Social VR Research Articles

Easily applicable social virtual reality and social presence in online higher education during the covid-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

Social virtual reality (social VR) platforms gained popularity among users over the last few years. They provide users with a sense of social presence, potentially stimulating social interaction in distance education. Insights on how VR enhances the social aspects of learning are scarce, however, and past examinations often focused on the effects of short usage times of self-developed VR learning applications. To analyze the potential of a simple-to-apply off-the-shelf social VR environment in distance education, in this qualitative study, a sample of 35 master's students employed the AltspaceVR platform for university seminars and group work over a six-week while campus access was restricted due to the covid-19 pandemic, and 23 of them were interviewed to examine their perception of the technology. The results show that social VR facilitated feelings of social presence, a more natural and spontaneous way of communicating with peers and teachers, and an increased sense of community in the classroom, compared to the alternative of videoconferencing. Participants reported high acceptance of the technology for teaching and learning tasks, particularly for interactive activities (e.g., workgroups) in small groups, but also identified limitations related to aspects such as image resolution, lack of note-taking tools, or the feeling of dizziness and fatigue after prolonged use. These results highlight the potential advantages of social VR for stimulating the social dimensions of online education, as well as the remaining challenges that need to be addressed to enable its use in higher education.

学生の建築設計作品の相互クリティークにおけるソーシャルVRの活用の試み

学生の建築設計作品の相互クリティークにおけるソーシャルVRの活用の試み

The Social Impact of VR Technology on Society: A Systematic Literature Review

Humans are social creatures who usually interact directly. But as technology develops, interactions also use the technology. One of the many popular technologies in the 4.0 era is VR technology. An example of this technology is the metaverse, a combination of the real and virtual worlds. This paper presents a research review to analyze the social impact of Virtual Reality: technology with metaverse. This paper uses a systematic literature review (SLR) as the method. The research was conducted based on the RQ that had been made. There are 18 related articles generated from the search, then reviewed. This study concludes that Social VR has three impacts: Social Presence Illusion, Virtual Embodiment, and the Proteus Effect. In addition, we also explain the ways to create a safe social VR environment, such as by playing with family and friends, educating the public about VR technology, and suggesting that the platform provides an age limit for playing in a VR environment.

Social VR and the continuing reinvention of local in theatre and performance

ABSTRACT This paper examines the emergent performance context of social virtual reality (social VR) as the latest manifestation of the continuing disruption of theatre as axiomatically local. Against the backdrop of Double Eye Studio’s 2020 adaptation of the Pandora mythos, Finding Pandora X, analysis centers on the ways in which social VR simultaneously expands and contracts theatre’s ‘localness’, a reconfiguration with pragmatic and theoretical implications for practice and scholarship in the twenty-first century.

Digital body, identity and privacy in social virtual reality: A systematic review

Social Virtual Reality (social VR or SVR) provides digital spaces for diverse human activities, social interactions, and embodied face-to-face encounters. While our digital bodies in SVR can in general be of almost any conceivable appearance, individualized or even personalized avatars bearing users’ likeness recently became an interesting research topic. Such digital bodies show a great potential to enhance the authenticity of social VR citizens and increase the trustworthiness of interpersonal interaction. However, using such digital bodies might expose users to privacy and identity issues such as identity theft: For instance, how do we know whether the avatars we encounter in the virtual world are who they claim to be? Safeguarding users’ identities and privacy, and preventing harm from identity infringement, are crucial to the future of social VR. This article provides a systematic review on the protection of users’ identity and privacy in social VR, with a specific focus on digital bodies. Based on 814 sources, we identified and analyzed 49 papers that either: 1) discuss or raise concerns about the addressed issues, 2) provide technologies and potential solutions for protecting digital bodies, or 3) examine the relationship between the digital bodies and users of social VR citizens. We notice a severe lack of research and attention on the addressed topic and identify several research gaps that need to be filled. While some legal and ethical concerns about the potential identity issues of the digital bodies have been raised, and despite some progress in specific areas such as user authentication has been made, little research has proposed practical solutions. Finally, we suggest potential future research directions for digital body protection and include relevant research that might provide insights. We hope this work could provide a good overview of the existing discussion, potential solutions, and future directions for researchers with similar concerns. We also wish to draw attention to identity and privacy issues in social VR and call for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Feelings of presence and perceived social support in social virtual reality platforms

Social virtual reality (social VR) platforms are gaining popularity among users. Previous qualitative research suggests that feelings of presence can make these platforms an attractive environment to obtain social support from others. Building on these exploratory insights, we carried out a quantitative study to illuminate how different types of presence in social VR platforms facilitate social support. The results of a large survey conducted among users (N = 1231) show that feelings of social presence and self-presence are predictors of perceived social support and that this perception of social support is positively associated with users' subjective well-being. Perceived social support is greater for women than for men, and it differs across platforms, although with small effect sizes. These results underline the role of presence in the perception of computer-mediated social support, suggesting that the affordances of social VR make it a particularly well-suited medium for facilitating beneficial interactions among users.

