Immersive Head-mounted Display Research Articles

Age-related differences in subjective and physiological emotion evoked by immersion in natural and social virtual environments

Age-related changes in emotional processing are complex, with a bias toward positive information. However, the impact of aging on emotional responses in positive everyday situations remains unclear. Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool for investigating emotional processing, offering a unique balance between ecological validity and experimental control. Yet, limited evidence exists regarding its efficacy to elicit positive emotions in older adults. Our study aimed to explore age-related differences in positive emotional responses to immersion in both social and nonsocial virtual emotional environments. We exposed 34 younger adults and 24 older adults to natural and social 360-degree video content through a low immersive computer screen and a highly immersive Head-Mounted Display, while recording participants' physiological reactions. Participants also provided self-report of their emotions and sense of presence. The findings support VR’s efficacy in eliciting positive emotions in both younger and older adults, with age-related differences in emotional responses influenced by the specific video content rather than immersion level. These findings underscore the potential of VR as a valuable tool for examining age-related differences in emotional responses and developing VR applications to enhance emotional wellbeing across diverse user populations.

Evaluating perspective switching and positional memory in football using an immersive head-mounted display system

Evaluating perspective switching and positional memory in football using an immersive head-mounted display system

Examination of fire scene reconstructions using virtual reality to enhance forensic decision-making. A case study in Scotland.

When attending a crime scene, first responders are responsible for identifying areas of potential interest for subsequent forensic examination. This information is shared with the police, forensic practitioners, and legal authorities during an initial meeting of all interested parties, which in Scotland is known as a forensic strategy meeting. Swift documentation is fundamental to allow practitioners to learn about the scene(s) and to plan investigative strategies, traditionally relying on word-of-mouth briefings using digital photographs, videos, diagrams, and verbal reports. We suggest that these early and critical briefings can be augmented positively by implementing an end-to-end methodology for indoor 3D reconstruction and successive visualisation through immersive Virtual Reality (VR). The main objective of this paper is to provide an integrative documentation tool to enhance the decision-making processes in the early stages of the investigation. Taking a fire scene as an example, we illustrate a framework for rapid spatial data acquisition of the scene that leverages structure-from-motion photogrammetry. We developed a VR framework that enables the exploration of virtual environments on a standalone, low-cost immersive head-mounted display. The system was tested in a two-phased inter-agency fire investigation exercise, where practitioners were asked to produce hypotheses suitable for forensic strategy meetings by (1) examining traditional documentation and then (2) using a VR walkthrough of the same premises. The integration of VR increased the practitioners’ scene comprehension, improved hypotheses formulation with fewer caveats, and enabled participants to sketch the scene, in contrast to the orientation challenges encountered using conventional documentation.

A low aberration liquid crystal lens for an immersive head-mounted display

A low aberration liquid crystal lens for an immersive head-mounted display

Virtual reality—enhanced walking in people post-stroke: effect of optic flow speed and level of immersion on the gait biomechanics

