Virtual Reality Communication Research Articles

Examining Illusory Touch Perception in Virtual Reality among Virtual Reality Users

The phenomenon of illusory touch perception in virtual reality (VR) is a subject of increasing intrigue within online VR communities, where users report experiencing tactile sensations in the absence of direct physical contact, triggered solely by visual stimuli. This paper presents an exploratory study aimed at understanding the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the development of such illusory touch perceptions in immersive virtual environments. Through an online survey targeting VR users, this study collected qualitative data on the nature and frequency of these experiences. The survey was complemented by a review of existing literature on touch perception and multisensory integration, providing a foundational understanding of how sensory information is processed and perceived. The findings suggest that certain visual cues in VR can evoke tactile sensations, a phenomenon that may be enhanced by the immersive quality of the virtual environment and the user's previous sensory experiences and expectations. This paper discusses potential contributors to the phenomenon, such as the realism of the virtual environment, the user's level of immersion and presence, and the congruence of multisensory stimuli. Although this study sheds light on the conditions that may facilitate illusory touch perception in VR, the complexity of human sensory processing necessitates further research. Controlled experimental studies are required to establish a causal relationship between specific factors and the experience of illusory touch in VR, which could have significant implications for the fields of virtual reality and sensory augmentation technology.

Requirement Engineering Methods for Virtual Reality Software Product Development - A Mapping Study

Software practitioners use various methods in Requirements Engineering (RE) to elicit, analyze and specify the requirements of a enterprise products. The methods impact the final product characteristics and influence product delivery. Ad-hoc usage of the methods by software practitioners can lead to inconsistency and ambiguity in the product. With the notable rise in enterprise products, games, etc. across various domains, Virtual Reality (VR) has become an essential technology for the future. The methods adopted for requirement engineering for developing VR products requires a detailed study. This paper presents a mapping study on requirement engineering methods prescribed and used for developing VR applications including requirements elicitation, requirements analysis, and requirements specification. Our study provides insights into the use of such methods in the VR community and suggests using specific requirement engineering methods in various fields of interest. We also discuss future directions in requirement engineering for VR products.

Exploring Discussions About Virtual Reality on Twitter to Inform Brain Injury Rehabilitation: Content and Network Analysis.

Virtual reality (VR) use in brain injury rehabilitation is emerging. Recommendations for VR development in this field encourage end user engagement to determine the benefits and challenges of VR use; however, existing literature on this topic is limited. Data from social networking sites such as Twitter may further inform development and clinical practice related to the use of VR in brain injury rehabilitation. This study collected and analyzed VR-related tweets to (1) explore the VR tweeting community to determine topics of conversation and network connections, (2) understand user opinions and experiences of VR, and (3) identify tweets related to VR use in health care and brain injury rehabilitation. Publicly available tweets containing the hashtags #virtualreality and #VR were collected up to twice weekly during a 6-week period from July 2020 to August 2020 using NCapture (QSR International). The included tweets were analyzed using mixed methods. All tweets were coded using inductive content analysis. Relevant tweets (ie, coded as "VR in health care" or "talking about VR") were further analyzed using Dann's content coding. The biographies of users who sent relevant tweets were examined descriptively. Tweet data networks were visualized using Gephi computational analysis. A total of 260,715 tweets were collected, and 70,051 (26.87%) were analyzed following eligibility screening. The sample comprised 33.68% (23,596/70,051) original tweets and 66.32% (46,455/70,051) retweets. Content analysis generated 10 main categories of original tweets related to VR (ie, advertising and promotion, VR content, talking about VR, VR news, general technology, VR industry, VR live streams, VR in health care, VR events, and VR community). Approximately 4.48% (1056/23,596) of original tweets were related to VR use in health care, whereas 0.19% (45/23,596) referred to VR in brain injury rehabilitation. In total, 14.86% (3506/23,596) of original tweets featured commentary on user opinions and experiences of VR applications, equipment, and software. The VR tweeting community comprised a large network of 26,001 unique Twitter users. Users that posted tweets related to "VR in health care" (2124/26,001, 8.17%) did not form an interconnected VR network, whereas many users "talking about VR" (3752/26,001, 14.43%) were connected within a central network. This study provides valuable data on community-based experiences and opinions related to VR. Tweets showcased various VR applications, including in health care, and identified important user-based considerations that can be used to inform VR use in brain injury rehabilitation (eg, technical design, accessibility, and VR sickness). Limited discussions and small user networks related to VR in brain injury rehabilitation reflect the paucity of literature on this topic and the potential underuse of this technology. These findings emphasize that further research is required to understand the specific needs and perspectives of people with brain injuries and clinicians regarding VR use in rehabilitation.

