Role Of Virtual Environments Research Articles

Providing Dual Awareness using Multimodal Cues for Collaborative Manipulation in Virtual Environments

Virtual reality (VR) collaborative manipulation requires a proper understanding of the user’s self, other collaborators, and shared objects in the virtual environment. Users must be aware of the movements of themselves and others to coordinate their actions when they hand over an object or move it together. The awareness of collaboration plays an essential role in virtual environments. However, previous studies have focused on providing awareness only for cooperative manipulation. This study proposes a novel framework for dual awareness that comprehensively manages the state of interactions between multiple users and shared virtual objects and provides distinct sensory cues to distinguish themselves from collaborators. The experimental results showed that participants could easily and quickly collaborate on manipulation using our feedback, and they also answered positively in the subjective evaluation.

The Role of Virtual Environment in Online Retailing: State of the Art and Research Challenges

The aim of the paper is to systematically analyse the effects of the online environment on customers’ behaviour in order to offer a first, comprehensive state-of-the-art of the research on this topic. By analyzing a final sample of 105 papers, 4 themes have been identified, according to the theoretical lenses adopted by scholars. Results show that the traditional stimuli–organism–responses approach (also known as S–O–R) is the most frequently applicable conceptual framework for the analysis of the effects of the online setting, and worth mentioning are the modifications to the original S–O–R model proposed by scholars, which allow considering the specificities of the online environment.

Professionalism in the virtual environment: Exhausted scope review of evidences with concepts in medical education

Background: A review on medical articles and their multiplicity, as well as the studies on professionalism in the general and specially online mode in recent years shows the attention of medical training practitioners to this subject and their effort to overcome its possible threats. The aim of the present study was examining all the available evidences about e professionalism with an emphasis on medical education. Methods: This study investigated the comprehensive review of evidences in their concepts. It was conducted in term of reviewing all texts related to e professionalism through all search engines between 2000 and 2018 in an online environment. Qualitative studies with the key words of e professionalism were searched from RISMA 2009 Flow Diagram. The evidences were extracted by mixing the results of different parts and their analyzing. Results: 237 articles were checked in the survey. After checking the quality and the adaption of titles with their concepts, 23 articles where chosen and proved for this study. Examining the evidences categorized the articles in the following fields: “Definition, concept and the importance of virtual professionalism, tools of testing professionalism in the virtual environment, people’s perception and outlook of professionalism in virtual environment, inappropriate behaviors in using electronic environment and virtual networks, politics of explaining virtual professionalism, and the role of virtual environment in explaining medical professionalism”. Conclusions: Due to the importance of professionalism in the virtual environment in definitions also a look at the importance of technology usage in education and therapy, paying attention to different dimensions of professionalism is necessary more than ever.

Quão Eficazes são os Estímulos de Anáglifos 3D? Uma Análise no Reconhecimento Emocional

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the role of virtual environments in visual recognition. A classic and economically accessible technique was chosen: anaglyph. A battery of images that differed in their emotional charge was developed. The emotional valence of the new stimulus was evaluated using the SAM battery. 2D and anaglyph modalities were also tested. 32 subjects participated in the first study and 42 subjects in the recognition task. The results: i) Participants were more accurate in classic 2D environments compared to 3D, ii) participants were more efficient in the negative 3D condition compared to the rest of the emotional conditions in this category, while the neutral environment was the most efficient for 2D. It is suggested that coding information would be simpler for a 2D stimulus, however, effects as robust as emotional charge would manifest more clearly in a deeper presentation.

Self-Illusion: A Study on Cognition of Role-Playing in Immersive Virtual Environments

We present the design and results of an experiment investigating the occurrence of self-illusion and its contribution to realistic behavior consistent with a virtual role in virtual environments. Self-illusion is a generalized illusion about one's self in cognition, eliciting a sense of being associated with a role in a virtual world, despite sure knowledge that this role is not the actual self in the real world. We validate and measure self-illusion through an experiment where each participant occupies a non-human perspective and plays a non-human role using this role's behavior patterns. 77 participants were enrolled for the user study according to the priori power analysis. In the mixed-design experiment with different levels of manipulations, we asked the participants to play a cat (a non-human role) within an immersive VE and captured their different kinds of responses, finding that the participants with higher self-illusion can connect themselves to the virtual role more easily. Based on statistical analysis of questionnaires and behavior data, there is some evidence that self-illusion can be considered a novel psychological component of presence because it is dissociated from sense of embodiment (SoE), plausibility illusion (Psi), and place illusion (PI). Moreover, self-illusion has the potential to be an effective evaluation metric for user experience in a virtual reality system for certain applications.

