Virtual Reality User Research Articles

BeHere: a VR/SAR remote collaboration system based on virtual replicas sharing gesture and avatar in a procedural task.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10055-023-00748-5.

Initial validation of the GUESS-18 for usability in virtual reality gaming environments: a pilot study

Virtual reality (VR) technology has developed rapidly in recent years with head-mounted displays (HMDs), which provide immersive VR experiences by inserting users into an artificially constructed digital world. However, there is currently no standardized tool for measuring usability in VR environments. The purpose of this study was to provide initial validation of the GUESS-18, a usability questionnaire for video games, for measuring usability of VR in a gaming environment. Participants played a racing game with an HMD in VR and a traditional monitor and completed the GUESS-18 and the System Usability Scale (SUS). Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to determine GUESS-18 validity. The Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) values indicate appropriate model fit, with values of 0.967 and 0.056, respectively. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was satisfactory for all factors except for social connectivity. Scores from the GUESS-18 were significantly higher with VR by about 6.4%, but SUS scores were equivalent between display types. Playing the game in VR resulted in greater immersion and personal gratification than playing with the monitor. Overall, the GUESS-18 can measure usability of VR games as it distinguishes VR from traditional monitor environments and shows satisfactory validity and consistency.

Real-time affect detection in virtual reality: a technique based on a three-dimensional model of affect and EEG signals

This manuscript explores the development of a technique for detecting the affective states of Virtual Reality (VR) users in real-time. The technique was tested with data from an experiment where 18 participants observed 16 videos with emotional content inside a VR home theater, while their electroencephalography (EEG) signals were recorded. Participants evaluated their affective response toward the videos in terms of a three-dimensional model of affect. Two variants of the technique were analyzed. The difference between both variants was the method used for feature selection. In the first variant, features extracted from the EEG signals were selected using Linear Mixed-Effects (LME) models. In the second variant, features were selected using Recursive Feature Elimination with Cross Validation (RFECV). Random forest was used in both variants to build the classification models. Accuracy, precision, recall and F1 scores were obtained by cross-validation. An ANOVA was conducted to compare the accuracy of the models built in each variant. The results indicate that the feature selection method does not have a significant effect on the accuracy of the classification models. Therefore, both variations (LME and RFECV) seem equally reliable for detecting affective states of VR users. The mean accuracy of the classification models was between 87% and 93%.

MmWave Networking and Edge Computing for Scalable 360° Video Multi-User Virtual Reality.

We investigate a novel multi-user mobile Virtual Reality (VR) arcade system for streaming scalable 8K 360° video with low interactive latency, while providing high remote scene immersion fidelity and application reliability. This is achieved through the integration of embedded multi-layer 360° tiling, edge computing, and wireless multi-connectivity that comprises sub-6 GHz and mmWave (millimeter wave) links. The sub-6 GHz band is used for broadcast of the base layer of the entire 360° panorama to all users, while the directed mmWave links are used for high-rate transmission of VR-enhancement layers that are specific to the viewports of the individual users. The viewport-specific enhancements can comprise compressed and raw 360° tiles, decoded first at the edge server. We aim to maximize the smallest immersion fidelity for the delivered 360 content across all VR users, given rate, latency and computing constraints. We characterize analytically the rate-distortion trade-offs across the spatiotemporal 360° panorama and the computing power required to decompress 360° tiles. The proposed solution consists of geometric programming algorithms and an intermediate step of graph-theoretic VR user to mmWave access point assignment. The results reveal a significant improvement (8 - 10 dB) in delivered VR user immersion fidelity and spatial resolution (8K vs. 4K) compared to a state-of-the-art method based on sub-6 GHz transmission only. We also show that an increasing number of raw 360° tiles are sent, as the mmWave network link data rate or the edge server/user computing power increase. Finally, we demonstrate that in order to hypothetically deliver the same immersion fidelity, the reference method would incur a much higher (2.5-4.5x) system latency.