VR communication simulation with scripted dialog elicits HPA axis stress

Stress-inducing virtual reality (VR) systems have various applications in research, ranging from training to therapy to the observation of biological stress responses. Stress in VR can be evoked through environmental, cognitive, and social stimuli. Although various VR tasks can induce an autonomic nervous system (ANS) stress response, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress responses have only been confirmed in VR for the virtual Trier social stress test (V-TSST). Understanding the impact of a wider variety of tasks on HPA-axis stress response could lead to the development of more effective stress relief measures and treatments. This study aims to clarify whether a virtual communication simulation, using a static procedure with a predetermined dialog, can evoke an HPA-axis stress response. Employing a virtual customer service system, we varied the intensity of the presented stress by changing the tone and gestures of the virtual customer. The findings confirm that HPA-axis stress responses can be elicited by such static virtual customer service training systems, and the stress responses can be adjusted by altering the avatar’s attitude. These findings suggest potential applications in research for observing human physiological responses to stress and development of stress reduction strategies, thereby affirming the effectiveness of VR in communication training.

Virtual reality’s impact on destination visit intentions and the moderating role of amateur photography

FinalidadEsta investigación analizó los efectos de las experiencias de realidad virtual (VREs) y las emociones en las intenciones de visita a destinos vacacionales aplicando el modelo estímulo-organismo-respuesta (S-O-R). También examinó el papel de la fotografía amateur como moderador en la relación entre las VREs, las emociones y las intenciones de visita.Diseño/metodología/enfoqueLos datos primarios se recogieron mediante una encuesta con cuestionario estructurado administrado en la India, y se utilizó la modelización de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) para examinar las relaciones entre las variables. La encuesta principal fue precedida de un estudio piloto. Se aplicó la técnica PLS-SEM para medir el efecto moderador de la fotografía amateur.ResultadosCuando las personas poseen un alto nivel de emociones positivas en la etapa previa al viaje con participación en VRE, sus intenciones de visitar destinos son más fuertes. La fotografía amateur moderó las relaciones entre la interactividad del usuario, las experiencias memorables, las imágenes mentales y las intenciones de visita. No se encontró ningún efecto moderador significativo entre las experiencias emocionales y las intenciones de visita.Originalidad/valorEsta investigación tiene el valor de hacer varias contribuciones potenciales a las aplicaciones turísticas de la realidad virtual. Es el primer estudio que utiliza y pone a prueba el marco estímulo-organismo-respuesta (S-O-R) para analizar el comportamiento de los turistas desde la perspectiva de las emociones generadas por las aplicaciones de RV. El análisis se centra en el mercado turístico de la India, poco explorado en el contexto de la RV y desde la perspectiva de un país en desarrollo. La investigación hace hincapié en el uso de la RV como herramienta para comprender el comportamiento de los turistas, en lugar de centrarse únicamente en las intenciones de visita. Las conclusiones aportan valiosas ideas sobre la importancia de la RV en el turismo. Los conocimientos generados contribuirán a comprender el impacto de las experiencias de RV en las emociones y las intenciones de visita, así como el efecto moderador de la fotografía amateur. Se presentan implicaciones prácticas para los responsables de marketing de los destinos turísticos a la hora de desarrollar estrategias de marketing eficaces que potencien las emociones de los turistas y motiven las intenciones de visita.

Designing immersive stories with novice VR creators: a study of autobiographical VR storytelling during the COVID-19 pandemic

Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly being used as a tool for eliciting empathy and emotional identification in fact-based stories. However, it may not be clear whether VR stories authentically deliver the protagonists’ perspectives if the works are not created by or with the protagonists themselves. Therefore, it is crucial for the VR community to explore effective methods for democratizing VR storytelling, and to support novice VR designers in creating autobiographical stories. In this paper, we report findings from a collaborative design research project that aimed to create autobiographical stories with novice VR designers who lacked experience in VR storytelling. We collaborated with university students in Canada to design eight individual VR stories that expressed each student’s experiences of lockdown, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted interviews with the students to understand how VR contributed to conveying their individual experiences. Our findings demonstrate how immersive VR can be used as a meaningful tool for sharing autobiographical stories by delivering the character’s feelings, creating a sense of confinement and isolation, expressing inner worlds, and showing environmental details. Our discussion draws attention to the significance of careful camera positioning and movement in VR story design, the meaningful use of limited interaction and disorienting components, and the balance between spatial and temporal information in a three-dimensional environment. Our study highlights the potential of VR as an autobiographical storytelling tool and demonstrates how VR stories can be created through iterative collaboration between VR experts and novices.