BackgroundOptic flow—the apparent visual motion experienced while moving—is absent during treadmill walking. With virtual reality (VR), optic flow can be controlled to mediate alterations in human walking. The aim of this study was to investigate (1) the effects of fully immersive VR and optic flow speed manipulation on gait biomechanics, simulator sickness, and enjoyment in people post-stroke and healthy people, and (2) the effects of the level of immersion on optic flow speed and sense of presence.MethodsSixteen people post-stroke and 16 healthy controls performed two VR-enhanced treadmill walking sessions: the semi-immersive GRAIL session and fully immersive head-mounted display (HMD) session. Both consisted of five walking trials. After two habituation trials (without and with VR), participants walked three more trials under the following conditions: matched, slow, and fast optic flow. Primary outcome measures were spatiotemporal parameters and lower limb kinematics. Secondary outcomes (simulator sickness, enjoyment, and sense of presence) were assessed with the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, Visual Analogue Scales, and Igroup Presence Questionnaire.ResultsWhen walking with the immersive HMD, the stroke group walked with a significantly slower cadence (-3.69strides/min, p = 0.006), longer stride time (+ 0.10 s, p = 0.017) and stance time for the unaffected leg (+ 1.47%, p = 0.001) and reduced swing time for the unaffected leg (− 1.47%, p = 0.001). Both groups responded to the optic flow speed manipulation such that people accelerated with a slow optic flow and decelerated with a fast optic flow. Compared to the semi-immersive GRAIL session, manipulating the optic flow speed with the fully immersive HMD had a greater effect on gait biomechanics whilst also eliciting a higher sense of presence.ConclusionAdding fully immersive VR while walking on a self-paced treadmill led to a more cautious gait pattern in people post-stroke. However, walking with the HMD was well tolerated and enjoyable. People post-stroke altered their gait parameters when optic flow speed was manipulated and showed greater alterations with the fully-immersive HMD. Further work is needed to determine the most effective type of optic flow speed manipulation as well as which other principles need to be implemented to positively influence the gait pattern of people post-stroke.Trial registration number: The study was pre-registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04521829).

Tolerance of immersive head-mounted virtual reality among older nursing home residents.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a tool that is increasingly used in the aging population. Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) are stereoscopic vision devices used for immersive VR. Cybersickness is sometimes reported after head-mounted display (HMD) VR exposure. Cybersickness severity and anxiety state reflect VR low tolerance. We aimed to evaluate HMD VR tolerance among older nursing home residents through cybersickness and anxiety state. A total of 36 participants were included in this preliminary study, 33 of whom (mean age: 89.33 ± 5.48) underwent three individual HMD VR sessions with three different contents. Cybersickness occurrence and severity were scored by the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) after each session. Anxiety state was assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y-A before and after each session. Anxiety trait (using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y-B) was also evaluated before and after the experiment. In total, 92% (33/36) of patients completed all three sessions, of which 61% (20/33) did not report any cybersickness symptoms (SSQ = 0). Six participants reported significant cybersickness (defined by an SSQ score ⩾10) in at least one session. Only two participants stopped the study after the first exposure because of cybersickness. Age, cognitive function, anxiety trait, and well-being were not associated with cybersickness. The mean anxiety state decreased significantly from pre- to post-session. This immersive HMD VR experience was well tolerated among nursing home dwellers. Further larger studies in this population aiming to identify CS determinants are needed in order to use HMD VR on a standard basis.

Feeling Virtually Present Makes Me Happier: The Influence of Immersion, Sense of Presence, and Video Contents on Positive Emotion Induction.

Immersive technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR), have great potential for enhancing users' emotions and wellbeing. However, how immersion, Virtual Environment contents, and sense of presence (SoP) influence emotional responses remains to be clarified to efficiently foster positive emotions. Consequently, a total of 26 participants (16 women, 10 men, 22.73 ± 2.69 years old) were exposed to 360-degree videos of natural and social contents on both a highly immersive Head-Mounted Display and a low immersive computer screen. Subjective emotional responses and SoP were assessed after each video using self-reports, while a wearable wristband collected continuously electrodermal activity and heart rate to record physiological emotional responses. Findings supported the added value of immersion, as more positive emotions and greater subjective arousal were reported after viewing the videos in the highly immersive setting, regardless of the video contents. In addition to usually employed natural contents, the findings also provide initial evidence for the effectiveness of social contents in eliciting positive emotions. Finally, structural equation models shed light on the indirect effect of immersion, through spatial and spatial SoP on subjective arousal. Overall, these are encouraging results about the effectiveness of VR for fostering positive emotions. Future studies should further investigate the influence of user characteristics on VR experiences to foster efficiently positive emotions among a broad range of potential users.