A Comparison of Behaviours and Responses towards Different Social VR Environments in Initial Social Interaction

A Comparison of Behaviours and Responses towards Different Social VR Environments in Initial Social Interaction

Cultures of Digital Architectures: Power and Positionalities in the Backend of Online Journalism Production

This essay complicates interpretations of digital architectures in online journalism production in terms of journalistic interlopers and intralopers during an age of increased influence of technologists on online news development. While much normative scholarship revolves around social media, metrics, algorithms, artificial intelligence, VR, and other forms of digital innovation applied to journalism, the essay argues that such work must not focus merely on the actions of today's tech-savvy journalism but should interrogate social and cultural relationships at the center of journalistic production so not to as become distracted away from the embedded practices of ideological incorporation that shapes media messages and reproduces inequalities through what and how journalism covers. In the future, as we approach a notion of the Metaverse, scholars must interrogate the long-standing embedding of elite ideologies into the news as journalists collaborate with technologists (or as journalists become technologists), interact (and re-interact) with elite ideologies at accelerating rates in networked societies, and move into new digital realms we have not yet imagined.

Emerging Immersive Communication Systems: Overview, Taxonomy, and Good Practices for QoE Assessment

Several technological and scientific advances have been achieved recently in the fields of immersive systems (e.g., 360-degree/multiview video systems, augmented/mixed/virtual reality systems, immersive audio-haptic systems, etc.), which are offering new possibilities to applications and services in different communication domains, such as entertainment, virtual conferencing, working meetings, social relations, healthcare, and industry. Users of these immersive technologies can explore and experience the stimuli in a more interactive and personalized way than previous technologies (e.g., 2D video). Thus, considering the new technological challenges related to these systems and the new perceptual dimensions and interaction behaviors involved, a deep understanding of the users’ Quality of Experience (QoE) is required to satisfy their demands and expectations. In this sense, it is essential to foster the research on evaluating the QoE of immersive communication systems, since this will provide useful outcomes to optimize them and to identify the factors that can deteriorate the user experience. With this aim, subjective tests are usually performed following standard methodologies (e.g., ITU recommendations), which are designed for specific technologies and services. Although numerous user studies have been already published, there are no recommendations or standards that define common testing methodologies to be applied to evaluate immersive communication systems, such as those developed for images and video. Taking this into account, a revision of the QoE evaluation methods designed for previous technologies is required to develop robust and reliable methodologies for immersive communication systems. Thus, the objective of this paper is to provide an overview of existing immersive communication systems and related user studies, which can help on the definition of basic guidelines and testing methodologies to be used when performing user tests of immersive communication systems, such as 360-degree video-based telepresence, avatar-based social VR, cooperative AR, etc.

Towards socialVR: evaluating a novel technology for watching videos together.

Social VR enables people to interact over distance with others in real-time. It allows remote people, typically represented as avatars, to communicate and perform activities together in a shared virtual environment, extending the capabilities of traditional social platforms like Facebook and Netflix. This paper explores the benefits and drawbacks provided by a lightweight and low-cost Social VR platform (SocialVR), in which users are captured by several cameras and reconstructed in real-time. In particular, the paper contributes with (1) the design and evaluation of an experimental protocol for Social VR experiences; (2) the report of a production workflow for this new type of media experiences; and (3) the results of experiments with both end-users (N = 15 pairs) and professionals (N = 22 companies) to evaluate the potential of the SocialVR platform. Results from the questionnaires and semi-structured interviews show that end-users rated positively towards the experiences provided by the SocialVR platform, which enabled them to sense emotions and communicate effortlessly. End-users perceived the photo-realistic experience of SocialVR similar to face-to-face scenarios and appreciated this new creative medium. From a commercial perspective, professionals confirmed the potential of this communication medium and encourage further research for the adoption of the platform in the commercial landscape.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10055-022-00651-5.

Foreign Language Tandem Learning in Social VR

Abstract Hololingo! is a social virtual reality app for real-time immersive distance learning of German as a Foreign Language (GFL). The acquisition of discoursive oral language skills for applied authentic contexts is challenging for group-based classroom settings and is often outsourced to autonomous analogue tandem learning. We operationalise a Digital Game-Based Language Learning (DGBLL) approach for distance learning, which relieves tandems from overstraining autonomy and self-guidance. Hololingo! supports tandems in their learning activities by providing entertaining communicative, collaborative, and didactically designed team tasks. These are embedded in a narrative adventure, target linguistic phenomena, and support the holistic acquisition of oral discourse competencies and fluency. The combination of the tandem principle, immersive Social VR gamification, barrier-free access to a global pool of expert/native speakers, and a curricular connection through task selection facilitates language learning and provides transcultural contacts. App development follows a Design-Based-Research cycle of conception, implementation, and evaluation. The results of a qualitative discourse analysis of the learning interaction are discussed with regard to tandem role behaviour, the relation between task design and communication as well as affective and creative behaviour.

