Immersive Virtual Reality Applications Research Articles

Multiuser immersive virtual reality application for real-time remote collaboration to enhance design review process in the social distancing era

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop and assess the real-time multiuser virtual reality (VR) application that can be used in the design review process. In particular, the application was aimed to accommodate the design review meetings conducted among participants who are in different locations, which has become commonplace during the COVID-19 outbreak.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a methodology for the development of a real-time multiuser immersive VR application, to support remote collaboration during the design review process. The developed application can immerse remote project participants into the same virtual environment and provide virtual face-to-face discussions. An experiment was conducted with 44 university students to investigate the applicability and performance of the developed application by comparing it with the traditional approach.FindingsResults indicated that the group of students who used the developed immersive VR application outperformed the group that used the traditional approach. This was measured by the percentage of correctly identified design errors during a building inspection experiment.Originality/valueThe difficulty of bringing remote stakeholders together in a virtual environment has impeded the implementation of VR technology in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Most research has focused on the improvement of a single user’s experience. Most of the previous multiuser VR studies were conducted in other industries while similar research in the AEC industry is limited. The study presented in this paper contributes to the AEC industry by presenting the development of multiuser immersive VR applications for real-time remote collaboration and the empirical evidence to substantiate its potential benefits.

Virtual Geosite Communication through a WebGIS Platform: A Case Study from Santorini Island (Greece)

We document and show a state-of-the-art methodology that could allow geoheritage sites (geosites) to become accessible to scientific and non-scientific audiences through immersive and non-immersive virtual reality applications. This is achieved through a dedicated WebGIS platform, particularly handy in communicating geoscience during the COVID-19 era. For this application, we selected nine volcanic outcrops in Santorini, Greece. The latter are mainly associated with several geological processes (e.g., dyking, explosive, and effusive eruptions). In particular, they have been associated with the famous Late Bronze Age (LBA) eruption, which made them ideal for geoheritage popularization objectives since they combine scientific and educational purposes with geotourism applications. Initially, we transformed these stunning volcanological outcrops into geospatial models—the so called virtual outcrops (VOs) here defined as virtual geosites (VGs)—through UAV-based photogrammetry and 3D modeling. In the next step, we uploaded them on an online platform that is fully accessible for Earth science teaching and communication. The nine VGs are currently accessible on a PC, a smartphone, or a tablet. Each one includes a detailed description and plenty of annotations available for the viewers during 3D exploration. We hope this work will be regarded as a forward model application for Earth sciences’ popularization and make geoheritage open to the scientific community and the lay public.

The Effects of an Immersive Virtual Reality Application in First Person Point-of-View (IVRA-FPV) on The Learning and Generalized Performance of a Lumbar Puncture Medical Procedure

The Effects of an Immersive Virtual Reality Application in First Person Point-of-View (IVRA-FPV) on The Learning and Generalized Performance of a Lumbar Puncture Medical Procedure

BIM- and IoT-based virtual reality tool for real-time thermal comfort assessment in building enclosures

Despite their vast potential for delivering rich and intuitive visualizations of live building monitoring data, digital twins have been rarely studied in the context of thermal comfort. To narrow this gap, this study investigates the synergistic benefits of Building Information Modeling (BIM), the Internet of Things (IoT) and Virtual Reality (VR) for developing an immersive VR application for real-time monitoring of thermal comfort conditions. A system architecture was proposed for live calculation of the PMV/PPD indices based on ASHRAE standard 55 and enrichment of BIM-based representations of building spaces in VR environments with live IoT-enabled monitoring data. Openly available software tools were used to make the geometric and sensory data accessible within a VR application and calculate the PMV/PPD indices. Using a semi-automated method, raw thermal images streaming from a cost-effective non-intrusive sensor were processed on an affordable edge computing device to enable near real-time calculation of Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT). A prototype of the system was implemented and used in a series of experiments where a dynamic thermal environment was created in a mechanically conditioned space. The results support the consistency between the system's output and the actual thermal sensations observed under various conditions.