Exploring the Effect of Virtual Environments on Passive Haptic Perception

Recent advances in virtual reality (VR) technologies such as immersive head-mounted display (HMD), sensing devices, and 3D printing-based props have become much more feasible for providing improved experiences for users in virtual environments. In particular, research on haptic feedback is being actively conducted to enhance the effect of controlling virtual objects. Studies have begun to use real objects that resemble virtual objects, i.e., passive haptic, instead of using haptic equipment with motor control, as an effective method that allows natural interaction. However, technical difficulties must be resolved to match transformations (e.g., position, orientation, and scale) between virtual and real objects to maximize the user’s immersion. In this paper, we compare and explore the effect of passive haptic parameters on the user’s perception by using different transformation conditions in immersive virtual environments. Our experimental study shows that the participants felt the same within a certain range, which seems to support the “minimum cue” theory in giving sufficient sensory stimulation. Thus, considering the benefits of the model using our approach, haptic interaction in VR content can be developed in a more economical way.

QuarantivityVR: Supporting Self-Embodiment for Non-HMD Users in Asymmetric Social VR Games

Abstract The prevalence of immersive head-mounted display (HMD) social virtual reality (VR) applications introduced asymmetric interaction among users within the virtual environment (VE). Therefore, researchers opted for (1) exploring the asymmetric social VR interaction dynamics in only co-located setups, (2) assigning interdependent roles to both HMD and non-HMD users, and (3) representing non-HMD users as abstract avatars in the VE. Therefore, we investigate the feasibility of supporting Self-Embodiment in an asymmetric VR interaction mode in a remote setup. To this end, we designed an asymmetric social VR game, QuarantivityVR, to (1) support sense of self-embodiment for non-HMD users in a remote setting by representing them as realistic full-body avatars within the VE, (2) augment visual-motor synchrony for the non-HMD users to increase their sense of agency and presence by detecting their motion through Kinect sensor and laptop’s webcam. During the game, each player performs three activities in succession, namely movie-guessing, spelling-bee, and answering mathematical questions. We believe that our work will act as a step towards the inclusion of a wide spectrum of users that can not afford full immersion and will aid researchers in creating enjoyable interactions for both users in the physical and virtual spaces.

In-Device Feedback in Immersive Head-Mounted Displays for Distance Perception During Teleoperation of Unmanned Ground Vehicles.

In recent years, Virtual Reality (VR) Head-Mounted Displays (HMD) have been used to provide an immersive, first-person view in real-time for the remote-control of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV). One critical issue is that it is challenging to perceive the distance of obstacles surrounding the vehicle from 2D views in the HMD, which deteriorates the control of UGV. Conventional distance indicators used in HMD take up screen space which leads clutter on the display and can further reduce situation awareness of the physical environment. To address the issue, in this paper we propose off-screen in-device feedback using vibro-tactile and/or light-visual cues to provide real-time distance information for the remote control of UGV. Results from a study show a significantly better performance with either feedback type, reduced workload and improved usability in a driving task that requires continuous perception of the distance between the UGV and its environmental objects or obstacles. Our findings show a solid case for in-device vibro-tactile and/or light-visual feedback to support remote operation of UGVs that highly relies on distance perception of objects.

Effect of Immersive Virtual Reality on Pain and Anxiety at a Veterans Affairs Health Care Facility

Objectives: The primary objective of this evaluation is to determine the impact of virtual reality (VR) distraction on acute and chronic pain in Veterans within the Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VA). A secondary objective is to determine the impact of VR on the experience of stress and anxiety in Veterans utilizing VR for the indication of pain. A third objective is to develop an understanding of the Veteran experience of using VR in a healthcare setting.Methods: This prospective, pretest-posttest mixed methods assessment was performed at a VA medical center from August 30, 2019 to November 23, 2020. VR experiences lasted between 10 and 30 min utilizing an immersive head-mounted display with multiple, autonomously chosen virtual environments. Qualitative data was collected concurrently to provide context to quantitative measures which included pain scores and stress/anxiety levels. Data from 79 participants was included in this analysis. Data included pre- and post-VR session Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale and stress/anxiety levels.Results: Results for the cohort demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in pain intensity (p <0 .001) with an average 12% decrease in pain levels and an 92% reduction in anxiety for those in concurrent pain.Conclusion: VR as a non-pharmacological adjunct or alternative modality, appears to be a viable option for improving pain management and reducing anxiety in Veteran populations across various age ranges, and levels of acuity and chronicity. VR was found to be an effective distraction from pain, a pleasurable experience for the majority, and opened the door to other non-pharmacological modalities in a Veteran population.