The Ballad of Morton Heilig: On VR's Mythic Past

Virtual reality (VR) became a cultural fixture in the 1980s, when advances in computing inspired a general belief in VR's revolutionary potential. To support this belief, VR enthusiasts at that time also constructed an imagined history. This article examines VR's historiography through one of its most enduring myths: that filmmaker and inventor Morton Heilig developed analog VR in the 1950s but never received public recognition because few understood his vision. I argue that this narrative of Heilig as VR's forgotten prophet functioned to justify the putatively revolutionary project of VR and to legitimize the VR community that was promoting it.

The impact of virtual agents’ multimodal communication on brain activity and cognitive load in Virtual Reality

Related research has shown that collaborating with Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) embodied in Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) can improve task performance and reduce task load. Human cognition and behaviors are controlled by brain activities, which can be captured and reflected by Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. However, little research has been done to understand users’ cognition and behaviors using EEG while interacting with IVAs embodied in AR and VR environments. In this paper, we investigate the impact of the virtual agent’s multimodal communication in VR on users’ EEG signals as measured by alpha band power. We develop a desert survival game where the participants make decisions collaboratively with the virtual agent in VR. We evaluate three different communication methods based on a within-subject pilot study: 1) a Voice-only Agent, 2) an Embodied Agent with speech and gaze, and 3) a Gestural Agent with a gesture pointing at the object while talking about it. No significant difference was found in the EEG alpha band power. However, the alpha band ERD/ERS calculated around the moment when the virtual agent started speaking indicated providing a virtual body for the sudden speech could avoid the abrupt attentional demand when the agent started speaking. Moreover, a sudden gesture coupled with the speech induced more attentional demands, even though the speech was matched with the virtual body. This work is the first to explore the impact of IVAs’ interaction methods in VR on users’ brain activity, and our findings contribute to the IVAs interaction design.

The Use of Communication Strategies by Second Language Learners of Chinese in a Virtual Reality Learning Environment

Virtual reality (VR) for Language learning has been shown effective in improving students’ communication skills. However very few studies reveal the communication strategies students used in communicating in a VR environment, especially in learning Chinese as a foreign or second language (CFL/CSL). In this pilot study, a prototype Virtual Experiential Language Learning Environment (VELLE) was used to provide immersive learning experiences in developing CFL students’ communication strategies. Productive Failure was employed as an instructional approach to support the learning design. The participants were six CFL students learning in an Australian university. The main data sources included audio recordings of the students’ communication in VR and interview data. The findings showed that participants’ use of various types of communication strategies was influenced by the VELLE and Productive Failure design. In particular, the use of L1 in the problem-solving phase enriched the participants’ learning opportunities and all participants used a lesser number of resource deficit-related strategies after the instruction. Second, Students reported enhanced engagement in language use in the VR context.

How Does Virtual Reality Compare? The Effects of Avatar Appearance and Medium on Self-Disclosure

Digital communication methods such as social media, texting, video conferencing account for a significant amount of social interaction traffic; however, in the coming decade, virtual reality (VR) is likely to appropriate much of this space from traditional 2D computer-mediated applications. The current series of studies first compared how different digital communication mediums (i.e., voice only, video chat, and VR) affect self-disclosure and then, looking specifically at VR, evaluated how avatar appearance affects self-disclosure. Overall, study one indicated that VR users are more likely to reveal highly personal facts, attitudes, opinions, and emotions than video chat or voice only communication users. Looking only at VR communication, study two demonstrated that individuals with a human avatar are more likely to reveal emotional experiences and highly personal facts, attitudes, and emotions about themselves and their experiences compared to individuals using a robot avatar.