Toward Full-Immersive Multiuser Virtual Reality With Redirected Walking

We are witnessing a surge in the popularity and mass-availability of Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Toward enhancing its maturity, current research is focusing on achieving continuous full immersiveness of the VR users during their experiences in Virtual Environments (VEs), as well as on enabling multiuser experiences. In many cases, achieving the full immersiveness requires enabling the users’ perception of walking naturally in unbound VEs. Redirected Walking (RDW) algorithms provide a solution to this problem by exploiting the limitations of the human spatial perception. In other words, the RDW algorithms are envisioned to unnoticeably steer the VR users for constraining them within a certain tracking space. Regardless of notable research efforts targeting RDW, there are still not many experimental evaluations of the performance of RDW algorithms, especially in multiuser settings and utilizing contemporary Head-Mounted Devices (HMDs). Toward addressing this issue, we have developed a modular framework that enables straightforward experimentation with single and multiuser RDW in different tracking spaces and for varying VEs. The capabilities of the developed framework were demonstrated by carrying out an extensive experimentation study to capture the performance and noticeability of a contemporary RDW algorithm for a varying number of users in different tracking spaces and VEs. The lessons learned during the study have been conceptualized in a form of a set of RDW design enhancements that can be generically applied to existing RDW algorithms. We show that the proposed enhancements significantly increase the overall performance of RDW and decrease the noticeability of RDW-supported experiences in VEs.

CodeCity: A comparison of on-screen and virtual reality

Over the past decades, researchers proposed numerous approaches to visualize source code. A popular one is CodeCity , an interactive 3D software visualization representing software system as cities: buildings represent classes (or files) and districts represent packages (or folders). Building dimensions represent values of software metrics, such as number of methods or lines of code. There are many implementations of CodeCity , the vast majority of them running on-screen. Recently, some implementations using virtual reality (VR) have appeared, but the usefulness of CodeCity in VR is still to be proven. Our comparative study aims to answer the question “Is VR well suited for CodeCity , compared to the traditional on-screen implementation?” We performed two experiments with our web-based implementation of CodeCity , which can be used on-screen or in immersive VR. First, we conducted a controlled experiment involving 24 participants from academia and industry. Taking advantage of the obtained feedback, we improved our approach and conducted a second controlled experiment with 26 new participants. Our results show that people using the VR version performed the assigned tasks in much less time, while maintaining a comparable level of correctness. VR is at least equally well-suited as on-screen for visualizing CodeCity , and likely better. • CodeCity in VR is comparable to CodeCity on-screen, with respect to the accuracy of results, and much better with respect to efficiency. • Virtual Reality users are considerably faster than on-screen users across program comprehension tasks using CodeCity. • Virtual Reality immersion could play a pivotal role when carrying out program comprehension tasks in a 3D environment. • BabiaXR offers a web-based version of CodeCity that is able to use in any modern browser, including the browser for the VR glasses with the VR interaction by default.

Smart Vernacular Architecture: A Framework for Assessment and Virtual Reality-based Visualisation of Indigenous Toda Dwellings

Indigenous communities and their way of life are facing significant challenges due to globalisation, industrialisation and urbanisation, which have forced them to gradually adopt the architecture, lifestyle, and culture of mainstream society. This paper proposes a Smart Vernacular Architecture (SVA) framework and applies it to the indigenous dwellings of the Todas, a tribal community living in India's Nilgiri mountains. The architecture and indoor space quality of these dwellings are investigated in this paper based on specific thermal comfort parameters like the interior temperature and airflow. The indoor temperatures of Toda dwellings are simulated for the predicted climate of 2100 to evaluate their climate resilience. Finally, the paper illustrates the usage of virtual reality (VR) to explore and visualise the Toda settlement and the interior environment parameters of a Toda dwelling to effectively convey and preserve the knowledge of vernacular architecture. In a nutshell, this paper elucidates the advantages of vernacular architecture and construction methods to arouse the interest of academics, policymakers, students, and professionals in preserving architecture, culture, and indigenous knowledge.

