization between physical and virtual worlds, a defining characteristic that distinguishes the real-time metaverse from its traditional counterparts. The survey provides a comprehensive insight into the technical challenges and discusses solutions to realize responsive dynamic virtual environments. The potential applications and impact of real-time metaverse technologies across various fields are considered, including live entertainment, remote collaboration, dynamic simulations, and urban planning with digital twins. By synthesizing current research and identifying future directions, this survey provides a foundation for understanding and advancing the rapidly evolving landscape of real-time metaverse technologies, contributing to the growing body of knowledge on immersive digital experiences and setting the stage for further innovations in the Metaverse transformative field.

Students’ Knowledge of Integration of GeoGebra in Mathematics Classes in Uganda

GeoGebra, an open-source Dynamic Mathematics Software (DMS), has emerged as a transformative tool in mathematics education, allowing students and teachers to visualize, explore, and manipulate geometric concepts in dynamic virtual environments. This study investigated the students’ knowledge of integration of GeoGebra in mathematics classes in lower secondary schools in Rwampara District, Southwestern Uganda. The objectives of this study were to identify the most abstract geometrical concepts posing challenges to students, examine the impact of GeoGebra training on the identified abstract concepts, and assess the relationship between students' attitudes and the integration of GeoGebra. This study utilized a quantitative approach, employing quasi-experimental and cross-sectional survey designs. Data were collected from 103 students using questionnaires and pre-and post-tests to evaluate the impact of GeoGebra software intervention. Independent samples t-test, Pearson's linear correlation, and descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviations, and frequencies were employed as data analysis methods. The study found that the students identified rotational transformation as the most abstract geometrical concept. The pre-test results indicated that respondents had similar baseline knowledge of rotational transformation. However, after the GeoGebra intervention, the post-test results showed that the difference in mean scores between the experimental and control groups was statistically significant. Additionally, the experimental group demonstrated a positive attitude towards the software. The study concluded that while rotational transformation posed a significant challenge for students, GeoGebra significantly improved their conceptual understanding and performance in this geometry concept. The study recommended that teachers should strongly consider integrating GeoGebra into their ICT-based teaching and learning resources to help improve students' conceptual understanding, motivation, attitude, and achievement in rotational transformations and other geometric concepts

Exploring the convergence of Metaverse, Blockchain, and AI: A comprehensive survey of enabling technologies, applications, challenges, and future directions

AbstractThe Metaverse, distinguished by its capacity to integrate the physical and digital realms seamlessly, presents a dynamic virtual environment offering diverse opportunities for engagement across innovation, entertainment, socialization, and commercial endeavors. However, the Metaverse is poised for a transformative evolution through the convergence of contemporary technological advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality. This convergence is anticipated to revolutionize the global digital landscape, introducing novel social, economic, and operational paradigms for organizations and communities. To comprehensively elucidate the future potential of this technological fusion and its implications for digital innovation, this research endeavors to undertake a thorough analysis of scholarly discourse and research pertaining to the Metaverse, AI, Blockchain, and associated technologies. This survey delves into various critical facets of the Metaverse ecosystem, encompassing component analysis, exploration of digital currencies, assessment of AI utilization in virtual environments, and examination of Blockchain's role in enhancing digital content and data security. Leveraging articles retrieved from esteemed digital repositories including ScienceDirect, IEEE Xplore, Springer Nature, Google Scholar, and ACM, published between 2017 and 2023, this study adopts an analytical approach to engage with these materials. Through rigorous examination and discourse, this research aims to provide insights into the emerging trends, challenges, and future directions in the convergence of the Metaverse, Blockchain, and AI.This article is categorized under: Application Areas > Industry Specific Applications

Influence of static cartoons combined with dynamic virtual environments on preoperative anxiety of preschool-aged children undergoing surgery.