Tailoring virtual environments of an exergame for physiotherapy: the role of positive distractions and sensation-seeking (Adaptando entornos virtuales para un exergame para la fisioterapia: el papel de las distracciones positivas y la búsqueda de sensaciones)

ABSTRACTRecent findings have shown that exergames can facilitate physiotherapy. Environmental conditions, such as the inclusion of positive distractions, also seem to play a role in health recovery, but prior studies have never analysed their role in virtual environments. In this study we developed an exergame for the exercise of upper limbs by designing virtual environments with nature elements and testing the impact of including additional positive distractions. Participants (n = 124, 81 females) were randomly assigned to one of two virtual environments: positive distractions vs. no distractions. To test whether these two environments matched the users’ characteristics, sensation-seeking was examined as a moderator. Measures of affect, sense of presence, intrinsic motivation and vitality were applied after the sessions, and game performance was assessed. Results showed that both environments were positively evaluated for all the dependent variables, regardless of the positive distractions and the sensation-seeking traits. However, game performance was affected by the environment and the participants’ sensation-seeking traits, suggesting that the additional distractions can reduce performance, and that individual differences also seem to impact performance.

Virtual Knowledge Brokering: Describing the Roles and Strategies Used by Knowledge Brokers in a Pediatric Physiotherapy Virtual Community of Practice.

Knowledge transfer in pediatric rehabilitation is challenging and requires active, multifaceted strategies. The use of knowledge brokers (KBs) is one such strategy noted to promote clinician behavior change. The success of using KBs to transfer knowledge relies on their ability to adapt to ever-changing clinical contexts. In addition, with the rapid growth of online platforms as knowledge transfer forums, KBs must become effective in virtual environments. Although the role of KBs has been studied in various clinical contexts, their emerging role in specific online environments designed to support evidence-based behavior change has not yet been described. Our objective is to describe the roles of, and strategies used by, four KBs involved in a virtual community of practice to guide and inform future online KB interventions. A descriptive design guided this study and a thematic content analysis process was used to analyze online KB postings. The Promoting Action on Research in Health Sciences knowledge transfer framework and online andragogical learning theories assisted in the coding. A thematic map was created illustrating the links between KBs' strategies and emerging roles in the virtual environment. We analyzed 95 posts and identified three roles: 1) context architect: promoting a respectful learning environment, 2) knowledge sharing promoter: building capacity, and 3) linkage creator: connecting research-to-practice. Strategies used by KBs reflected invitational, constructivism, and connectivism approaches, with roles and strategies changing over time. This study increases our understanding of the actions of KBs in virtual contexts to foster uptake of research evidence in pediatric physiotherapy. Our results provide valuable information about the knowledge and skills required by individuals to fulfill this role in virtual environments.

Virtual reality as orientation and mobility aid for blind people

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the past 15 years of research and development (R&D) on the role of virtual environments (VEs) as an orientation and mobility (O&M) aid to enhance skills and to train people who are blind or newly blind.Design/methodology/approach– This paper describes and examines studies of 21 VE systems developed specifically to help people who are blind improve their O&M skills. These VE systems, equipped to supply appropriate perceptual and conceptual spatial information through haptic and auditory sensorial channels, are mainly focussed on two goals: helping congenitally blind or late blind persons to collect spatial information in advance and supporting people who are newly blind in practicing their O&M skills during rehabilitation. The R&D studies represented in these 21 studies were examined along three dimensions: descriptive information, system, and research.Findings– This paper highlights weaknesses and strengths of VE systems that have been developed in the past 15 years as O&M aids for people who are blind. These results have the potential to influence future R&D in this field.Originality/value– The author hopes that this paper will influence future R&D in this field and lead to accessible O&M VEs in practice and research.

The Exercise of Learner Autonomy in a Virtual EFL Course in Colombia.

This case study explores how a group of graduate students manifest autonomy in an English as a Foreign Language virtual course at a Colombian university. Analysis of questionnaires, forums, and interviews showed that students manifested attitudes that led to autonomy such as motivation and commitment at the beginning of the course, but they also manifested high levels of dependence and lack of self-confidence. Later, they became more confident and performed more independently, two attitudes closely-related to autonomy. Furthermore, the results show that factors such as course design, the platform, and the teacher’s role influenced the students’ exercise of autonomy. Finally, the need for designing virtual English as a Foreign Language courses that promote autonomous learning and the teachers’ and the students’ roles in virtual environments are discussed.