Teknologi Digital untuk Wisata Gastronomi

The development of digital technology which is rapidly growing provides great opportunities for entrepreneurs in the tourism sector to market their products and services digitally. In addition to reducing promotional costs, utilizing digital technology can also increase tourism marketing one step higher. Digital technology allows tourists to know clearly and completely related tourist destinations (DTW). Today's developing technology also provides opportunities for tourists to be able to enjoy and experience DTW directly from their respective homes with very real visuals. Social media, websites, AR and VR, provide opportunities for tourists to be able to get clearer information related to DTW. This study aims to determine how to optimize digital technology for gastronomic tourism.

Learning Japanese through VR Technology. The Case of Altspace VR

Through this paper, I intend to analyse the state of Japanese learning through virtual reality technologies, avoiding as much as possible the analysis of prototypes and laboratory experiments, focusing instead on a case study that implements software and hardware already present on the consumer market. After analysing the VR technology currently available to end-users and its hardware, which has lately increased in popularity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the specificities of virtual reality compared to other communication technologies, I will proceed to the analysis of the case study Altspace VR, a social VR software used also by an active Japanese learning community, to try to identify the characteristics that could make this technology particularly suitable for language learning.

A Study of Class Meetings in VR: Student Experiences of Attending Lectures and of Giving a Project Presentation

We study student experiences of social VR for remote instruction, with students attending class from home. The study evaluates student experiences when: (1) viewing remote lectures with VR headsets, (2) viewing with desktop displays, (3) presenting with VR headsets, and (4) reflecting on several weeks of VR-based class attendance. Students rated factors such as presence, social presence, simulator sickness, communication methods, avatar and application features, and tradeoffs with other remote approaches. Headset-based viewing and presenting produced higher presence than desktop viewing, but had less-clear impact on overall experience and on most social presence measures. We observed higher attentional allocation scores for headset-based presenting than for both viewing methods. For headset VR, there were strong negative correlations between simulator sickness (primarily reported as general discomfort) and ratings of co-presence, overall experience, and some other factors. This suggests that comfortable users experienced substantial benefits of headset viewing and presenting, but others did not. Based on the type of virtual environment, student ratings, and comments, reported discomfort appears related to physical ergonomic factors or technical problems. Desktop VR appears to be a good alternative for uncomfortable students, and students report that they prefer a mix of headset and desktop viewing. We additionally provide insight from students and a teacher about possible improvements for VR class technology, and we summarize student opinions comparing viewing and presenting in VR to other remote class technologies.

The Influence of Avatar Representation on Interpersonal Communication in Virtual Social Environments.

Current avatar representations used in immersive VR applications lack features that may be important for supporting natural behaviors and effective communication among individuals. This study investigates the impact of the visual and nonverbal cues afforded by three different types of avatar representations in the context of several cooperative tasks. The avatar types we compared are No_Avatar (HMD and controllers only), Scanned_Avatar (wearing an HMD), and Heal_Avatar (video-see-through). The subjective and objective measures we used to assess the quality of interpersonal communication include surveys of social presence, interpersonal trust, communication satisfaction, and attention to behavioral cues, plus two behavioral measures: duration of mutual gaze and number of unique words spoken. We found that participants reported higher levels of trustworthiness in the Real_Avatar condition compared to the Scanned_Avatar and No_Avatar conditions. They also reported a greater level of attentional focus on facial expressions compared to the No_Avatar condition and spent more extended time, for some tasks, attempting to engage in mutual gaze behavior compared to the Scanned_Avatar and No_Avatar conditions. In both the Heal_Avatar and Scanned_Avatar conditions, participants reported higher levels of co-presence compared with the No_Avatar condition. In the Scanned_Avatar condition, compared with the Heal_Avatar and No_Avatar conditions, participants reported higher levels of attention to body posture. Overall, our exit survey revealed that a majority of participants (66.67%) reported a preference for the Real_Avatar, compared with 25.00% for the Scanned_Avatar and 8.33% for the No_Avatar, These findings provide novel insight into how a user's experience in a social VR scenario is affected by the type of avatar representation provided.