Preschoolers become anxious when they are about to undergo anesthesia and surgery, warranting the development of more appropriate and effective interventions. To explore the effect of static cartoons combined with dynamic virtual environments on preoperative anxiety and anesthesia induction compliance in preschool-aged children undergoing surgery. One hundred and sixteen preschool-aged children were selected and assigned to the drug (n = 37), intervention (n = 40), and control (n = 39) groups. All the children received routine preoperative checkups and nursing before being transferred to the preoperative preparation room on the day of the operation. The drug group received 0.5 mg/kg midazolam and the intervention group treatment consisting of static cartoons combined with dynamic virtual environments. The control group received no intervention. The modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale was used to evaluate the children's anxiety level on the day before surgery (T0), before leaving the preoperative preparation room (T1), when entering the operating room (T2), and at anesthesia induction (T3). Compliance during anesthesia induction (T3) was evaluated using the Induction Compliance Checklist (ICC). Changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and respiratory rate (RR) were also recorded at each time point. The anxiety scores of the three groups increased variously at T1 and T2. At T3, both the drug and intervention groups had similar anxiety scores, both of which were lower than those in the control group. At T1 and T2, MAP, HR, and RR of the three groups increased. The drug and control groups had significantly higher MAP and RR than the intervention group at T2. At T3, the MAP, HR, and RR of the drug group decreased and were significantly lower than those in the control group but were comparable to those in the intervention group. Both the drug and intervention groups had similar ICC scores and duration of anesthesia induction (T3), both of which were higher than those of the control group. Combining static cartoons with dynamic virtual environments as effective as medication, specifically midazolam, in reducing preoperative anxiety and fear in preschool-aged children. This approach also improve their compliance during anesthesia induction and helped maintain their stable vital signs.

Virtual reality-based reminiscence therapy for older adults to improve psychological well-being and cognition: A systematic review.

Virtual reality-reminiscence therapy (VR-RT) has increasingly been applied to older adults to improve psychological well-being and cognition. This review aims to identify (1) the design characteristics of conducting a VR-RT and (2) the effects of VR-RT on the user experience, cognitive outcomes and psychological well-being. Systematic review. Eligible studies were sourced across nine electronic databases, trial registries, grey literature and hand-searching of the reference list. A narrative synthesis was conducted. Twenty-two studies were included, and most were appraised as high quality. Most of the VR-RTs were highly immersive and personalised, with participants having the autonomy of control. VR-RT has the potential to improve anxiety and depression, and cognitive outcomes for older adults. Overall, VR-RT was reported to be an enjoyable experience for older adults. VR-RT is a promising innovation that can improve older adults' psychological well-being and cognition without significant side effects, including cybersickness and with the potential for scalability across various settings. More randomised controlled studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of VR-RT and its features and treatment dosage. These studies could also examine the effectiveness of VR-RT as an intervention to promote independence in activities of daily living and physical rehabilitation. VR-RT is a promising intervention for older adults in community settings to enhance psychological well-being and cognition. VR's versatility enables personalised experiences within dynamic virtual environments, possibly enhancing engagement and therapeutic outcomes. This systematic review did not directly involve patient or public contribution to the manuscript.

Enriching Education with Artificial Intelligence Generative Ai-Speech to Image Generator

Abstract: Visual memory is the strongest in learning; It is 60,000 times more powerful than text and memory. This important fact shows that there is an urgent need to make changes in the education process, moving away from old, monotonous practices and towards a dynamic, effective and permanent educational support. Inspired by the effectiveness of the invisible aspects of visual learning, this article introduces GenClassroom, a new learning tool that promises to revolutionize the traditional teaching method. GenClassroom uses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to translate and transform teacher lessons into beautiful images, providing students with a unique learning experience beyond the boundaries of the classroom environment. Seamlessly integrating speech-to-image capabilities into dynamic virtual classroom environments, GenClassroom enables educators to create engaging, interactive lessons that resonate with students and promote understanding, retention, and engagement. Through a qualitative study of GenClassroom’s design, functionality, and application content, this article outlines the evolution of the vision of AI-enabled education to shape the future of learning. As the ed- ucational landscape changes dramatically, GenClassroom serves as a beacon of innovation, ushering in a new era of personalized, meaningful, and empowering learning. By embracing the endless possibilities of visual learning enhanced by artificial intelligence, GenClassroom paves the way for a future where learning has no boundaries and every student can reach their potential.

Evaluating the barriers affecting cybersecurity behavior in the Metaverse using PLS-SEM and fuzzy sets (fsQCA)

While offering novel user experiences, the Metaverse introduces complex cybersecurity challenges due to the sophisticated interaction of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and web technologies. Addressing the barriers to cybersecurity behavior is essential to protect users against risks such as identity theft and loss of digital assets. Therefore, this research aims to investigate these barriers by developing a theoretical model that draws factors from the Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT) and considers variables such as privacy concerns, perceived risks, and response costs. The data were collected from 395 Metaverse users and were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The PLS-SEM findings showed that perceived threats, privacy concerns, and response costs have a significant negative impact on cybersecurity behavior, while perceived risks have an insignificant negative influence. The fsQCA results revealed that there is not a single pathway leading to robust cybersecurity behavior. Instead, eight configurations that include the presence and absence of certain conditions can lead to this desirable outcome. The findings not only advance the academic conversation on Metaverse security but also offer actionable strategies for stakeholders to reinforce user protection in this dynamic virtual environment.