Autonomía del estudiante en un curso virtual de inglés como lengua extranjera en Colombia

This case study explores how a group of graduate students manifest autonomy in an English as a Foreign Language virtual course at a Colombian university. Analysis of questionnaires, forums, and interviews showed that students manifested attitudes that led to autonomy such as motivation and commitment at the beginning of the course, but they also manifested high levels of dependence and lack of self-confidence. Later, they became more confident and performed more independently, two attitudes closely-related to autonomy. Furthermore, the results show that factors such as course design, the platform, and the teacher’s role influenced the students’ exercise of autonomy. Finally, the need for designing virtual English as a Foreign Language courses that promote autonomous learning and the teachers’ and the students’ roles in virtual environments are discussed.

Action video game play and transfer of navigation and spatial cognition skills in adolescents who are blind

For individuals who are blind, navigating independently in an unfamiliar environment represents a considerable challenge. Inspired by the rising popularity of video games, we have developed a novel approach to train navigation and spatial cognition skills in adolescents who are blind. Audio-based Environment Simulator (AbES) is a software application that allows for the virtual exploration of an existing building set in an action video game metaphor. Using this ludic-based approach to learning, we investigated the ability and efficacy of adolescents with early onset blindness to acquire spatial information gained from the exploration of a target virtual indoor environment. Following game play, participants were assessed on their ability to transfer and mentally manipulate acquired spatial information on a set of navigation tasks carried out in the real environment. Success in transfer of navigation skill performance was markedly high suggesting that interacting with AbES leads to the generation of an accurate spatial mental representation. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between success in game play and navigation task performance. The role of virtual environments and gaming in the development of mental spatial representations is also discussed. We conclude that this game based learning approach can facilitate the transfer of spatial knowledge and further, can be used by individuals who are blind for the purposes of navigation in real-world environments.

VREM: An advanced virtual environment for micro assembly

Micro assembly involves the assembly of micron-sized devices. Given the complexity of this domain, the role of virtual environments becomes important as they provide a basis to propose and compare assembly alternatives virtually prior to physical assembly. This paper proposes an integrated approach which includes the use of virtual reality-based assembly environments that interface with physical micro assembly environments. Such an approach can be an intrinsic part of a collaborative manufacturing framework that seeks to support the rapid assembly of micro devices. In this paper, the design of VREM (Virtual Reality based Environment for Micro Assembly) is discussed which is based on this integrated approach involving use of virtual and physical resources.

Real-Time Simulation of Dynamic Cloud Based on Fractal

Cloud is a common, widespread natural phenomenon. Cloud modeling and rendering plays a great important role in virtual environments. This article based on texture splatting on particles method, and considers the clouds as a grade model. A method based on fractal is chosen to generate cloud texture and then texture is mapping to the facets. The method introduced in this article is simple and can improve the cloud modeling velocity. The results show that the method can meet the common requirements in scene simulation and have a good performance in real-time and reality.

Real-Time Dynamics Simulation of Unmanned Sea Surface Vehicle for Virtual Environments

Abstract The role of virtual environments (VEs) is crucial in efficient design and operation of unmanned vehicles. VEs are extensively used in operator training for tele-operation, planning using programming by demonstration, and hardware and software designs. VE for unmanned sea surface vehicles (USSV) requires a 6 degree of freedom dynamics simulation in the time domain. In order to be interactive, the VE requires real-time performance of the underlying dynamics simulator. In general, the dynamics simulation of USSVs involves the following four main operations: (1) computation of dynamic pressure head due to fluid flow around the hull under the ocean wave, (2) computation of wet surface, (3) computing the surface integral of the dynamic pressure head over the wet surface, and (4) solving the rigid body dynamics equation. The first three operations depend upon the boat geometry complexity and need to be performed at each time step, making the simulation run very slow. In this paper, we address the problem of physics preserving model simplification for real-time potential flow based simulator for a USSV in the time domain, with an arbitrary hull geometry. This paper reports model simplification algorithms based on clustering, temporal coherence, and hardware acceleration using parallel computing on multiple cores to obtain real time simulation performance for the developed VE.

