Virtual Reality Video Research Articles

Virtual reality increases pressure pain threshold and lowers anxiety in children compared with control and non-immersive control-A randomized, crossover trial.

Virtual reality (VR) is a promising non-pharmacological pain intervention because it may not only distract but also modulate pain by immersing the user in a three-dimensional 360° alternate reality. In children, VR has been reported to reduce clinical pain and anxiety during medical procedures. However, the effect of immersive VR on pain and anxiety remains to be investigated in randomized controlled trials (RCT). The aim of the present crossover RCT was to assess the effect of VR on pressure pain threshold (PPT) and anxiety level measured with the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPAS) in children in a controlled experimental setting. Seventy-two children (mean age 10.2 (6-14) years) were randomized to 24 sequences of four interventions (immersive VR Game, immersive VR video, tablet: 2D video and control: small talk). Outcome measures PPT, mYPAS and heart rate were assessed before and after each intervention. PPT increased significantly during VR game (PPTdiff): 136 kPa (CI 112; 161), p < 0.0001 and VR Video (PPTdiff): 122 kPa (CI 91; 153), p < 0.0001. Also, anxiety levels significantly decreased during both VR game (mYPASdiff: -7 points (-8 to -5), p < 0.0001) and VR video (mYPASdiff: -6 points (CI -7; -4), p < 0.0001). VR had a marked beneficial effect on PPT and anxiety compared with the control interventions: 2D video and small talk. Thus, immersive VR had a distinct modulatory effect on pain and anxiety in a well-controlled experimental setting. Immersive VR was effective and feasible in children and can act as a valid tool for non-pharmacological pain and anxiety management. Paediatric immersive VR seems to be beneficial although well-controlled studies are pending. We investigated whether immersive VR can modulate children's threshold for pain and anxiety level in an experimental well-controlled setting. We document a modulatory pain threshold increase and anxiety level decrease compared with extensive control conditions. Paediatric immersive VR is effective, feasible and valid for non-pharmacological pain and anxiety management. All efforts to reach the goal that no child should experience pain or anxiety when exposed to medical procedures.

Exploring 360-degree virtual reality videos for CSR communication: An integrated model of perceived control, telepresence, and consumer behavioral intentions

Recent years have seen 360-degree virtual reality (VR) being used as a valuable tool in communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns. Built upon the wealth of literature on stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) theory, this study proposed to test a model integrating perceived control of the 360-degree CSR VR technology, telepresence, engagement with VR 360-degree video (VR engagement), CSR advocacy, and purchase intentions. To that end, a nationally representative sample was recruited for a survey that exposed participants to a digital CSR campaign that uses 360-degree VR to increase mental health awareness. Results showed a significant association between participants' perceived control over the VR 360-degree CSR campaign and telepresence as well as their engagement with the VR 360-degree video. Moreover, telepresence and VR engagement were significant mediators in predicting consumers’ willingness to promote social initiatives (CSR advocacy) and purchase intentions. Theoretical and practical implications of the study were discussed.

Bridging the gap: Sound as a tool towards resettlement

Over the past three years, various sound initiatives have been conducted in a collaboration between the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Utah, and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Led by Milad Mozari, an artist and researcher, the medium of sound is used as a tool for exploration, place-making, and spatialization between students and refugees. This paper presentation will go over three categories of how audible sound is used in this collaboration. (1) The use of omnidirectional microphones to create sound collages as a way of introducing a place. This was distinctly differently interpreted in proximity to sound sources by students and IRC clients. (2) Experiments in analog synthesis to create collaborative performances between individuals with different musical backgrounds. (3) The use of ambisonic mixing for virtual reality videos that former IRC clients and students create as a tool for the resettlement of future refugees. Overall, this ongoing initiative is at the intersection of social design and emerging technological tools, which marginalized communities are often unaware of. At its core concept, the project aims to increase accessibility to sound tools to communities that may not come across it in their resettlement process.