Immersive virtual reality during gait rehabilitation increases walking speed and motivation: a usability evaluation with healthy participants and patients with multiple sclerosis and stroke

BackgroundThe rehabilitation of gait disorders in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and stroke is often based on conventional treadmill training. Virtual reality (VR)-based treadmill training can increase motivation and improve therapy outcomes. The present study evaluated an immersive virtual reality application (using a head-mounted display, HMD) for gait rehabilitation with patients to (1) demonstrate its feasibility and acceptance and to (2) compare its short-term effects to a semi-immersive presentation (using a monitor) and a conventional treadmill training without VR to assess the usability of both systems and estimate the effects on walking speed and motivation.MethodsIn a within-subjects study design, 36 healthy participants and 14 persons with MS or stroke participated in each of the three experimental conditions (VR via HMD, VR via monitor, treadmill training without VR).ResultsFor both groups, the walking speed in the HMD condition was higher than in treadmill training without VR and in the monitor condition. Healthy participants reported a higher motivation after the HMD condition as compared with the other conditions. Importantly, no side effects in the sense of simulator sickness occurred and usability ratings were high. No increases in heart rate were observed following the VR conditions. Presence ratings were higher for the HMD condition compared with the monitor condition for both user groups. Most of the healthy study participants (89%) and patients (71%) preferred the HMD-based training among the three conditions and most patients could imagine using it more frequently.ConclusionsFor the first time, the present study evaluated the usability of an immersive VR system for gait rehabilitation in a direct comparison with a semi-immersive system and a conventional training without VR with healthy participants and patients. The study demonstrated the feasibility of combining a treadmill training with immersive VR. Due to its high usability and low side effects, it might be particularly suited for patients to improve training motivation and training outcome e. g. the walking speed compared with treadmill training using no or only semi-immersive VR. Immersive VR systems still require specific technical setup procedures. This should be taken into account for specific clinical use-cases during a cost–benefit assessment.

Using virtual 3D-models in surgical planning: workflow of an immersive virtual reality application in liver surgery

PurposeThree-dimensional (3D) surgical planning is widely accepted in liver surgery. Currently, the 3D reconstructions are usually presented as 3D PDF data on regular monitors. 3D-printed liver models are sometimes used for education and planning.MethodsWe developed an immersive virtual reality (VR) application that enables the presentation of preoperative 3D models. The 3D reconstructions are exported as STL files and easily imported into the application, which creates the virtual model automatically. The presentation is possible in “OpenVR”-ready VR headsets. To interact with the 3D liver model, VR controllers are used. Scaling is possible, as well as changing the opacity from invisible over transparent to fully opaque. In addition, the surgeon can draw potential resection lines on the surface of the liver. All these functions can be used in a single or multi-user mode.ResultsFive highly experienced HPB surgeons of our department evaluated the VR application after using it for the very first time and considered it helpful according to the “System Usability Scale” (SUS) with a score of 76.6%. Especially with the subitem “necessary learning effort,” it was shown that the application is easy to use.ConclusionWe introduce an immersive, interactive presentation of medical volume data for preoperative 3D liver surgery planning. The application is easy to use and may have advantages over 3D PDF and 3D print in preoperative liver surgery planning. Prospective trials are needed to evaluate the optimal presentation mode of 3D liver models.

Visual effects creation to improve user performance in fully immersive virtual environment of automobile engine assembly

Virtual reality (VR) technologies and computer-generated technologies are very useful for many industries, such as medical, education, gaming, mining, engineering, and other sectors. In engineering sector specifically for assembly department, the major problem they are facing was that traditional components of automotive engine are complex and very difficult to assemble using current method which use paper manual. The goal of this project is to create an interactive VR application such that users can quickly integrate and perform the work easily. In this work, the authors designed and developed an immersive VR application with several stages, such as 3D model creation, visual effects creation and gaming scene building. The application was built using Unreal and HTC vive headset. As this is an on-going project work, further functionality will be added to render the application immensely for users and assist the sense of pedagogy in terms of the digital method of learning.