Virtual acoustics in distributed performance over a closed audio network

We explore an application of active acoustics used to produce a shared virtual environment for live musical performance. As part of a concert given in the Immersive Media Lab at McGill University, musicians and audience members were located in adjacent but acoustically isolated spaces on the same digital audio network. With computer generated effects and live instruments, the concert consisted of electroacoustic performances that utilized dynamic virtual environments produced by our Virtual Acoustic Technology (VAT) system as an improvisatory partner and a mixing device to blend the diffusion of electronic and acoustic musical sources. The performance, including its evolving virtual environment, was captured using spatial microphone techniques and distributed in real-time to the audience over an immersive loudspeaker system in an adjacent control room. Audience members were given the opportunity to visit the musicians’ performance space in order to compare the reproduction to the original environment. Overall, the blending of computer-generated and acoustic sources created a specific use case for virtual acoustics, while the immersive capture and distribution method examined an avenue for producing a real-time shared experience. Future work in this area includes audio networks with multiple virtual acoustic environments and distributions.

Model-Based Design of Aircraft Landing Gear System

The aerospace industry is one of the leading figures in the development and improvement of techniques for the design of new products. One of the most promising developments of the last decades is the exploitation of digital models that make it possible to evaluate design solutions and simulate the behavior of the individual systems and their interactions. The goal is to be able to predict and analyze all aspects an aircraft much in advance of its industrialization in order to heavily reduce the time and costs of product development and to guarantee flexibility to test a multitude of solutions. The main issue in this context is the complexity of creating models that are capable of accurately sizing and simulating multiple interacting systems, thus considering the constraints imposed by the need for their mutual compatibility. The present contribution introduces two interconnected models regarding an aircraft system, in particular, the landing gear, that make it possible to size its main components and subsystems and to use the found parameters to populate a dynamic model that simulates the behavior of the aircraft during landing. These models provide a preliminary digitalization of the system itself and of the design process as well, thereby making it possible to define a potential configuration and to test it in a dynamic virtual environment, thus taking into account the interaction between the individual subsystems. The model was tested through three use cases, differentiated by class and scope, which made it possible to compare and validate the obtained results with actual values.

What's your point? Insights from virtual reality on the relation between intention and action in the production of pointing gestures

Human communication involves the process of translating intentions into communicative actions. But how exactly do our intentions surface in the visible communicative behavior we display? Here we focus on pointing gestures, a fundamental building block of everyday communication, and investigate whether and how different types of underlying intent modulate the kinematics of the pointing hand and the brain activity preceding the gestural movement. In a dynamic virtual reality environment, participants pointed at a referent to either share attention with their addressee, inform their addressee, or get their addressee to perform an action. Behaviorally, it was observed that these different underlying intentions modulated how long participants kept their arm and finger still, both prior to starting the movement and when keeping their pointing hand in apex position. In early planning stages, a neurophysiological distinction was observed between a gesture that is used to share attitudes and knowledge with another person versus a gesture that mainly uses that person as a means to perform an action. Together, these findings suggest that our intentions influence our actions from the earliest neurophysiological planning stages to the kinematic endpoint of the movement itself.

Distress following the COVID-19 Pandemic among Schools’ Stakeholders: Psychosocial Aspects and Communication

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments ordered school closures as a containment measure, with Israel being among over 100 countries to do so. This resulted in the abrupt shift to online and remote education for many students. Despite attempts to minimize the effects of disrupted education and create a dynamic virtual learning environment, the literature highlights various challenges including lack of communication with implications of distress faced by key stakeholders (students and their parents, teachers, and principals). In this cross-sectional study, we assess the perceived levels of communication and psychosocial aspects during both distance and frontal learning, as well as the long-term impacts (following over two and a half years of an ongoing pandemic) on distress among the key stakeholders of the Israeli education system- high school students, parents, teachers, and principals. The study findings demonstrate severe implications of distance learning on communication and psychosocial aspects, with lingering long-term impacts on distress, among all stakeholders (particularly among students). This reveals the need for tailored capacity building and resilience intervention programs to be integrated in the long-term response to the current ongoing pandemic to improve well-being and reduce distress among the various stakeholders, with particular attention to those that are most vulnerable and were hit the hardest.