Design and Implementation of Two Immersive Audio and Video Communication Systems Based on Virtual Reality

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years, remote communication has become increasingly common, which has also spawned many online solutions. Compared with an in-person scenario, the feeling of immersion and participation is lacking in these solutions, and the effect is thus not ideal. In this study, we focus on two typical virtual reality (VR) application scenarios with immersive audio and video experience: VR conferencing and panoramic live broadcast. We begin by introducing the core principles of traditional video conferencing, followed by the existing research results of VR conferencing along with the similarities, differences, pros, and cons of each solution. Then, we outline our view about what elements a virtual conferencing room should have. After that, a simple implementation scheme for VR conferencing is provided. Regarding panoramic video, we introduce the steps to produce and transmit a panoramic live broadcast and analyze several current mainstream encoding optimization schemes. By comparing traditional video streams, the various development bottlenecks of panoramic live broadcast are identified and summarized. A simple implementation of a panoramic live broadcast is presented in this paper. To conclude, the main points are illustrated along with the possible future directions of the two systems. The simple implementation of two immersive systems provides a research and application reference for VR audio and video transmission, which can guide subsequent relevant research studies.

How Does the Experience of Forest Recreation Spaces in Different Seasons Affect the Physical and Mental Recovery of Users?

In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the recovery effect of the forest environment on physical and mental health. Therefore, providing users with a high-quality forest landscape space is a very important research topic for forest landscape designers and forest resource managers. From the perspective of different seasons, this study explores the differences in landscape perceptions and physical and mental recovery of users when they experience different forest recreation spaces and the interactions between them. First, this study used virtual reality video experience and questionnaires for participants. Then, the paired-samples t test, one-way ANOVA and the independent-samples t test were used for statistical analysis. Finally, we also used structural equation models to analyze the relationship between landscape perception and recovery. (1) The restoration effect and perception of forest recreation spaces on people are influenced by space types and seasonal factors. (2) People's restoration from forest environments is a gradual process from spatial cognition to emotional response. (3) The perception of the natural attributes and form of the recreation space plays a key role in the restorative effect of the environment to people, while the natural form is more important in spring than autumn. Based on the above conclusions, we suggest that the characteristic factors of the landscape environment and their different restoration effects for users in different dimensions should be considered when planning forest recreation space.

Where to look? Sustaining Presence While Directing Attention in Virtual Reality Stories.

Humans have been fascinated with the notion of submerging themselves in other spaces since antiquity, or even before. As the contemporary media landscape seeks to employ newer immersive practices, particularly in today’s Metaverse environment, storytelling in immersive media such as virtual reality (VR) is still developing and being described. The notion of scale and (newfound) viewer agency afforded by VR has challenged VR film-makers, particularly in directing attention towards story beats and handling user interaction. The video gaming industry, as a platform that is built with immersion as the core of the experience, leads this development. The advent of virtual reality (VR) video games is developing an amalgamation of immersive strategies to induce the sense of presence within virtual worlds. In this article I look at current approaches and challenges faced when directing attention in films and storytelling in VR. I then consider strides taken in VR video games, namely Half-Life: Alyx (2020), to propose that directing techniques and immersive strategies employed in VR video games can be used to develop new strategies in VR films and storytelling.

Analysis of the relationship between nighttime illuminance and fear of crime using a quasi-controlled experiment with recorded virtual reality

By employing a quasi-controlled experiment with recorded virtual reality (VR), this study examines the impact of nighttime illuminance on fear of crime in four narrow streets without sidewalks in Seoul, South Korea. In April 2021, the horizontal and vertical illuminance of four streets was measured at 13 different time slots between 6 pm and 11 pm, and immediately afterward, the environment of the streets was recorded with a 360-degree camera. 101 young adult participants were asked to answer the level of fear of crime perceived in each video while experiencing 10 randomly selected VR videos out of 40 using head-mounted display. The results of the cross-classified multilevel analysis show that fear of crime can be reduced not only by enhancing average and minimum horizontal and vertical illuminance levels but also by improving the uniformity ratio of illuminance. In addition, the results are more evident in the video taken in the residential areas (Sites A and B) than in the commercial areas (Sites C and D). These results could be applied to nighttime illuminance management in narrow urban streets.