Combined Application of 4D BIM Schedule and an Immersive Virtual Reality on a Modular Project: UNLV Solar Decathlon Case

The use of a 4D schedule as technological advancement has brought significant improvement to the planning and execution of construction projects, through visualizing step-wise construction progress, following a sequence of pre-planned activities, and finalizing a baseline schedule with necessary changes. Moreover, the application of immersive virtual reality (IVR) to create an interactive 4D BIM schedule of a planned structure has made it possible to create a detailed plan of any construction project. Because of these benefits, the use of 4D schedules and immersive virtual reality in the construction industry has increased, leading to improved planning and execution. However, past studies have given little attention to the applications of such technologies on modular projects. Thus, this research applied a 4D schedule, along with immersive virtual reality, on a modular project, and verified their benefits and effectiveness. The results showed that most of the participants who experienced a 4D BIM schedule, along with immersive virtual reality (4D/IVR), strongly agreed that it is an easy and straightforward way to visualize the project, understand the schedule, and find any errors. Moreover, while fewer than half of the participants scheduled the assembly sequence correctly with conventional schedule and 2D drawings, almost all of them sequenced the assembly successfully with 4D/IVR. Based on the findings, this research concludes that the implementation of a 4D BIM schedule, along with virtual reality technology, can enhance the fabrication and assembly performance of modules.

RETRACTED: Development and application of VR course resources based on embedded system in open education

Virtual Reality VR technology offers a unique approach to enhance the use of complex 3D graphics and visualization environments. The study conducted using virtual reality (VR) technology integrated into the computer-aided design network; VR is a Web-based learning environment. Virtual reality technology is expected to be a traditional 2D computer graphics (CG) CG extended to a 3D real-time simulation program. Virtual reality technology can be used to promote participation and student learning. With VR education, change the delivery of educational content. No user interaction is well suited to see it and is very suitable to create a real or imaginary virtual world. Immersive virtual reality (VR) applications require ultra-high data rate and low latency to run smoothly, designed to improve multiuser wireless VR video (depth of learning support system) VR experiences. It has been proposed streaming: quality and low-latency video block submission. Scenario, VR is that it can describe some fields to be widely applied to education. One of the main features of VR is that it allows for multisensory interaction in the visualization space. This combination of visualization and interactive cosmetic VR of multisensory is, ideally, to see whether suitable for effective learning and try to explain this effect by the benefits of active learning from experience. Also, may want to consider some of the defenders and the application of VR education related to technology-related lottery.

Immersive Virtual Reality in K-12 and Higher Education: A systematic review of the last decade scientific literature

There has been an increasing interest in applying immersive virtual reality (VR) applications to support various instructional design methods and outcomes not only in K-12 (Primary and Secondary), but also in higher education (HE) settings. However, there is a scarcity of studies to provide the potentials and challenges of VR-supported instructional design strategies and/or techniques that can influence teaching and learning. This systematic review presents a variety of studies that provide qualitative and/or quantitative data to investigate the current practices with VR support focusing on students’ outcomes, performance, alongside with the benefits and challenges of this technology concerning the analysis of visual features and design elements with mobile and desktop computing devices in different learning subjects. During the selection and screening process, forty-six (n = 46) articles published from the middle of 2009 until the middle of 2020 were finally included for a detailed analysis and synthesis of which twenty-one and twenty-five in K-12 and HE, respectively. The majority of studies were focused on describing and evaluating the appropriateness or the effectiveness of the applied instructional design processes using various VR applications to disseminate their findings on user experience, usability issues, students’ outcomes, and/or learning performance. This study contributes by reviewing how instructional design strategies and techniques can potentially benefit students’ learning performance using a wide range of VR applications. It also proposes some recommendations to guide and lead effective instructional design settings in several teaching and learning contexts to outline a more accurate and up-to-date picture of the current state of literature.