Application of VR Technology in Brand IP Image Design

Virtual reality (VR) refers to the computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image environment that can be interacted within a seemingly physical way by a person using special electronic equipment and making people interactive and immersive. VR technology is applied to communication activities, producing VR communication. VR technology is applied to news reports, giving birth to the emergence of VR news. The great significance of VR technology for news communication lies in the comprehensive intake and recording and transmission of news site materials so that news events can “reproduce” and “restore.” The most prominent feature of VR transmission is immersion. Immersivity is mainly reflected in the perceptual system and the behavioral system of the human body. The immersion of perception system includes visual immersion, auditory immersion, touch immersion, and other sensory immersion; behavioral system immersion includes the immersion of language system, direction system immersion, and expression system immersion. Immersive communication has experienced three development stages: interactive communication, invasive communication, infiltration, and audience experience. There are three hidden dangers in VR technology in the communication. One is the hidden danger of the technical operation level: the lack of security and stability of the production process may lead to the disappearance of the traditional reporter, the second is the ethical hidden danger: the degradation of “audience” to “mass,” and third is “body” weakening the authority of “addiction”: the emergence of “brain in the cylinder,” the emergence of snooping feast, and the formation of exposed carnival. There are three aspects to prevent VR hidden dangers, layout and top-level design, improve security, and communication efficiency, promote industrial application, enhance user stickiness, strengthen brand building, and create ace IP and quality content.

Realistic Motion Avatars are the Future for Social Interaction in Virtual Reality

This study evaluated participant self-reported appraisal of social interactions with another person in virtual reality (VR) where their conversational partner was represented by a realistic motion avatar. We use the term realistic motion avatar because: 1. The avatar was modelled to look like the conversational partner it represented, and 2. Full face and body motion capture was utilised so that the avatar mimicked the facial and body language of the conversational partner in real-time. We compared social interaction in VR with face-to-face interaction across two communicative contexts: 1. Getting acquainted conversation, and 2. A structured interview where the participant engaged in self-disclosure about positive and negative experiences. Overall, participants largely indicated they preferred face-to-face over VR communication. However, some participants did indicate a preference for VR communication. Additionally, an analysis of post-conversation ratings indicated no significant difference for rated enjoyment, understanding, self-disclosure, comfort, and awkwardness between communication modes. The only ratings where face-to-face was found to be superior was for perceived closeness across both types of communication, and for feeling understood specifically when disclosing negative experiences. Most participants perceived frequent eye contact in both face-to-face and VR interaction, but typically more eye contact when face-to-face. Eye contact was positively associated with rated enjoyment, closeness, and comfort. Overall, our findings suggest that harnessing full face and body motion capture can make social interaction in VR very similar to face-to-face interaction. We anticipate that VR social interaction is poised to become the next major technological evolution for human computer mediated communication and suggest avenues for further research.

“Discomforting VR”: Listening, Feeling, Contacting Virtual Reality Community

This paper asks what we can learn from discomfort in virtual reality (VR) beyond perception-altering or consciousness-raising technical affordances. I accomplish this by directing focus upon the everyday VR user and using ethnographic participant observation. I first define a working concept called “discomforting VR” within the context of a corporate marketing scheme, a concept that focuses on unsettling feelings generated by VR experiences. Second, I report on research methods that aim to take a grounded approach toward how to better listen to and feel users in VR. I present two distinct “ethnographic logs,” which are a narration from fieldwork in operation, and I argue that VR can best be understood as a technology that hosts significant community. These findings take us beyond understanding VR as a space offering an embodied sense of immersion/interaction. The paper is a contribution to those interested in the study of Social VR. It will serve as a resource to any who wish to think productively about VR as a focal point for contemporary digital life.

Influence of navigation parameters on cybersickness in virtual reality

Cybersickness remains a major challenge in the virtual reality community. It occurs mainly when navigating in a 3D immersive virtual environment. Several parameters are known to influence the users’ cybersickness level while navigating, that can be either technological or neuro-psychological. This study investigates two of these parameters that are the distance from a virtual barrier and the choice of the navigation interface. An experiment was performed for each of these parameters to evaluate their influence on the variation of cybersickness. For each experiment, participants were asked to navigate in a large virtual room with walls that were textured with a black and white lined pattern to voluntarily exacerbate cybersickness. The level of cybersickness was collected through subjective (Simulator Sickness Questionnaire) and behavioral (evolution of postural sway) measurements. Results allow drawing suggestions for optimal navigation, so that cybersickness can be significantly reduced, thus providing with enhanced user experience.