Seeing the faces is so important—Experiences from online team meetings on commercial virtual reality platforms

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office. To understand the opportunities and challenges of meeting in virtual reality (VR) compared to videoconferences, we conducted the weekly team meetings of our human-computer interaction research lab on five off-the-shelf online meeting platforms over 4 months. After each of the 12 meetings, we asked the participants (N = 32) to share their experiences, resulting in 200 completed online questionnaires. We evaluated the ratings of the overall meeting experience and conducted an exploratory factor analysis of the quantitative data to compare VR meetings and video calls in terms of meeting involvement and co-presence. In addition, a thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed genuine insights covering five themes: spatial aspects, meeting atmosphere, expression of emotions, meeting productivity, and user needs. We reflect on our findings gained under authentic working conditions, derive lessons learned for running successful team meetings in VR supporting different kinds of meeting formats, and discuss the team’s long-term platform choice.

RealVR: Efficient, Economical, and Quality-of- Experience-Driven VR Video System Based on MPEG OMAF

Recent years have witnessed the explosion of virtual reality (VR) videos and applications. This new form of media grants us the precious freedom we never had before to look at any directions of the video content. With such privilege, our desires for higher video resolution and frame-rate, better visual quality, and smoother watching experience have remarkably risen. However, VR videos occupy an astronomical amount of data, which poses unprecedented challenges to computation efficiency, deployment cost, and user experience of the system. In this paper, we propose RealVR, an end-to-end tile-based VR video system that faces and tackles such challenges. With all essential procedures from the initial capturing to the ultimate rendering included, the system is designed, implemented, and configured specifically to achieve the best balance among efficiency, economy, and quality-of-experience (QoE). It leverages the promising international VR standard, MPEG OMAF, to process and deliver 8&#x00A0;K 60 fps VR video, but is also improved for much better performance and user experience than the pristine standard, especially for reducing the motion-to-high-quality (MtHQ) latency. It does not rely on additional expensive edge servers to offer an immersive user experience, which makes it more economical than many other works. Through extensive experiments, it is proven that RealVR can significantly improve the MtHQ experience and save bandwidth consumption without compromising on encoding efficiency or application cost, maximizing the user&#x2018;s freedom.

Using VR technology in the pre-onboarding of temporary employees in a Norwegian SME

European industry is currently facing extensive transformations. The well-being of the employees is an essential element in this transition, which is part of what we now call Industry 5.0. A challenge is to find and maintain a balance between human-centered manufacturing and focus on innovation and the implementation of new technology. The purpose of this article is to show how a Norwegian manufacturing industry SME (small and medium-sized business) can use VR (virtual reality) technology to prepare and empower temporary workers, by letting them see and experience a 360-degree video in VR of the assembly tasks even before they show up for their first day at work. A pilot case based on this technology is used as a platform for an immersive experience of 360 video in a pre-onboarding situation in the manufacturing industry company, will be presented in detail. The research is based on a case-study methodology, combined with Interpretive Field Study Research approach. Individual interviews with company management and involved employees (both temporary workers and permanent employees) have been conducted and analyzed.