Immersive virtual reality as physical therapy in older adults: present or future (systematic review)

Increased life expectancy leads to an increase in the number of older adults and in the prevalence of aging-associated diseases and disabilities. Active aging strategies—particularly those based on physical exercise therapy— have great positive impact on older people’s health. Virtual reality (VR) represents an innovative approach to involve and motivate patients during therapy sessions. Exergaming programs based on VR technologies and commercially available gaming platforms are amenable to therapeutic use in older adults, according to various systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) in the field of rehabilitation or physical skills training in seniors is understudied.In the present systematic review, we analyze the therapeutic use and application of IVR in older adults through physical activity. We describe the populations studied, the conditions of IVR application (device, session, physical, and virtual environments), its potential benefits, and its limitations. We found that most studies are feasibility pilot experiences, where the use and acceptability of the immersive platform were evaluated. Cumulative data suggest that the use of IVR with therapeutic intent in senior populations is in early stages of clinical development and shows promise as a complementary tool in the fields of health, rehabilitation, and active aging.

The role of virtual reality on pain during intravenous cannulation and preoperative separation anxiety in paediatric patients: A prospective randomised study

Background: Pain and anxiety in paediatric patients creates significant problems for the patients and the treating physicians. Virtual reality is a relatively new intervention that can be used to provide distraction. Aim: The aim of the proposed study is to evaluate virtual reality (VR) as a non-pharmacological intervention tool to reduce pain and anxiety in patients of paediatric age group undergoing intravenous cannulation. Methods: This was a prospective randomised trial that enrolled paediatric patients of age group 7-11 years. Patients were randomly allocated to virtual reality group where they were made to wear VR headgear and videos were played and standard Emla cream group where cream was applied at the intended site of intravenous cannulation. Results: Patients using VR exhibited lower pain and anxiety score during intravenous cannulation. Conclusions: This current study found that application of immersive VR had better pain alleviation and parent separation anxiety score when compared with non-VR group patient.

Current status of immersive virtual reality as a tool for physical and functional rehabilitation in patients with Parkinson´s disease: systematic review

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative process that usually appears from the 6th decade of life and is characterized by the appearance of motor and non-motor symptoms that progress, generating functional disability and negatively impacting in quality of life. Recently, Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) has great positive impact on health domains: as a support in psychotherapy or as a treatment of cognitive-behavioral pathologies in neurological patients. To analyze the current published evidence in the fields of physical and functional PD rehabilitation in fully immersive environments. A literature review, covering publications registered until December 2020 in Cinahl, Scopus, Web of Science, Sport-Discus, Dialnet and Pubmed (including Medline) was carried out. The descriptors used for the search were the terms: Parkinson disease, Virtual Reality and Exercise therapy. 140 publications were identified that addressed IVR with physical rehabilitation proposes in PD. Of these, 7 contribute useful information for pooled analysis. The results support the application of IVR to improve physical and functional capacities in the population with PD. Its feasibility, usability and safety suggest potential benefits in the treatment of the prevalent symptoms of the parkinsonian patient. Research of high methodological quality is lacking, reflecting and early stage of preclinical development. Randomized control studies with larger sample size and IVR protocols that confirm the results, while analyzing their impact on the physical and functional variables related to PD are needed.

Virtual Reality with 360-Video Storytelling in Cultural Heritage: Study of Presence, Engagement, and Immersion.

This paper presents a combined subjective and objective evaluation of an application mixing interactive virtual reality (VR) experience with 360° storytelling. The hypothesis that the modern immersive archaeological VR application presenting cultural heritage from a submerged site would sustain high levels of presence, immersion, and general engagement was leveraged in the investigation of the user experience with both the subjective (questionnaires) and the objective (neurophysiological recording of the brain signals using electroencephalography (EEG)) evaluation methods. Participants rated the VR experience positively in the questionnaire scales for presence, immersion, and subjective judgement. High positive rating concerned also the psychological states linked to the experience (engagement, emotions, and the state of flow), and the experience was mostly free from difficulties linked to the accustomization to the VR technology (technology adoption to the head-mounted display and controllers, VR sickness). EEG results are in line with past studies examining brain responses to virtual experiences, while new results in the beta band suggest that EEG is a viable tool for future studies of presence and immersion in VR.