소셜 VR 환경에서의 손 인터랙션과 몰입도의 관계에 대한 연구

5G 시대를 맞아 고용량의 데이터를 초고속으로 전송가능한 환경이 되면서 가상현실 콘텐츠 시장이 다시 태동을 하고 있다. 기존의 개인형 콘텐츠가 아닌 다양한 사용자들이 실시간으로 가상 공간에 접속하여 상호작용이 가능한 소셜 VR 플랫폼의 확장이 바로 그것이다. HMD 기반의 관련 하드웨어 기술의 발전으로 인해 소셜 VR 플랫폼들은 사용자들에게 더욱 확장된 체화된 인터랙션을 제공하고 있으며 이를 통해 사용자들의 몰입감을 높이고자 노력하고 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 소셜 VR 플랫폼에서 현재 제공하고 있는 체화된 인터랙션을 핸드 제스쳐를 중심으로 물리적 인터랙션과 사회적 인터랙션으로 분류하였다. 또한 분류한 인터랙션에 따른 사용자의 몰입도를 살펴보기 위하여 소셜 VR 플랫폼 ‘VRChat

The Machine as an Extension of the Body: When Identity, Immersion and Interactive Design Serve as Both Resource and Limitation for the Disabled

This research explores how the technological affordances of emerging social virtual environments and VR platforms where individuals from an online disability community are represented in avatar form, correspond to these users’ development of embodied identity, ability, and access to work and social communities. The visual attributes of these avatars, which can realistically reflect the user’s physical self or divert from human form entirely, raise interesting questions regarding the role identity plays in the workplace, be it gender, race, age, weight, or visible disability. Additionally, the technology itself becomes fundamental to identity as the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI), motion capture, and speech-to-text/text-to-speech technologies create digital capabilities that become part of an individual’s identity. This raises further questions about how virtual world technologies can both increase and potentially create barriers to accessibility for individuals who find freedom in their technologically embodied surrogates.

School's Back

Social virtual reality (social VR) is an emerging technology that has the potential to support unique social experiences for groups of older adults. In this paper we explore the use of social VR to support group reminiscence, an activity that has been shown to have a positive impact on the lives of older adults. We developed School Days, a bespoke social VR application that enables groups of geographically dispersed older adults to meet in a virtual environment to reminisce about their school experiences. We conducted a user study over the course of 5 months with 16 participants aged 70--81 to evaluate how School Days supported reminiscence. In this paper, we focus on how the use of reminiscence scaffolding features in School Days impacted on the older adults' ability to participate more fully in the reminiscence activities. Our results illustrate the value of social VR for connecting older adults over distance, and contribute new knowledge of how virtual environments can be designed to scaffold reminiscence; how techniques such as 3D conversation starters and individual artefacts can be used to scaffold reminiscence; and how pre-recorded holographic stories (Avacasts) can be used to introduce new perspectives and prompt self-reflection. We contribute five design reflections aimed at guiding the design of future reminiscence tools in social VR.

Users' head movement obtained from avatars in social VR applications

Virtual Reality has been endorsed as a highly beneficial tool for face and hand-head gesture research [Sidenmark and Gellersen (2019), ACM Trans. Computer-Human Interaction 27(4)]. Studies have shown [i.e., Xu, X. et al., J. Biomech. 48(4), 721–724 (2015)] that avatars accurately simulate user movements and allow researchers to obtain users' movements remotely without in-person contact or external recordings taken by the users. This study examines head movements of avatars in three popular social VR applications (Altspace, Oculus Home, and vTime XR) using Openface 2.0 [Baltrusaitis et al., in 13th IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face & Gesture Recognition (FG 2018) (2018), pp. 59–66], software that measures head movements in a video. In each of these three platforms, we recorded a user making a sequence of head movements, rotating side-to-side and up-and-down to their maximum extension. Pilot results show that avatar movements in all three apps could be tracked by OpenFace 2.0. Further analysis will include which application's avatars best represent the user's real-time movements. This study provides insight into speech behaviour research and whether user movements are analysable via an avatar, without in-person contact or lab facilities under the new COVID-19 regulations.

VSocial: a cloud-based system for social virtual reality learning environment applications in special education

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are spaces designed to educate student groups remotely via online platforms. Although traditional VLEs have shown promise in educating students, they offer limited immersion that overall diminishes learning effectiveness. In this paper, we describe vSocial, a cloud-based virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) system that can be deployed over high-speed networks using the High Fidelity “social VR” platform. vSocial provides flexible control of group learning content and compliance with established VLE standards with improved immersive user experience for both instructor(s) and students. For our vSocial development, we build upon the use case of an existing special education VLE viz., iSocial that trains youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder by implementing the Social Competence Intervention (SCI) curriculum. The vSocial can be used to: (a) implement multiple learning modules using wearable VR technologies, (b) integrate cognitive state sensing devices, and (c) organize learning session data securely using web applications hosted on cloud resources. Our experiment results show that the VR mode of content delivery in vSocial better stimulates the generalization of lessons to the real world than non-VR lessons, and provides improved immersion when compared to an equivalent desktop version. Further, usability study results show that users can successfully use the web application features in vSocial for group learning activities with ease-of-use and consistency.