Virtual reality against Zoom fatigue? A field study on the teaching and learning experience in interactive video and VR conferencing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the absence of in-person teaching was partially compensated for through videoconferencing. However, lecturers complain that students do not participate actively in video-based online seminars. One reason cited for this is Zoom fatigue. Conferences in virtual reality (VR), accessible with and without head-mounted display, represent one potential remedy to this issue. The research to date does not shed any light on the (1.) teaching experience, (2.) student demand, (3.) learning experience (including participation and social presence), and (4.) learning performance (declarative and spatial) associated with VR conferences. The present work will compare these aspects for videoconferencing, independent study, and - in the case of teaching experience - with in-person teaching. A compulsory seminar in General Physiology was offered during the 2020/21 winter semester and the 2021 summer semester as part of the Human Medicine program at the Faculty of Medicine at Ulm University. The seminars were offered in three different formats with identical content: (a) VR conference, (b) video conference, and (c) independent study, with students selecting the format of their choice. In the VR conferences, the lecturer taught using a head-mounted display while students participated via PC, laptop, or tablet. The learning experience and learning performance were assessed using questionnaires and a knowledge test. A semi-structured interview was conducted to assess the VR teaching experience. The lecturer's teaching experience in the VR conferences was similar to in-person teaching. Students predominantly chose independent study and videoconferencing. The latter resulted in worse outcomes with regard to learning experience (including participation and social presence) and spatial learning performance than the VR conferences. Declarative learning performance differed only slightly between teaching formats. VR conferencing offers lecturers new didactic opportunities and a teaching experience similar to that of in-person teaching. Students prefer time-efficient videoconferencing and independent study, but rate participation and social presence, among other things, higher in VR conferencing. If faculty and students are open to the technology, VR conferencing can promote interactive exchange in online seminars. This subjective assessment is not associated with better declarative learning performance.

A Semantic-Aware Transmission With Adaptive Control Scheme for Volumetric Video Service

Volumetric video provides a more immersive holographic virtual experience than conventional video services such as 360-degree and virtual reality (VR) videos. However, due to ultra-high bandwidth requirements, existing compression and transmission technology cannot handle the delivery of real-time volumetric video. Unlike traditional compression methods and the approaches that extend 360-degree video streaming, we propose AITransfer, an AI-powered compression and semantic-aware transmission method for point cloud video data (a popular volumetric data format). AITransfer targets the semantic-level communication beyond transmitting raw point cloud video or compressed video with two outstanding contributions: (1) designing an integrated end-to-end architecture with two fundamental contents of feature extraction and reconstruction to reduce the bandwidth consumption and alleviate the computational pressure; and (2) incorporating the dynamic network condition into end-to-end architecture design and employing a deep reinforcement learning-based adaptive control scheme to provide robust transmission. We conduct extensive experiments on the typical datasets and develop a case study to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness. The results show that AITransfer can provide extremely efficient point cloud transmission while maintaining considerable user experience with more than 30.72x compression ratio under the existing network environments.

Laviosing: Virtual Reality (VR) 360 0 Videos as A Marketing Strategy Promotion of Village Tourism

360-degree virtual reality (VR) video is used in tourism marketing but is still uncommon in Indonesia. This technology is viewed as an efficient tourism marketing strategy since it provides users with an immersive, enjoyable, and unforgettable experience that cannot be attained through other conventional media. Osing Tourist Village in Banyuwangi Regency is one of the tourist villages that has utilized 360-degree video as a marketing tool. Hence, it is essential to test the marketing effect of deploying VR 360 based on virtual reality and then move to consumers’ tourism-related buy intentions. This study investigates the experiential marketing variables influencing a person’s decision to visit Osing Tourist Village extensively. Sensing, emotion, thought, and action were the factors used in this study. A total of 178 participants aged 20 to 55 years were surveyed. This study used the Partial Least Square (PLS) data analysis technique. The results indicated that the determinant variables of experiential marketing (sense, feel, think, and act) had a considerable and beneficial impact on visitors’ purchase intentions. The ramifications of this study can be utilized as a point of reference for future research so that the use of virtual reality (VR) 360-degree videos can be implemented in many additional Indonesian tourist communities.

