Immersive Virtual Reality Setting Research Articles

Development of professional skills in kickboxing athletes using virtual reality technologies

Ukrainian sports are currently facing numerous problems due to the hostile military operations by the Russian Federation, leading to the emigration of gifted athletes from the nation. Considering these challenges, the search for novel ways to support and enhance athletes throughout their careers has become critically important. Cutting-edge technologies, especially virtual reality (VR), are being proposed as a potent means to enhance professional training. They facilitate the fusion of traditional and innovative methods, ensuring that athletic training evolves to meet contemporary demands. This strategy adjusts the requirements of athletes across the spectrum, from beginners to professionals, as well as mentors and sports entities eager to incorporate unconventional technologies into their training regimen. Employing immersive VR settings enables the replication of authentic competitive scenarios and training intensities. It offers the capability to monitor biometric data, evaluating the athletes' resilience to stress, their focus, and their strategic expertise. Anticipated outcomes of this holistic approach include enhanced training session productivity, reinforced mental strength in competitors during events, and expedited recuperation from injuries. The introduction and application of VR technology in sports training signifies a leap towards revitalizing traditional training techniques, ensuring they are modular and adaptable. This facilitates seamless integration into a range of sports disciplines and alignment with diverse training schemes, enhancing Ukraine's global sports standing and positioning the nation as a pioneer in athlete training innovation. In this study, we explored the incorporation of VR technology in kickboxing, specifically targeting the 10–12-year age bracket. At this developmental stage, children are particularly receptive to new experiences and stimuli, making such a technologically enriched environment a powerful tool to boost training enthusiasm. Virtual reality holds the promise of breaking the routine of standard training practices, rendering them more captivating and interactive, which is crucial for attracting young participants.

Capturing self‐regulated learning processes in virtual reality: Causal sequencing of multimodal data

AbstractThis study examines the embodied ways in which learners monitor their cognition while learning about exponential functions in an immersive virtual reality (VR) based game, Pandemic by Prisms of Reality. Traditionally, metacognitive monitoring has been assessed through behavioural traces and verbalised instances. When learning in VR, learners are fully immersed in the learning environment, actively manipulating it based on affordances designed to support learning, offering insights into the relationship between physical interaction and metacognition. The study collected multimodal data from 15 participants, including think‐aloud audio, bird's‐eye view video recordings and physiological data. Metacognitive monitoring was analysed through qualitative coding of the think‐aloud protocol, while movement was measured via optical flow analysis and cognitive load was assessed through heart rate variability analysis. The results revealed embodied metacognition by aligning the data to identify learners' physical states alongside their verbalised metacognition. The findings demonstrated a temporal interplay among cognitive load, metacognitive monitoring, and motion during VR‐based learning. Specifically, cognitive load, indicated by the low‐ and high‐frequency heart rate variability index, predicted instances of metacognitive monitoring, and monitoring predicted learners' motion while interacting with the VR environment. This study further provides future directions in understanding self‐regulated learning processes during VR learning by utilizing multimodal data to inform real‐time adaptive personalised support within these environments. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments have the potential to offer personalised support based on users' individual needs and characteristics. Self‐regulated learning (SRL) involves learners monitoring their progress and strategically regulating their learning when needed. Multimodal data captured during VR learning, such as birds‐eye‐view video, screen recordings, physiological changes and verbalisations, can provide insights into learners' SRL processes and support needs. What this paper adds Provides insights into the embodied aspects of learners' metacognitive monitoring during learning in an immersive VR environment. Demonstrates how SRL processes can be captured via the collection and analysis of multimodal data, including think‐aloud audio, bird's‐eye view video recordings and physiological data, to capture metacognitive monitoring and movement during VR‐based learning. Contributes to the understanding of the interplay between cognitive load, metacognitive monitoring, and motion in immersive VR learning. Implications for practice and/or policy Researchers and practitioners can use the causal relationships identified in this study to identify instances of SRL in an immersive VR setting. Educational technology developers can consider the integration of online measures, such as cognitive load and physiological arousal, into adaptive VR environments to enable real‐time personalised support for learners based on their self‐regulatory needs.