Exploring Learners' Pronunciation Practice Using a Character Agent: Chiefly on Consonant Clusters

The purpose of this study is to review the Adaptive MS-Agent in the structure of the CAL (character agent for learning) system, and to exemplify the method of practicing consonants and consonant clusters using a character agent. To achieve this purpose, the Basic Vocabulary List of the National Curriculum is analysed in terms of the types of consonants and consonant clusters, the agent functioning as a helper for e-learning and giving learners an adaptive coaching in the process of e-learning is reviewed in the structure of the CAL, and the types of English consonant clusters (initial consonant clusters, medial consonant clusters, and final consonant clusters) and consonants are reviewed. Learners of English commit errors such as nasalization, lateralization, palatalization, and glottalization in pronouncing consonant clusters due to the difference of syllable structure between Korean and English. These errors could be caused by the misapplication of typical phonological rules of Korean to English. The errors of consonant clusters considered in this study are ‘vowel insertion’ and ‘assimilation’. In this study, it is shown that such errors on consonant clusters can be corrected through the formal pronunciation practice using a character agent employed to play key roles in virtual environments.

Head motion anticipation for virtual-environment applications using kinematics and EMG energy

Real-time human-computer interaction plays an important role in virtual-environment (VE) applications. Such interaction can be improved by detecting and reacting to the user's head motion. Today's VE systems use head-mounted inertial sensors to update and spatially stabilize the image displayed to a user through a head-mounted display. Since motion can only be detected after it has already occurred, latencies in the stabilization scheme can only be reduced but never eliminated. Such latencies slow down manual control, cause inaccuracies in matching real and virtual objects through a half-transparent display, and reduce the sense of presence. This paper presents novel methods for reducing VE latencies by anticipating future head motion based on electromyographic (EMG) signals originating from the major neck muscles and head kinematics; it also reports results for anticipation of 17.5 and 35 ms. Features extracted from the EMG signals are used to train a neural network in mapping EMG data, given present head kinematics, into future head motion. The trained network is then used in real time for head-motion anticipation, which gives the VE system the time advantage necessary to compensate for the inherent latencies. The main contribution of this work is the use of EMG energy and bounded head acceleration as the key input/output information, which results in improved performance compared to the previous work

Virtual environments in clinical psychology.

Virtual reality is a technology, a communication interface, and an artificial experience. These facets are the foundations of a new clinical environment that can be used for integrating and enhancing actual therapeutic approaches. For this reason, virtual reality is starting to play an important role in clinical psychology—as shown by its use in the treatment of phobias, eating disorders and obesity, male erectile dysfunctions, and posttraumatic stress disorders—that is expected to increase in the next years. This article presents the possible role of virtual environments in clinical psychology, discussing their clinical rationale. Finally, it describes the technological tools and safety requirements associated with the use of this approach.

Using Virtual Environments in the Assessment of Executive Dysfunction

A study is reported into the role of virtual environments in the assessment of patients with executive dysfunction. Five patients and five matched controls entered the study. The patients did not differ significantly from normative values on the standard executive dysfunction measure, the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome battery (Wilson, Alderman, Burgess, Emslie, & Evans, 1996); however, care staff reported the patients had problems planning. Patients and controls undertook both real and virtual environment multiple-errand planning tasks. The patients completed significantly fewer errands, and produced significantly worse plans than did controls in both the real and virtual environments. There was a significant correlation between performance in the real and virtual environments. The results suggest that virtual environments may provide a valid means of assessing planning impairments and that there may be patients with executive dysfunction (specifically planning deficits) that may not be detected by the currently available standardized tests.

The notion of presence in virtual learning environments: what makes the environment “real”

To know where they are in the environment, humans rely on their senses for information. If the environment is artificially generated then it raises the question as to what information is needed to allow humans to know their location in the environment and have a more tacit feeling of presence within it. This paper looks at the role of Virtual Environments as conceptual learning tools in Science and the notion of “Presence” within these types of environments. Presence in this context is based on the stream of sensory input, organized by our perceiving systems, and out of which emerges our sense of being in and of the world. This feeling is also engendered by our ability to affect the world through touch, gesture, voice etc. These are very private actions and to research this we conducted interviews with competent computer users about their feelings of “presence” when using virtual environments. One of the main findings has been that audio feedback is perceived to be one of the most important features that engender a sense of presence. We have also found that ease of navigation around the environment affects perceptions of presence and this is reflected to some extent with users' personal experience.