Vestibular rehabilitation potential of commercially available virtual reality video games

BackgroundPeripheral vestibular disorders affect 2.8–6.5% of people. Standard treatment is vestibular rehabilitation therapy, and virtual reality (VR) could improve outcomes. The objective of this study was to identify the commercially available VR video game that is most congruent to vestibular rehabilitation therapy.MethodsA term search “virtual reality racing” was performed on the App Store in March 2022. Results were screened for free point-of-view racing games compatible with Android and iOS devices. An investigator was filmed playing each game and videos were distributed to 237 physiotherapists. Physiotherapists completed a survey of 5-point Likert scale questions that assessed the video games vestibular rehabilitation potential. Survey responses were analyzed using Friedman Two-Way ANOVA (alpha = 0.05) and paired samples sign test with Bonferroni correction.ResultsThe search yielded 58 games, 4 were included. Forty physiotherapists participated. VR Tunnel Race (VRTR) and VR Real World Bike Racing (VRWBR) had the greatest vestibular rehabilitation potential (median global scores = 18.00). VRTR replicated habituation exercises significantly (p < 0.001) better than Derby VR, and VRWBR replicated physiotherapist-prescribed exercises significantly (p < 0.001) better than VR X-Racer. There were no discernable significant differences between VRWBR and VRTR.ConclusionsVRTR and VRWBR are the most congruent VR games to standard vestibular rehabilitation. VRWBR is preferable to VRTR with respect to ease of use and the ability to alter the amount of optokinetic stimulation. Prospective studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of these videos games and to determine if they could be used as solitary treatments.Trial registration: Not applicable.Graphical abstract

The Influence of Forest Landscape Spaces on Physical and Mental Restoration and Preferences of Young Adults of Different Genders

Forest landscape spaces have positive effects on human physical and mental health. Meanwhile, gender is an important biological factor in differences in human physical and mental responses when facing stress. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the gender characteristics and differences of people’s experiences of restoration in forest landscapes. Meanwhile, it is urgent to attend to the issue of young adults’ physical and mental health. This study aimed to clarify the impact of forest landscape exposure on physical and mental restoration and preferences in young adults of different genders and to explore the relationship between them. Six representative forest landscape spaces found in field research in Liaoning were presented to participants through virtual reality (VR) video. Physiological indicators (blood pressure, heart rate, and pulse), mood indicators (simplified profile of mood states), and preference scores of young adults (n = 319) before and after viewing the forest landscape videos were collected. Analysis of differences and Spearman’s rho correlation analysis were used to statistically analyse the data. Our results indicated that overlook landscape space, static water landscape space, and coniferous forest landscape space had differential restorative effects on participants’ physical and mental health. Male and female participants had different preferences regarding the forest landscape spaces. Meanwhile, there were strong correlations between participants’ preferences and restorative effects. Our findings provide preliminary practical basis for forest landscape planning that corresponds to the health needs of tourists of different genders to achieve optimization of health benefits of urban forest resources.

Tourism Communication in The Development of Sustainable Intelligent Tourism Village in East Lombok As A Supporting Area for Mount Rinjani Global Geopark and Mandalika

The development of Indonesian tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic began to rise again. Various efforts have been made by the government and tourism actors to be able to revive the tourism sector. The purpose of this study is to analyze tourism communication in the development of a Sustainable Smart Tourism Village in East Lombok as a supporting area for Mount Rinjani Global Geopark and the Mandalika Special Economic Zone. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method by conducting interviews and direct observations of Loyok Village. The data collected were analyzed using data analysis techniques from Miles Huberman. The results of the study indicate that the development of a sustainable smart tourism village in East Lombok requires collaboration from various parties such as the government, tourism actors, communities, and researchers all at once. The Gunadarma University Matching Fund team is here to help implement five information and communication technologies (ICT) in tourist villages such as making smart homestays, making virtual reality videos, and QR Codes, making new designs for bamboo crafts, and tourist village websites. The application of this technology is also part of communication and is expected to support the development of Loyok Tourism Village in East Lombok Regency. The implementation of ICT in East Lombok Regency is also expected to serve as a pilot project in the development of smart homestays in Indonesia.