The influence of human factors on 360∘ mulsemedia QoE

Abstract Quality of Experience (QoE) is indelibly linked to the human side of the multimedia experience. Surprisingly, however, there is a paucity of research which explores the impact that human factors has in determining QoE. Whilst this is true of multimedia, it is even more starkly so as far as mulsemedia - applications that involve media engaging three or more of human senses - is concerned. Hence, in the study reported in this paper, we focus on an exciting subset of mulsemedia applications - 360∘ mulsemedia - particularly important given that the upcoming 5G technology is foreseen to be a key enabler for the proliferation of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) applications. Accordingly, we study the impact that human factors such as gender, age, prior computing experience, and smell sensitivity have on 360∘ mulsemedia QoE. Results showed insight into the potential of 360∘ mulsemedia to inspire and to enrich experiences for Generation Z - a generation empowered by rapidly advancing technology. Patterns of prior media usage and smell sensitivity play also an important role in influencing the QoE evaluation - users who have a preference for dynamic videos enjoy and find realistic the 360∘ mulsemedia experiences.

Exertion-aware path generation

We propose a novel approach for generating paths with desired exertion properties, which can be used for delivering highly realistic and immersive virtual reality applications that help users achieve exertion goals. Given a terrain as input, our optimization-based approach automatically generates feasible paths on the terrain which users can bike to perform body training in virtual reality. The approach considers exertion properties such as the total work and the perceived level of path difficulty in generating the paths. To verify our approach, we applied it to generate paths on a variety of terrains with different exertion targets and constraints. To conduct our user studies, we built an exercise bike whose force feedback was controlled by the elevation angle of the generated path over the terrain. Our user study results showed that users found exercising with our generated paths in virtual reality more enjoyable compared to traditional exercising approaches. Their energy expenditure in biking the generated paths also matched with the specified targets, validating the efficacy of our approach.

Exploring the Use of Immersive Technology in Education to Bring Abstract Theoretical Concepts to Life

Over the years educators have adopted a variety of technologies in a bid to improve student engagement, interest and understanding of abstract topics taught in the classroom. There has been an increasing interest in immersive technology such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). The ability of VR to bring ideas to life in three dimensional spaces in a way that is easy for students to understand the subject matter makes it one of the important tools available today for education. A key feature of VR is the ability to provide multi-sensory visuals and virtual interaction to students wearing a Head Mounted Display thus providing students better learning experience and connection to the subject matter. Virtual Reality has been used for training purposes in the health sector, military, workplace training, gamification and exploration of sites and countless others. With the potential benefits of virtual technology in visualizing abstract concepts in a realistic virtual world, this paper presents a plan to study the use of situated cognition theory as a learning framework to develop an immersive VR application that would be used to train and prepare students studying Telecommunications Engineering for the workplace. This paper presents a review of literature in the area of Virtual Reality in education, offers insight into the motivation behind this research and the planned methodology in carrying out the research.

ArkaeVision VR Game: User Experience Research between Real and Virtual Paestum

The design of a virtual reality (VR) cultural application is aimed at supporting the steps of the learning process-like concrete experimentation, reflection and abstraction—which are generally difficult to induce when looking at ruins and artifacts that bring back to the past. With the use of virtual technologies (e.g., holographic surfaces, head-mounted displays, motion—cation sensors) those steps are surely supported thanks to the immersiveness and natural interaction granted by such devices. VR can indeed help to symbolically recreate the context of life of cultural objects, presenting them in their original place of belonging, while they were used for example, increasing awareness and understanding of history. The ArkaeVision VR application takes advantages of storytelling and user experience design to tell the story of artifacts and sites of an important cultural heritage site of Italy, Paestum, creating a dramaturgy around them and relying upon historical and artistic content revised by experts. Visitors will virtually travel into the temple dedicated to Hera II of Paestum, in the first half of the fifth century BC, wearing an immersive viewer–HTC Vive; here, they will interact with the priestess Ariadne, a digital actor, who will guide them on a virtual tour presenting the beliefs, the values and habits of an ancient population of the Magna Graecia city. In the immersive VR application, the memory is indeed influenced by the visitors’ ability to proceed with the exploratory activity. Two evaluation sessions were planned and conducted to understand the effectiveness of the immersive experience, usability of the virtual device and the learnability of the digital storytelling. Results revealed that certainly the realism of the virtual reconstructions, the atmosphere and the “sense of the past” that pervades the whole VR cultural experience, characterize the positive feedback of visitors, their emotional engagement and their interest to proceed with the exploration.