Recently matched students are effective residency application teachers.

Applying to residency is one of the most stressful challenges of a medical student's career and is associated with high rates of burnout, emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation.1 Depending on the school and desired specialty, there are a variety of sources for advice such as faculty career advisors, medical school deans and guidebooks. Despite these resources, many students still do not feel adequately advised. Peer teachers are well-positioned to frame teaching at the level of students' understanding and foster more comfortable learning environments. Aside from student panels, there are no described accounts in the medical literature of recently matched medical students being actively involved in residency application advising, despite their unique position to provide highly relevant and timely advice to their underclassmen. At the Robert Larner, MD, College of Medicine at the University of Vermont (LCOM), three graduating medical students developed official course material in the form of videos and PowerPoint presentations about the residency application process for 60 incoming fourth-year students registered for their ‘transition to fourth year’ course, which is currently offered as an elective at LCOM. Materials included an overview of the residency application process, a guide to the supplemental application and a compilation of specialty-specific advice from all recently matched students in the class. They also organised a live panel of recently matched students that was open to all 124 incoming fourth-year medical students and attended by approximately 50 students (40%). Students registered for the course were asked to complete a post-course survey evaluation on a five-point Likert scale (5 = strongly agree). 39 of 60 registered students (65%) completed the survey. Students only evaluated the sessions they attended, and some survey questions were skipped, which accounts for the variable denominators below. IRB exemption was obtained prior to survey development. Results were overwhelmingly positive with the majority of students (27/30, 90%) agreeing or strongly agreeing that this content ‘is more effectively delivered by my peers than by faculty or administrators’. Most respondents (26/31, 83.9%) agreed or strongly agreed that having recently matched students advise them ‘reduced their stress and anxiety about the residency application process’ and 80.6% (25/31) agreed that ‘recently matched students should be even more involved in their advising’. Recently matched students are acutely aware of the level of detail that incoming fourth-year students find the most relevant, especially considering the dynamic virtual interview environment and new supplemental application. There are shared experiences and requirements in the residency application process for which recently matched students can provide invaluable information. We facilitated this connection through integration into a fourth-year elective. We also learned that as details became more granular and specialty specific, it was difficult to provide sufficient specialty representation. In smaller specialties where there are fewer matched students or no affiliated residency programmes, additional support should be provided by faculty, residency programmes or virtual communities (social media, other online forums). Ultimately, a multifaceted approach is needed, which includes recently matched students, residents, faculty, administrators, virtual communities and other resources. Richard Brach designed curricular materials and the survey, analysed results, and wrote the manuscript. Allison Tzeng designed the residency supplemental application PowerPoint and other curricular materials and assisted with survey and manuscript edits. Hakeem Yousef designed the residency application overview video, organised the student panel, and assisted with survey and manuscript edits. Matthew Tsai initiated this project, designed curricular materials, and provided manuscript edits. Emily Greenberger is the principal investigator and oversaw curricular and survey design as well as the manuscript.

Electrodermal and postural responses in dizzy adults: Diagnostic indicators of vestibular migraine.

No reliable biometric measurement of vestibular involvement with migraine is currently available. Measures of autonomic nervous system and postural responses could serve as quantifiable indicators of vestibular involvement with migraine. A convenience sample of 22 young healthy adults (34±9 years old) and 23 young adults (34±8 years old) diagnosed with vestibular migraine (VM) participated. A rod and frame test and clinical outcome measures of dizziness and mobility were administered. Participants stood on foam while viewing two dynamic virtual environments. Trunk acceleration in three planes and electrodermal activity (EDA) were assessed with wearable sensors. Linear mixed models were used to examine magnitude and smoothness of trunk acceleration and tonic and phasic EDA. A Welch's t-test and associations between measures were assessed with a Pearson Correlation Coefficient. Effect sizes of group mean differences were calculated using Cohen's d. Visual dependence was present in 83% of the VM population. Individuals with VM exhibited lower baseline EDA (t(4.17) = -7.2, p = 0.001) and greater normalized trunk accelerations in the vertical (t(42.5) = 2.861, p = 0.006) and medial (t(46.6) = 2.65, p = 0.01) planes than healthy participants. Tonic EDA activity increased significantly across the period of the trial (F (1,417) = 23.31, p = 0.001) in the VM group. Significant associations appeared between vertical trunk acceleration and EDA, Dizziness Handicap Inventory, and Activities of Balance Confidence tools. Higher tonic EDA activity in healthy adults results in more accurate postural reactions. Results support the supposition that EDA activity and postural acceleration are significantly different between VM and healthy individuals when accommodating for postural instability and visual-vestibular conflict.