Effect of summarizing scaffolding and textual cues on learning performance, mental model, and cognitive load in a virtual reality environment: An experimental study

The effect of summarizing scaffolding on learning for elementary school students in immersive virtual reality settings with textual cues is unknown. To address this research gap, we conducted a 2 * 2 factorial experimental study to investigate the potential effect and interaction of summarizing scaffolding (yes vs. no) and textual cues (yes vs. no) on learning performance, mental model, and cognitive load. A total of 152 participants from a suburban elementary school were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: no textual cues & no summarizing scaffolding (n = 38), textual cues & no summarizing scaffolding (n = 39), no textual cues & summarizing scaffolding (n = 37), and textual cues & summarizing scaffolding (n = 38). ANOVA results showed that (a) textual cues significantly improved learning performance and the mental model; (b) summarizing scaffolding significantly enhanced the mental model; and (c) no significant interaction effects were identified, indicating that young students can benefit from immersive virtual reality with textual cues or summarizing scaffolding. The implications of the findings on the design of effective immersive learning environments are discussed.

Environment Context Variability and Incidental Word Learning: A Virtual Reality Study.

Previous research has shown that changes in the scenarios in which something is learned and recalled, respectively, may result in a subpar performance in memory recollection. The current study aimed to evaluate how changes in the visuo-perceptual environmental learning context impact incidental vocabulary learning. To this end, a highly immersive virtual reality setting was created, and participants were required to read eight distinct stories visually presented to them. A novel word was delivered twice in every paragraph and embedded in each story. Stories could be displayed either in a high variability condition, where each paragraph was shown in a new environment context (four different classrooms) or in a low variability condition, where each paragraph was shown in the same context. The findings obtained across four assessment tasks (free recall, recognition, picture matching, and sentence completion) demonstrated that significant visuo-perceptual variability did not bring about any disadvantages in word learning. Thus, perceptual information from a physically diverse environment could provide a variety of instructional and educational beneficial possibilities in the absence of a learning disadvantage.

P39 Virtual reality headset as an alternative to Entonox for intraarticular corticosteroid injection

P39 Virtual reality headset as an alternative to Entonox for intraarticular corticosteroid injection

Enhance VR: A Multisensory Approach to Cognitive Training and Monitoring.

Cognitive training systems aim to improve specific domains or global cognition by engaging users in cognitively demanding tasks. While screen-based applications can improve performance in the trained cognitive abilities, they are often criticized for their poor transferability to activities of daily living. These systems, however, exclude the user's body and motor skills, which invariably serves to restrict the user experience. Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) systems, in contrast, present the user with body-related information, such as proprioceptive and visuomotor information, allowing for an immersive and embodied experience of the environment. This feature renders VR a very appealing tool for cognitive training and neurorehabilitation applications. We present Enhance VR, an IVR-based cognitive training and monitoring application that offers short daily cognitive workouts. The games are designed to train and monitor specific cognitive domains such as memory, task flexibility, information processing, orientation, attention, problem-solving, and motor control. The aim is to test whether cognitively demanding tasks, presented in an IVR setting, provide a naturalistic system to train and monitor cognitive capabilities.

Immersive Virtual Reality as an International Collaborative Space for Innovative Simulation Design

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) is an increasingly utilized modality for nursing simulation. In addition to its role as a simulation setting, IVR has utility as a virtual meeting space in which simulation design teams can collaborate in real time, all while interacting within the simulation environment itself. This article describes how an international simulation design team utilized IVR to develop, implement, and iterate a simulation scenario created for prelicensure nursing students. The IVR setting allowed the team to efficiently and effectively create and improve on this scenario before successfully delivering it to nursing students.

Eye movements to absent objects during mental imagery and visual memory in immersive virtual reality

The role of eye movements in mental imagery and visual memory is typically investigated by presenting stimuli or scenes on a two-dimensional (2D) computer screen. When questioned about objects that had previously been presented on-screen, people gaze back to the location of the stimuli, even though those regions are blank during retrieval. It remains unclear whether this behavior is limited to a highly controlled experimental setting using 2D screens or whether it also occurs in a more naturalistic setting. The present study aims to overcome this shortcoming. Three-dimensional (3D) objects were presented along a circular path in an immersive virtual room. During retrieval, participants were given two tasks: to visualize the objects, which they had encoded before, and to evaluate a statement about visual details of the object. We observed longer fixation duration in the area, on which the object was previously displayed, when compared to other possible target locations. However, in 89% of the time, participants fixated none of the predefined areas. On the one hand, this shows that looking at nothing may be overestimated in 2D screen-based paradigm, on the other hand, the looking at nothing effect was still present in the 3D immersive virtual reality setting, and thus it extends external validity of previous findings. Eye movements during retrieval reinstate spatial information of previously inspected stimuli.