Virtual Reality Community Gait Training Using a 360° Image Improves Gait Ability in Chronic Stroke Patients

Virtual Reality Community Gait Training Using a 360° Image Improves Gait Ability in Chronic Stroke Patients

Virtual Reality Community Gait Training Using a 360° Image Improves Gait Ability in Chronic Stroke Patients

Virtual Reality Community Gait Training Using a 360° Image Improves Gait Ability in Chronic Stroke Patients

Virtual Reality Architecture Oriented Wireless Connection For Future Generation Virtual Reality Devices

In order to enhance the user experience of virtual reality (VR) devices, VR multi-user environments and wireless connections must support as the latest generation of VRdevices. Wireless network-based wireless communication devices (WLANs) are popular consumer devices with high throughput and low cost using incompatible bands. However, the use of WLANs can cause packet delivery delays, due to their distributed nature when accessing channels. In this paper, we carefully discuss wireless VR via WLAN, and we request an efficient wireless multiuser VR communication architecture, as well as providing communication for VR. Because the architecture proposed in this paper uses many WLAN standards, based on the characteristics of each VR traffic chain, it is agreed that it supports the efficient sending of massive uplink data generated by several VR devices, and provides adequate frame rates and video control frames. rate for high-quality VR services. We conduct evaluations that are supported to improve exceptional applications than are supported

Reflections from five years of Sonic Interactions in Virtual Environments workshops

For the past five years, the authors have been running at the IEEE Virtual Reality Conference a Workshop called Sonic Interactions in Virtual Environments (SIVE). The main goal of the workshop series has been to increase among the virtual reality community awareness of the importance of sonic elements when designing multimodal and immersive virtual environments. Starting from this experience, this paper presents a survey of the main active research topics related to sound in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), ranging from basic research in spatial audio rendering and sonic interaction design to applications in interactive environments for training, health, rehabilitation, entertainment, and art. Looking at the different research topics emerging from laboratories worldwide, the paper discusses how different research communities can collaborate and benefit from each other in order to increase sound awareness in VR and AR.

Motion Sickness in Virtual Reality: An Empirical Evaluation

Due to rapid growth in Virtual Reality (VR) technology, the industry of VR is expected to grow around $26.89 billion by 2022. However, with its extensive growth and immersive inclusion in human life, health-related issues are reported including, but not limited to nauseated feeling, vomiting, dizziness and cold sweats. These issues introduce a well-known side effect termed as motion sickness in VR users. Consequently, motion sickness limits the VR community in the full adaptation of this immersive technology. Since there is no lack of literature investigating motion sickness caused by VR, yet researches on the effect of VR on human's physiology is still in its infancy. This study presents novel findings, by comparing different factors such as gender, motion sickness experience, 3D games experience and VR experience. Furthermore, it reports the impact of concerning factors in a within-subjects design (46 participants participated in an experiment) under different virtual environment genres. The key findings of this article report that there is a significant difference in the amount of motion sickness when shifting from pleasant to the horror genre of the environment and having a strong dependence on gender. Moreover, the type of virtual environment is an essential factor that has a notable effect on the user's blood pressure, blood sugar and heart rate. However, past experiences with motion sickness and 3D games show no significant impact on the user's level of motion sickness.

Virtual Reality-Wireless Local Area Network: Wireless Connection-Oriented Virtual Reality Architecture for Next-Generation Virtual Reality Devices

In order to enhance the user experience of virtual reality (VR) devices, multi-user VR environments and wireless connections should be considered for next-generation VR devices. Wireless local area network (WLAN)-based wireless communication devices are popular consumer devices with high throughput and low cost using unlicensed bands. However, the use of WLANs may cause delays in packet transmission, owing to their distributed nature while accessing the channel. In this paper, we carefully examine the feasibility of wireless VR over WLANs, and we propose an efficient wireless multiuser VR communication architecture, as well as a communication scheme for VR. Because the proposed architecture in this paper utilizes multiple WLAN standards, based on the characteristics of each set of VR traffic, the proposed scheme enables the efficient delivery of massive uplink data generated by multiple VR devices, and provides an adequate video frame rate and control frame rate for high-quality VR services. We perform extensive simulations to corroborate the outstanding performance of the proposed scheme.