Dynparity: Dynamic disparity adjustment to avoid stereo window violations on stationary stereoscopic displays

AbstractWe propose a novel method to avoid stereo window violations at screen borders. These occur for objects in front of the zero parallax plane, which appear in front of the (physical) screen, and that are clipped for one eye while still being visible for the other eye. This contradicts other stereo cues, particularly disparity, potentially resulting in eye strain and simulator sickness. In interactive and dynamic virtual environments, where the user controls the camera, for example, via head tracking, it is impossible to avoid stereo window violations completely. We propose Dynparity, a novel rendering method to eliminate the conflict between clipping and negative disparity, by introducing a nonuniform stereoscopic projection. For each vertex in front of the zero parallax plane, we compute the stereoscopic projection such that the parallax approaches zero toward the edge of the screen. Our approach works entirely on the GPU in real‐time and can be easily included in modern game engines. We conducted a user study comparing our method to the standard stereo projection on a large‐screen stereo wall with head tracking. Our results show significantly reduced simulator sickness when using Dynparity compared to the standard stereo rendering.

Differences in Balance with Eyes Closed, Eyes Opened and Virtual Reality Environment: A pilot-study

Many studies have examined differences between maintaining balance with open and closed eyes. In this research Virtual Reality (VR) technology is included as a special type of visual input for creating static and dynamic virtual environments. PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper was to determine whether there is a difference between results in balance tests on Biodex Balance System (BBS) with different visual input. METHODS: Participants (n=12) in the study were young, healthy and active males with an average age of 21.25±1.14 years, body mass 82.57±8.37 kg and average body height 185.42±5.18 cm. Six balance tests were applied on BBS, four in the real world and two in the virtual environment. Duration and instability level of the BBS platform were the same for all tests. RESULTS: None of the participants finished the test in a dynamic virtual environment so that test was excluded from further statistical analysis. Factor analysis revealed two main factors (latent dimensions). The first factor is characterized by open eyes tests while extremely high projection on the second factor can only be seen in a case of a test done with the eyes closed.

Effect of optokinetic virtual reality scenes on a sitting-to-stand movement.

Visual perception plays a role in balance control while performing a sit-to-stand movement (STS). The dynamic virtual environment could reduce effective neuromuscular regulation and instability. Nevertheless, virtual reality (VR) on the STS movement was not explored in any research. This study's aim was to investigate the effect of the VR of an optokinetic drum on the STS movement by using optokinetic drum VR scenes. This study used a repeated measurement research design. Ninety healthy subjects aged 18-23years with no experience in virtual reality were recruited. Each participant was asked to stand as quickly as possible from a height-adjustable chair three times under five conditions: with eyes-open (EO), eyes-closed (EC), and three VR scenes: a limited field view of an optokinetic scene, a black and white striped scene, moving in horizontal direction (VRhori), vertical direction (VRvert), and roll (VRroll). VR scenes were generated using a mobile phone in a head-mounted display. The rising index (the upward force produced by the legs as a proportion of body weight), sway velocity, and weight transfer time were measured using a NeuroCom Balance Master. Only VRvert condition significantly reduced weight transfer time as compared to EO and the other two VR conditions. All three VR scenes significantly reduced the rising index as compared to EO. VRvert condition significantly increased sway velocity as compared to all conditions. These findings suggest that optokinetic environment scenes in virtual reality could be used as an alternative method to increase the challenge of maintaining the balance during STS.

Gaze Mapping for Immersive Virtual Environments Based on Image Retrieval

In this paper, we introduce a novel gaze mapping approach for free viewing conditions in dynamic immersive virtual environments (VEs), which projects recorded eye fixation data of users, who viewed the VE from different perspectives, to the current view. This generates eye fixation maps, which can serve as ground truth for training machine learning (ML) models to predict saliency and the user’s gaze in immersive virtual reality (VR) environments. We use a flexible image retrieval approach based on SIFT features, which can also map the gaze under strong viewpoint changes and dynamic changes. A vocabulary tree enables to scale to the large amounts of data with typically several hundred thousand frames and a homography transform re-projects the fixations to the current view. To evaluate our approach, we measure the predictive quality of our eye fixation maps to model the gaze of the current user and compare our maps to computer-generated saliency maps on the DGaze and the Saliency in VR datasets. The results show that our method often outperform these saliency predictors. However, in contrast to these methods, our approach collects real fixations from human observers, and can thus serve to estimate ground truth fixation maps in dynamic VR environments, which can be used to train and evaluate gaze predictors.