Testing Navigation in Real Space: Contributions to Understanding the Physiology and Pathology of Human Navigation Control.

Successful navigation relies on the flexible and appropriate use of metric representations of space or topological knowledge of the environment. Spatial dimensions (2D vs. 3D), spatial scales (vista-scale vs. large-scale environments) and the abundance of visual landmarks critically affect navigation performance and behavior in healthy human subjects. Virtual reality (VR)-based navigation paradigms in stationary position have given insight into the major navigational strategies, namely egocentric (body-centered) and allocentric (world-centered), and the cerebral control of navigation. However, VR approaches are biased towards optic flow and visual landmark processing. This major limitation can be overcome to some extent by increasingly immersive and realistic VR set-ups (including large-screen projections, eye tracking and use of head-mounted camera systems). However, the highly immersive VR settings are difficult to apply particularly to older subjects and patients with neurological disorders because of cybersickness and difficulties with learning and conducting the tasks. Therefore, a need for the development of novel spatial tasks in real space exists, which allows a synchronous analysis of navigational behavior, strategy, visual explorations and navigation-induced brain activation patterns. This review summarizes recent findings from real space navigation studies in healthy subjects and patients with different cognitive and sensory neurological disorders. Advantages and limitations of real space navigation testing and different VR-based navigation paradigms are discussed in view of potential future applications in clinical neurology.

A Review of Gamification in Virtual Reality (VR) Sport

PURPOSE: To identify the main findings from research on gamified virtual reality in sport METHODS: The digital databases for this review were searched and visited on 19 May 2019. Gamification AND (“virtual reality” OR sports fitness) were used as a search string or keyword in the paper selection. RESULTS: Thirty -three papers were found after the preliminary searches to narrow down the selections that align with the goals of this study. The selected papers were examined to investigate the characteristics of gamification in a broad context of sports. These findings suggest that the use of gamification methods help physical exercise in the immersive VR setting. CONCLUSION: Through the outcomes of user experience, it can prove that gamification components are boosting the pleasure of the user throughout the physical activity and provide a set of rules to encourage the athlete or user to perform better. Besides, generality of impacts with VR and gamification in sports has been discussed in this paper by listing the advantages and limitations. However, findings need more varied populations, particularly elements, athletes, kids, and older people.

Immersive Virtual Reality-Based Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Interactive Learning Support System

Traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation training does not allow learners to accurately grasp power, depth and frequency. Therefore, this study aims to improve traditional training and reduce training volume, weight and price by using VR-CPRs learning support system. This study also provide immersive learning at a price lower than that currently prevalent in the market to impart the same level of learning and make CPR training more common. Our system makes it easier for individuals to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation, making cardiopulmonary resuscitation training more common. Our system includes video health education, assisted real-time interactive operation tools, learning tests and other self-learning functions. Learners can practice on their own after watching the training film. The system reverberates the learner's power and frequency through a force-sensitive model to ensure that they are properly trained. Encourage users to learn CPR skills through immersive virtual reality settings that guide somatosensory interactions and support game-based learning. The study collected 100 college students who had never received CPR training. Before performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the force-sensitive model, participants were asked to complete a pre-test questionnaire to obtain pre-intervention learning outcomes. We introduced VR-CPR into CPR learning (intervention), assessed the outcome of the intervention, and asked participants to complete a post-test questionnaire. The study used VR-CPR to intensively study 85% of participants, indicating that the system is effective in promoting CPR learning, cultivating CPR learning interest, and improving public CPR ability.