From Avatars to Hybrid Bodies: Postdualist and Posthumanist Approaches to the Anthropology of Virtual Reality

The dynamic development of virtual reality (VR) technology is reconfiguring the relationship between humans and their avatars in virtual worlds. Physical bodies and spaces become entangled with their digital counterparts and are engaged in events within virtual environments, necessitating a shift in the approach to conducting anthropological research in VR. This essay challenges digital dualism through the exploration of the hybrid nature of embodiment in VR. The aim of the text is to lay the groundwork for a postdualistic and posthumanist approach to VR anthropology, which emphasizes the entanglements between humans and technologies, and between physical and digital bodies, blurring the boundaries between these dichotomies. In this approach, I conceptualize VR users as cyborg assemblages, emerging in intra-actions between humans, technologies, and digital bodies, thereby highlighting the agency of non-humans in co-shaping their hybrid somaticity.

The Potential and Conditions of the Development of Virtual Reality in Education at the Higher Education Level

The paper explores the potential and determinants for the virtual reality usage in education at the higher education level. The article starts with the analysis of the evolving university’s role. In this context, generational changes determining the VR usage in tertiary education are also discussed. Then the features of virtual reality and related terms are explained to make a basis for discussing VR as a learning aid of the 21st century. The paper closes with the case study analysis of immersive VR usage in higher education and further research recommendations.

Experiences of Depersonalization/Derealization Among Users of Virtual Reality Applications: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Previous research shows that virtual reality (VR) users may experience symptoms of depersonalization/derealization (DPDR) immediately after use. However, the impact of long-term VR use on these symptoms has not been analyzed so far. In a preregistered study, we conducted an online survey among a bigger sample of VR users (N = 754) to investigate the relationship between time of use during the past 6 months and the presence of DPDR symptoms. The results support the absence of a linear association between time of VR use and the presence of symptoms, when controlling for other factors. DPDR symptoms are more frequent among younger female users and in those who experience higher levels of embodiment during use. Secondary analyses show that symptoms are more common among newer users and among those who engage in longer sessions. These findings suggest that current common VR experiences are not a cause of long-term DPDR symptoms for the majority of users, yet also encourage further research about specific cases where VR use might trigger DPDR experiences in the long term.

Psychological predictors of consumer-level virtual reality technology adoption and usage.

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) technology has been mainstreamed for at-home use, with various consumer-oriented devices released by media firms such as Meta, Google, Samsung, and HTC. The present research investigates the role of psychological traits-including immersive tendencies, absorption, sensation seeking, need for cognition, neophobia, and belief in science-as well as trait levels of individual innovativeness, self-perception of social well-being, and owner demographics, in predicting VR adoption rates and sustained use over time. Separate analyses were conducted for different classes of VR device (fixed, mobile, and standalone devices). In general, psychological factors generally emerged as more determinative of adoption than did demographics. Users' immersive tendencies predicted earlier adoption of VR technology while absorption was associated with later adoption, with both predictive of higher overall initial usage of different types of devices. Additionally, perceiving oneself as socially successful was associated with higher initial VR usage, while a tendency to see one's emotions as influenced by in-person rather than online contacts was negatively associated with usage. Finally, belief in science predicted greater consistency in usage over time while higher levels of absorption were associated with unstable usage patterns. These findings expand upon the limited work previously investigating the role of individual differences in adoption of VR and mark the promise of psychometrics for understanding the diffusion and continued usage of consumer-facing VR devices.

Is Virtual Reality a Game Changer in Pediatrics' Acute Pain Perception?

Purpose of review: Virtual reality (VR) is a promising tool that is becoming increasingly popular for the prevention and treatment of procedural pain in children. This review aims to investigate the current literature on the use and effectiveness of VR in paediatric procedural pain management, focusing on needle-related procedures, burn wound care, dental procedures among others; limitations and future perspectives on the use of VR will also be highlighted.
 Recent findings: in addition to the most researched fields of application (e.g. needle procedures), VR has also started to be used in new areas, such as nasal and gastrointestinal endoscopies as well as minor surgeries. From the latest evidence, VR seems to be effective in many procedures, especially compared to no distraction; however, there is conflicting data in the literature due to numerous factors such as differences between technologies, degree of VR-immersion, patients coping styles among others.
 Summary: there are still no data of absolute certainty on the effectiveness of VR in reducing procedural pain in paediatric patients and data pooling is still difficult. Future research should carry on large randomised-controlled, multicentre studies to better define VR properties and how best to optimise VR software and user experience for maximum pain reduction.