A 3D head pointer: a manipulation method that enables the spatial position and posture for supernumerary robotic limbs

This paper introduces a novel interface ‘3D head pointer’ for the operation of a wearable robotic arm in 3D space. The developed system is intended to assist its user in the execution of routine tasks while operating a robotic arm. Previous studies have demonstrated the difficulty a user faces in simultaneously controlling a robotic arm and their own hands. The proposed method combines a head-based pointing device and voice recognition to manipulate the position and orientation as well as to switch between these two modes. In a virtual reality environment, the position instructions of the proposed system and its usefulness were evaluated by measuring the accuracy of the instructions and the time required using a fully immersive head-mounted display (HMD). In addition, the entire system, including posture instructions with two switching methods (voice recognition and head gestures), was evaluated using an optical transparent HMD. The obtained results displayed an accuracy of 1.25 cm and 3.56° with the 20-s time span necessary for communicating an instruction. These results demonstrate that voice recognition is a more effective switching method than head gestures.

Immersive virtual reality in children with upper limb injuries: Findings from a feasibility study.

PURPOSE:Children who sustain Upper Limb Injuries (ULIs), including fractures and burns, may undergo intensive rehabilitation. The discomfort of therapy can reduce their compliance, limit their range of motion (ROM) and lead to chronic pain. Virtual Reality (VR) interventions have been found to reduce anticipated and procedural pain.This feasibility study aimed to explore perceptions and impacts of a custom-made, fully immersive Head-Mounted Display VR (HMD-VR) experience within a United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS) outpatient rehabilitation service for children with ULIs.METHODS:Ten children aged 9–16 in one UK Children’s hospital trialled HMD-VR during one rehabilitation session. They, their parents (n = 10), and hospital physiotherapy staff (n = 2) were interviewed about their perceptions of pain, difficulty, enjoyability, therapeutic impacts, benefits, and limitations. Children rated the sessions on enjoyability, difficulty, and pain compared to usual rehabilitation exercises. Physiotherapists were asked to provide range of motion readings.RESULTS:Inductive thematic analysis of interview data generated three themes, ‘Escape through Engagement’; ‘Enhanced Movement’; and ‘Adaptability and Practicality’. Children rated the session as more enjoyable, less difficult and painful than their usual rehabilitation exercises. Findings suggested that HMD-VR was an engaging, enjoyable experience that distracted children from the pain and boredom of therapy. Also, it seemed to enhance the movement they achieved. Participants perceived it was useful for rehabilitation and adaptable to individual needs and other patient groups. Suggestions were made to increase adaptability and build in practical safeguards.CONCLUSION:Findings from this small-scale feasibility study suggested HMD-VR was perceived as usable, acceptable, and effective with potential for further development. Future work could include larger scale trials.

Does overlay field of view in head-mounted displays affect spatial memorization?

One of the main targets of criticism of head-mounted displays (HMDs) is the field of view (FOV) size, whether in virtual or augmented reality. This limitation is prominent with optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMD), as those with narrow overlay FOV (OFOV) sizes only provide a small window to view virtual objects. We investigated if restricting this OFOV negatively affects a user’s ability to memorize spatial locations in a simulation of a work environment, and consequently, long-term memory transfer to an equivalent scenario in the real world two days later. To find empirical evidence, we conducted a within-subjects experiment with 18 participants performing in three phases with an OST-HMD, simulated on an immersive HMD. For each phase, they viewed the training scenario with a different OFOV size of the augmentable area (30°, 70°, 110° diagonal). Results from recall tests showed that smaller OFOV size did not significantly affect user’s performance on both short-term and transfer tests, but HMD data revealed that users rotated their heads less with a 110° OFOV. We also found that proximity of objects to memorize had an interaction effect with smaller OFOV sizes. Our findings could have implications on the design and HMD choices of augmented training.