Atmospheres: Feeling Architecture by Emotions

What is architectural atmosphere? To answer this question, we propose a paradox: a precise definition of the inherently vague and ambiguous concept of atmosphere that satisfies, as so far as possible, scientific criteria and methodology. We suggest that the term atmosphere, understood in an architectural context, defines a state of resonance and identification (sensorimotor, emotive, and cognitive) between an individual and their surrounding built space. Human beings can empathise with inanimate rooms when they interiorly establish an embodied simulation of certain architectural features. Thus, atmospheres might be determined, mapped, and measured through quantitative methods tracing emotional, cognitive, and neurophysiological responses of individuals to spatial conditions.The exploratory study illustrated attempts to test this hypothesis, by undertaking an experiment informed by phenomenological and embodied cognition theories. We analysed the spatial unit of the corridor, altered in twenty-one variations. We modified one potentially atmospheric parameter at a time, and collected emotional responses of participants. Subjects interacted with immersive virtual-reality settings. Our findings demonstrate that an experimental approach is applicable to evaluating atmospheric perception and suggest which architectural features seem to interplay with the empathic sensibility of the perceiver (i.e. colours and material patterns) and which ones do not (i.e. lighting qualities).

Which EEG feedback works better for creativity performance in immersive virtual reality: The reminder or encouraging feedback?

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the feedback designed based on EEG (electroencephalography) signals contributes to an individual's creative performance in an immersive virtual reality setting. Two specific forms of feedback were used. The first one was “reminder feedback,” given when brainwaves indicated the participant's attention was not concentrated. The second one was “encouraging feedback,” given when brainwaves indicated that the participant's attention was very concentrated. Sixty high school students were randomly assigned to participate in an open-ended design challenge in an immersive virtual reality setting. Twenty (N = 20) participants received no feedback; twenty (N = 20) participants received reminder feedback; and another twenty (N = 20) participants received encouraging feedback. Findings showed that the participants who received reminder feedback had higher-quality creative products than those in a group with no feedback or encouraging feedback. In addition, EEG feedback also had an impact on the participant's attention and flow state. These findings are discussed in terms of feedback impacts, study limitations, and future research directions.

Open data exploration in virtual reality: a comparative study of input technology

In this article, we compare three different input technologies (gamepad, vision-based motion controls, room-scale) for an interactive virtual reality (VR) environment. The overall system is able to visualize (open) data from multiple online sources in a unified interface, enabling the user to browse and explore displayed information in an immersive VR setting. We conducted a user interaction study (n=24; n=8 per input technology, between-group design) to investigate experienced workload and perceived flow of interaction. Log files and observations allowed further insights and comparison of each condition. We have identified trends that indicate user preference of a visual (virtual) representation, but no clear trends regarding the application of physical controllers (over vision-based controls), in a scenario that encouraged exploration with no time limitations.

The Enactive Approach to Architectural Experience: A Neurophysiological Perspective on Embodiment, Motivation, and Affordances.

Over the last few years, the efforts to reveal through neuroscientific lens the relations between the mind, body, and built environment have set a promising direction of using neuroscience for architecture. However, little has been achieved thus far in developing a systematic account that could be employed for interpreting current results and providing a consistent framework for subsequent scientific experimentation. In this context, the enactive perspective is proposed as a guide to studying architectural experience for two key reasons. Firstly, the enactive approach is specifically selected for its capacity to account for the profound connectedness of the organism and the world in an active and dynamic relationship, which is primarily shaped by the features of the body. Thus, particular emphasis is placed on the issues of embodiment and motivational factors as underlying constituents of the body-architecture interactions. Moreover, enactive understanding of the relational coupling between body schema and affordances of architectural spaces singles out the two-way bodily communication between architecture and its inhabitants, which can be also explored in immersive virtual reality settings. Secondly, enactivism has a strong foothold in phenomenological thinking that corresponds to the existing phenomenological discourse in architectural theory and qualitative design approaches. In this way, the enactive approach acknowledges the available common ground between neuroscience and architecture and thus allows a more accurate definition of investigative goals. Accordingly, the outlined model of architectural subject in enactive terms—that is, a model of a human being as embodied, enactive, and situated agent, is proposed as a basis of neuroscientific and phenomenological interpretation of architectural experience.

Piavca: a framework for heterogeneous interactions with virtual characters

This paper presents a virtual character animation system for real- time multimodal interaction in an immersive virtual reality setting. Human to human interaction is highly multimodal, involving features such as verbal language, tone of voice, facial expression, gestures and gaze. This multimodality means that, in order to simulate social interaction, our characters must be able to handle many different types of interaction and many different types of animation, simultaneously. Our system is based on a model of animation that represents different types of animations as instantiations of an abstract function representation. This makes it easy to combine different types of animation. It also encourages the creation of behavior out of basic building blocks, making it easy to create and configure new behaviors for novel situations. The model has been implemented in Piavca, an open source character animation system.