Teleporting through virtual environments: benefits of navigational feedback and practice

Virtual environments (VEs) can be infinitely large, but movement of the virtual reality (VR) user is constrained by the surrounding real environment. Teleporting has become a popular locomotion interface to allow complete exploration of the VE. To teleport, the user selects the intended position (and sometimes orientation) before being instantly transported to that location. However, locomotion interfaces such as teleporting can cause disorientation. This experiment explored whether practice and feedback when using the teleporting interface can reduce disorientation. VR headset owners participated remotely. On each trial of a triangle completion task, the participant traveled along two path legs through a VE before attempting to point to the path origin. Travel was completed with one of two teleporting interfaces that differed in the availability of rotational self-motion cues. Participants in the feedback condition received feedback about their pointing accuracy. For both teleporting interfaces tested, feedback caused significant improvement in pointing performance, and practice alone caused only marginal improvement. These results suggest that disorientation in VR can be reduced through feedback-based training.

Postural instability-induced compensative movements in virtual reality

During virtual reality usage, two egocentric mental representations are constructed simultaneously. The first representation is rooted in the physical reality in which VR is set up, and the second originates from the mental construction of a computer-generated virtual environment. In both cases, participants configure their posture based on multimodal stimuli while responding to environmental cues. In most cases, the postural cues provided by the digital and real environment may be conflicting. In this study, 50 right-handed volunteers were enrolled. In a pre-test session, attentional focus-related personality bias (perspective-taking) was assessed, and afterward, postural movements and presence experiences were measured while the participants performed a spatial orientation task in VR. Participants were placed in an upright position with their right hands positioned in front of a physically real point on the laboratory wall. Afterward, participants were exposed to a VR environment in which they performed a room-tilting task. Participants with higher hand-related presence scores showed decreased compensatory hand drift in the VR environment. The rate of contralateral hand drift showed a reversed association with the intensity of the perspective-taking trait. VR-induced postural instability can be attenuated by the compensative hand drift that alleviates the conflicts between the two rival inner VR and outer VR environments that compete for attention and provide different reference cues.

The effects of spatial configuration on relative translation gain thresholds in redirected walking

In this study, we explore how spatial configurations can be reflected in determining the threshold range of Relative Translation Gains (RTGs), a translation gain-based Redirected Walking (RDW) technique that scales the user’s movement in Virtual Reality (VR) in different ratios for width and depth. While previous works have shown that various cognitive factors influence the RDW threshold, studies investigating the impact of environmental aspects on the RDW threshold with regard to the user’s visual perception were lacking. Therefore, we examined the effect of spatial configurations on the RTG threshold by analyzing the participant’s responses and gaze distribution data in two user studies. The first study concerned the size of the virtual room and the existence of objects within it, and the second study focused on the combined impact of room size and spatial layout. Our results show that room size, the existence of objects, and spatial layout all significantly affect the RTG threshold range. Based on our findings, we propose virtual space rescaling guidelines to increase the range of adjustable movable space with RTGs for developers: placing distractors in the room, setting the perceived movable space to be larger than the adjusted movable space for an empty room, and avoiding the placement of object clusters in the center of the room. Our findings can be used to adaptively rescale VR users’ space according to the target virtual space’s configuration with a unified coordinate system that enables the utilization of physical objects in a virtual scene.

A Wireless Virtual Reality-Based Multimedia-Assisted Teaching System Framework under Mobile Edge Computing

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has gradually entered the daily education and teaching activities from pure scientific research. In the area of assistance teaching, some typical computer softwares still play some important roles. This makes remote teaching activities can just learn voice, yet cannot possess the feeling of realistic existence. Especially in scenario of COVID-19, remote teaching activities with proper perceptibility are in urgent demand. To deal with the current challenge, this paper proposes a wireless VR-based multimedia-assisted teaching system framework under mobile edge computing networks. In this framework, cooperative edge caching and adaptive streaming based on viewport prediction are adopted to jointly improve the quality of experience (QoE) of VR users. First, we investigated the resource management problem of caching and adaptive streaming in this framework. Considering the complexity of the formulated problem, a distributed learning scheme is proposed to solve the problem. The experimental data are verified and the experimental results prove that the studied methods improve the performance of user QoE.

Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Training in Virtual Reality: A Feasibility Study.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of virtual reality (VR) software built using the core concepts of hand-arm bimanual intensive training (HABIT) for improving upper extremity motor function in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Eight children with CP participated in a 10-day, 40-hour HABIT program. Half of the time custom VR software, HABIT-VR was used. The children's motor skills were assessed pre- and postintervention with the Assisting Hand Assessment, Box and Blocks Test, and Nine-Hole Peg Test. The children had significant and clinically relevant changes in the Assisting Hand Assessment and Box and Blocks Test; however, Nine-Hole Peg Test scores did not change with intervention. These data suggest that combining traditional HABIT strategies with HABIT-VR games improve upper extremity function and gross motor skills but not fine motor skills.

Design of Wayang Show With 360° Video (Virtual Reality) as a Media to Intoduce Teenage About Wayang Cepak Tegal

Nowadays, wayang cepak in Tegal City are increasingly rarely known by young people, especially teenagers wayang performances being rarely attended. From this study, it is known that adolescents tend to be more interested in westernized modern culture so that they are indicated to have less respect and are increasingly unfamiliar with their own existing traditional culture. The purpose of this research is to reintroduce the wayang cepak in the form of digital media which is shown to teenagers in Tegal City aged 15-21 years. The delivery of story content through Virtual Reality has the potential to provide an immersive viewing experience that can be viewed from a 360° video perspective using the Luther-Sutopo version of the Multimedia Software Development Method for the segmentation of teenagers aged 15-21 years. To find out and collect data the researchers used qualitative methods. The results of this study are expected to help re-introduce and invite teenagers to generate a sense of love for wayang cepak. As well as looking for alternative ways to watch wayang shows from a 360° perspective as a whole for Virtual Reality users. Virtual Reality is an effective promotional media that utilizes new technology to add to the audience's new experience of an environment as a whole, so that here it is hoped that the audience will enjoy the Wayang Cepak performances that contain the values of good moral teachings through various stories.

Neural3Points: Learning to Generate Physically Realistic Full‐body Motion for Virtual Reality Users

AbstractAnimating an avatar that reflects a user's action in the VR world enables natural interactions with the virtual environment. It has the potential to allow remote users to communicate and collaborate in a way as if they met in person. However, a typical VR system provides only a very sparse set of up to three positional sensors, including a head‐mounted display (HMD) and Optionally two hand‐held controllers, making the estimation of the user's full‐body movement a difficult problem. In this work, we present a data‐driven physics‐based method for predicting the realistic full‐body movement of the user according to the transformations of these VR trackers and simulating an avatar character to mimic such user actions in the virtual world in realtime. We train our system using reinforcement learning with carefully designed pretraining processes to ensure the success of the training and the quality of the simulation. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the method with an extensive set of examples.

Examining apparel design students’ self-efficacy towards using virtual reality in the design process

ABSTRACT Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology in garment design that has demonstrated promising student achievement results (Wyss et al., 2014 [Cotton Island: Students’ learning motivation using a virtual world. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 12(3), 219–232]). When educators and institutions adopt new technologies, they need to consider how the unfamiliar technology will affect student’s self-efficacy levels and to design lesson plans accordingly. Therefore, the purpose of this initial study is to examine students’ self-efficacy levels toward the adoption of VR as a design sketching tool. A multiple case study design was employed in this study. Eight undergraduate Apparel Design students enrolled in an Apparel Design course constituted the sample. Data were collected using a self-efficacy scale, and open-ended questions. The data examined levels of self-efficacy in VR use as well as factors that impacted those levels. The findings failed to show differences among factors that influence students’ self-efficacy in VR usage at each self-efficacy level. Based on the findings, research propositions were confirmed or modified, or were additionally proposed.