Does the selection of virtual reality video matter? A laboratory experimental study of the influences of arousal

Despite the increasing number of studies on virtual tourism, there is currently little knowledge regarding the significance of the selection of appropriate virtual reality video (e.g., content stimulus) to marketing. This study explored how virtual reality video stimulation (arousal) elicited user flow experience and subsequent satisfaction using the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) paradigm. Analysis of the data revealed that self-reported arousal had a statistically significant impact on enjoyment, time distortion, and focused attention. Similar effects on enjoyment and time distortion were found by respiration rate. The results also demonstrated that user satisfaction was influenced by enjoyment and control. The PLS-SEM analysis further demonstrated that enjoyment partially mediated the effects of self-reported arousal and respiration rate on satisfaction. According to multigroup analysis, self-reported arousal (heart rate) exhibited a greater influence on enjoyment (time distortion) across two groups (weak versus strong stimulation). Theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed.

Comparison of virtual reality platforms to enhance medical education for procedures

Background: Historically, medical education relied on apprentice-based experiences requiring direct observation in patient cases. Simulation-based education has been shown to improve resident confidence but can be time intensive and difficult to coordinate. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need to develop distributed educational tools. Virtual reality (VR) platform has been shown to improve resident confidence and proficiencies. This pilot study compared educational and cost effectiveness of low-cost cardboard viewer VR (CVVR) and commercially available integrated headset VR (IHVR).Methods and Materials: We created a 2D, 360-degree VR video of an intracavitary brachytherapy case for treatment of cervical cancer. Radiation oncology residents from a single ACGME-accredited training program were recruited and randomized to IHVR or CVVR. Both groups were given unlimited access to their randomized technology. Each resident performed a timed intracavitary procedure on a simulator while five implant quality metrics were recorded. A pre- and post-simulation questionnaire assessed self-confidence, procedural knowledge, and perceived usefulness of VR technology.Results: There were 13 residents, including four post-graduate year (PGY)-2, three PGY-3, two PGY-4, and four PGY-5, in the study. Both VR technologies improved self-perceived overall confidence. Average time required for implant (mean: CVVR - 200 s vs IHVR - 235 s, p = 0.38) and median objective proficiencies of implant quality (5/5 in both group, p = 0.56) were similar. There was no difference between CVVR and IHVR as useful, enjoyable and engaging educational tool. Both groups would recommend the technology to another trainee. IHVR-based program would cost ∼33x more than CVVR-based program based on an assessment of US-based programs.Conclusion: CVVR is a cost-effective alternative to a IHVR as a virtual video-based education tool.

Comparison of the anxiety levels of teacher candidates during actual and 360° video virtual reality presentations

This study considers if the 360° video Virtual Reality (VR) environment is a less stressful alternative to giving actual presentations, and thus better able to support the development of the presentation skills of teacher candidates. Mixed method research was conducted in which 12 teacher candidates gave an average of 5 minutes of presentations on different days, both in a virtual and in a face-to-face school environment, before a group of listeners whom they hadn’t seen before. The candidates’ pulses were compared during presentations conducted in both environments, and the audio recordings were analysed with the PRAAT program. Further evaluation was conducted at the end of the process using an opinion form and interviews. No significant differences were found between the two groups, except in 2 of the 9 different voice analysis variables related to anxiety and the pulse of the candidates. The candidates generally felt that the 360° video VR experience was quite realistic, and that it could be an effective method of addressing concerns about giving presentations. It was therefore concluded that 360° video VR environments could be effectively used in teacher education as an alternative to the actual presentation experience.

Review: The Post-Screen Through Virtual Reality, Holograms and Light Projections: Where Screen Boundaries Lie, by Jenna Ng

Review: <i>The Post-Screen Through Virtual Reality, Holograms and Light Projections: Where Screen Boundaries Lie</i>, by Jenna Ng