Individual differences in the allocation of visual attention during navigation.

Individual differences exist in the ability to create an accurate mental survey representation (i.e., a cognitive map) of a novel environment, yet the mechanisms underlying differences in cognitive map accuracy are still under investigation. To determine whether differences in overt attention allocation contribute to these individual differences, the current study examined whether looking times to landmarks and other objects while navigating in a dynamic virtual environment were related to cognitive map accuracy. Participants completed a battery of spatial tests; some tests assessed spatial skills prior to the navigation task (the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale and the Spatial Orientation Test), and others tested memory of the virtual environment Silcton after an exploration period (a landmark recognition task, a direction estimation task, a map-building task, and a route construction task). Individuals with inaccurate cognitive maps of Silcton, as measured by the direction estimation and map-building tasks, showed equivalent eye fixations to buildings and objects when exploring Silcton as those with accurate maps. Despite similar looking times, the inaccurate mappers were significantly worse at judgments of relative direction between landmarks in Silcton and showed poorer memory for landmarks in Silcton than accurate mappers. These findings suggest that cognitive mechanisms, such as mental perspective-taking, occurring after attention allocation underlie differences in cognitive map accuracy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Breathing Biofeedback for Police Officers in a Stressful Virtual Environment: Challenges and Opportunities.

As part of the Dutch national science program “Professional Games for Professional Skills” we developed a stress-exposure biofeedback training in virtual reality (VR) for the Dutch police. We aim to reduce the acute negative impact of stress on performance, as well as long-term consequences for mental health by facilitating physiological stress regulation during a demanding decision task. Conventional biofeedback applications mainly train physiological regulation at rest. This might limit the transfer of the regulation skills to stressful situations. In contrast, we provide the user with the opportunity to practice breathing regulation while they carry out a complex task in VR. This setting poses challenges from a technical – (real-time processing of noisy biosignals) as well as from a user-experience perspective (multi-tasking). We illustrate how we approach these challenges in our training and hope to contribute a useful reference for researchers and developers in academia or industry who are interested in using biosignals to control elements in a dynamic virtual environment.

The Impact of Vertical Densification on Public Lighting in Informal Settlements: Using Virtual Environments as an Evaluation Tool for Policy Making

There are a variety of reasons to support the premise that public lighting is beneficial to urban communities. At the same time, a key challenge for the provision of public lighting in informal settlements is their constant physical transformation. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the application of virtual environments (VEs) in lighting planning and policy making. Despite the fact that VEs offer the opportunity to explore an environment by freely navigating through it, including environments that change over time, this feature is rarely taken into account in decision-making processes. A VE-based analysis tool for informal settlement lighting is presented using a case-study street in the informal settlement of Caracolí in Bogotá as its basis. A household survey, spatial measurements, participants’ observations, and luminous intensity distribution curves constituted the main data set for the VE scenarios. Time-related data on the incremental construction of Caracolí’s informal dwellings was collected by the household survey and that data was then projected into past, present, and future night-time scenarios. The lighting quality of these different scenarios was systematically evaluated via lighting calculation software, revealing a variety of shortcomings caused by the current lighting approach. Based on these findings, an alternative lighting approach was developed and re-examined using lighting calculations. Finally, custom game-engine technology and GPU computing were deployed, which allowed for real-time visualisation of the different lighting scenarios and their lighting quality. This setup therefore enables fast iterative feedback loops for current and future lighting policy scenarios and the resulting lighting design. In the first instance, a VE can illustrate well how current lighting policy results in a significant delay of lighting provision in the early stage of a settlement as well as highlighting the mismatch between lighting technology and the built environment during the vertical densification phases. Second, the VE is able to showcase alternative lighting technologies and policy approaches as well as the resulting lighting effects, enabling a visual comparison of different policy scenarios over several decades. In conclusion it will be argued that the dynamic VE technology appears to be a promising decision-making tool for illustrating potential planning and design shortcomings to policy stakeholders in a manner understandable to the layman.