Impact of an Immersive Virtual Reality Curriculum on Medical Students' Clinical Assessment of Infants With Respiratory Distress.

To determine whether exposure to an immersive virtual reality curriculum on pediatric respiratory distress improves medical students' recognition of impending respiratory failure. Randomized, controlled, prospective study conducted from July 2017 to June 2018. Evaluators blinded to student groupings. Academic, free-standing children's hospital. All third-year medical students (n = 168) were eligible. The standard curriculum was delivered to all students during their pediatric rotation with optional inclusion of research data per Institutional Review Board review. A randomized selection of students was exposed to the virtual reality curriculum. All students received standard training on respiratory distress through didactics and high-fidelity mannequin simulation. Intervention students underwent an additional 30-minute immersive virtual reality curriculum, experienced through an OculusRift headset, with three simulations of an infant with 1) no distress, 2) respiratory distress, and 3) impending respiratory failure. The impact of the virtual reality curriculum on recognition/interpretation of key examination findings, assignment of an appropriate respiratory status assessment, and recognition of the need for escalation of care for patients in impending respiratory failure was assessed via a free response clinical assessment of video vignettes at the end of the pediatric rotation. Responses were scored on standardized rubrics by physician experts. All eligible students participated (78 intervention and 90 control). Significant differences between intervention and control were demonstrated for consideration/interpretation of mental status (p < 0.01), assignment of the appropriate respiratory status assessment (p < 0.01), and recognition of a need for escalation of care (p = 0.0004). Exposure to an immersive virtual reality curriculum led to improvement in objective competence at the assessment of respiratory distress and recognition of the need for escalation of care for patients with signs of impending respiratory failure. This study represents a novel application of immersive virtual reality and suggests that it may be effective for clinical assessment training.

Is individual practice in an immersive and interactive virtual reality application non-inferior to practicing with traditional equipment in learning systematic clinical observation? A randomized controlled trial

BackgroundThe aim was to investigate if individual self-practice of the ABCDE approach (Airways, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure) in an immersive and interactive virtual reality (VR) application gave non-inferior learning outcome compared to using traditional equipment (TP) in first year medical and nursing students.MethodsA non-inferior parallel group randomized controlled trial. The study was linked to a regular teaching program conducted in August and September 2019. All students participated in a 15-min ABCDE introduction session, before they self-practiced the ABCDE approach for 20 min in either a fully immersive and interactive VR application using hand controllers with some haptic feedback (Individual VR) or with blood pressure gauge, ear-thermometer and oximeter (Individual TP). The primary outcome was the number of students who documented all the eight predefined observations in the ABCDE approach in the correct order in a practical test on an advanced simulator manikin with a time limit of 5 min, done immediately after the self-practice. The predefined one-sided non-inferiority limit was 13% points.ResultsOf all eligible students, 84% participated in the study and randomly allocated to VR (n = 149) or TP (n = 140). The primary outcome showed non-inferiority of the VR application with 24.8% in individual VR doing all observations in correct order compared to 27.1% TP (absolute difference 2.3% points, one sided 95% CI 2.3 to 10.8). The secondary outcomes were similar between the groups, but more students in VR reported liking the way they practiced (absolute difference 46% points, 95% CI 36.5 to 56.6) and that it was a good way to learn (36.9% points, 95% CI 26.8 to 47). VR also scored high on the System Usability Scale (mean difference 6.4% points, 95% CI 2.8–10.1).ConclusionsIndividual self-practicing the ABCDE approach in VR was non-inferior to individual self-practicing with traditional equipment.