Acceptance of immersive head-mounted display virtual reality in stroke patients

BackgroundAs virtual reality (VR) has become more accessible, it has increasingly come into focus for clinical application. Therapy with VR shows potential as an engaging, effective, and economic way to improve cognitive abilities following a stroke. ObjectivesWhile application of VR in clinical settings appears promising, its widespread use will crucially depend on acceptance of immersive head mounted display virtual reality (HMD-VR) systems when used in different patient groups. This study aimed to investigate acceptance of HMD-VR in stroke patients compared to a control group of healthy age-matched adults. MethodsThe attitude towards HMD-VR, as one of the most important predictors of technology acceptance within the technology acceptance model framework, was assessed in 20 stroke patients and 20 age-matched healthy adults. Further HMD-VR acceptance related measures concerned self-reported user experience, computer self-efficacy and cybersickness (see also Huygelier et al., 2019). Additionally, performance measures for memory span and speed were recorded in two VR-tasks. ResultsBoth groups showed positive attitude above the neutral point of the scale and reported positive user experience in the VR-setting. Self-reported cybersickness was at modest levels and comparable in both groups. Controls had higher and more homogeneous scores in user experience, and performed notably faster in the VR-task while there were no significant differences in memory-span. ConclusionThe study results suggest that treatment provided by immersive HMD-VR is tolerated by older adults, including those who have had strokes. This was the case without prior acquaintance with the VR-device or -software, and it was neither hindered by negative attitudes towards VR, nor cybersickness.

A STUDY ON SPATIAL PERCEPTION IN IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL SPACE

The impression of space and perception of distance may be different in real space, 3D space on the flat display (DP space), and 3D space on the immersive head-mounted display (HMD space). In this study, the mean value and standard deviation were calculated and verified based on the data obtained from the experiment. The difference between DP space and HMD space for the real space is described. The results showed differences of the perceived distance and, in psychological evaluations, differences of the openness and the presence of the object.

VR Disability Simulation Reduces Implicit Bias Towards Persons With Disabilities.

This article investigates how experiencing Virtual Reality (VR) Disability Simulation (DS) affects information recall and participants' implicit association towards people with disabilities (PwD). Implicit attitudes are our actions or judgments towards various concepts or stereotypes (e.g., race) which we may or may not be aware of. Previous research has shown that experiencing ownership over a dark-skinned body reduces implicit racial bias. We hypothesized that a DS with a tracked Head Mounted Display (HMD) and a wheelchair interface would have a significantly larger effect on participants' information recall and their implicit association towards PwD than a desktop monitor and gamepad. We conducted a 2 x 2 between-subjects experiment in which participants experienced a VR DS that teaches them facts about Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with factors of display (HMD, a desktop monitor) and interface (gamepad, wheelchair). Participants took two Implicit Association Tests before and after experiencing the DS. Our study results show that the participants in an immersive HMD condition performed better than the participants in the non-immersive Desktop condition in their information recall task. Moreover, a tracked HMD and a wheelchair interface had significantly larger effects on participants' implicit association towards PwD than a desktop monitor and a gamepad.

Evaluation of an Inquiry-Based Virtual Lab for Junior High School Science Classes

The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an inquiry-based virtual reality (VR) science lab used in junior high school science classes. The Scientific Investigation VR Lab (SIVRLAB) is designed for 9th-grade students to learn about electrochemical cells. It is situated in a guided problem-solving context, where learners need to review the concept of oxidation-reduction reactions and assemble a voltaic cell to save a robot. The SIVRLAB features several cognitive supports and guides for students to plan and record experiments and resolve the problem. It has both a head-mounted display (HMD) version and a desktop VR version. The study recruited 66 9th graders from three classes to evaluate the two versions of the SIVRLAB. The students were assigned to one of three conditions, namely, (1) using immersive HMD SIVRLAB individually, (2) using desktop SIVRLAB individually, and (3) observing one student use immersive HMD SIVRLAB. The students were briefly introduced to the concept of electrochemical cells in the first class and were instructed to use the SIVRLAB sessions in the next class. The results from knowledge pre- and post-tests, a user experience survey, and students’ reflections were collected and analyzed qualitatively. The findings revealed that students who used the desktop VR obtained the highest test scores among the three groups. However, in the follow-up physical laboratory test, the performance of the students in the original HMD VR experimental group was better than those in the desktop VR experimental group. The paper also discusses student feedback and teacher observations regarding the design and interaction with immersive VR. Lastly, the implications of the study and recommendations for future studies are presented.

An immersive educational tool for dental implant placement: A study on user acceptance

BackgroundTools for training and education of dental students can improve their ability to perform technical procedures such as dental implant placement. Shortage of training can negatively affect dental implantologists’ performance during intraoperative procedures, resulting in lack of surgical precision and, consequently, inadequate implant placement, which may lead to unsuccessful implant supported restorations or other complications. ObjectiveWe designed and developed IMMPLANT a virtual reality educational tool to assist implant placement learning, which allows users to freely manipulate 3D dental models (e.g., a simulated patient's mandible and implant) with their dominant hand while operating a touchscreen device to assist 3D manipulation. MethodsThe proposed virtual reality tool combines an immersive head-mounted display, a small hand tracking device and a smartphone that are all connected to a laptop. The operator's dominant hand is tracked to quickly and coarsely manipulate either the 3D dental model or the virtual implant, while the non-dominant hand holds a smartphone converted into a controller to assist button activation and a greater input precision for 3D implant positioning and inclination. We evaluated IMMPLANT's usability and acceptance during training sessions with 16 dental professionals. ResultsThe conducted user acceptance study revealed that IMMPLANT constitutes a versatile, portable, and complementary tool to assist implant placement learning, as it promotes immersive visualization and spatial manipulation of 3D dental anatomy. ConclusionsIMMPLANT is a promising virtual reality tool to assist student learning and 3D dental visualization for implant placement education. IMMPLANT may also be easily incorporated into training programs for dental students.

A Novel Method to Understand Neural Oscillations During Full-Body Reaching: A Combined EEG and 3D Virtual Reality Study.

Virtual reality (VR) can be used to create environments that are not possible in the real-world. Producing movements in VR holds enormous promise for rehabilitation and offers a platform from which to understand the neural control of movement. However, no study has examined the impact of a 3D fully immersive head-mounted display (HMD) VR system on the integrity of neural data. We assessed the quality of 64-channel EEG data with and without HMD VR during rest and during a full-body reaching task. We compared resting EEG while subjects completed three conditions: No HMD (EEG-only), HMD powered off (VR-off), and HMD powered on (VR-on). Within the same session, EEG were collected while subjects completed full-body reaching movements in two conditions (EEG-only, VR-on). During rest, no significant differences in data quality and power spectrum were observed between EEG-only, VR-off, and VR-on conditions. During reaching movements, the proportion of components attributed to the brain was greater in the EEG-only condition compared to the VR-on condition. Despite this difference, neural oscillations in source space were not significantly different between conditions, with both conditions associated with decreases in alpha and beta power in sensorimotor cortex during movements. Our findings demonstrate that the integrity of EEG data can be maintained while individuals execute full-body reaching movements within an immersive 3D VR environment. Clinical impact: Integrating VR and EEG is a viable approach to understanding the cortical processes of movement. Simultaneously recording movement and brain activity in combination with VR provides the foundation for neurobiologically informed rehabilitation therapies.