1,721,080 research outputs found
(In) Authentic VR. Quality Assessments of Interactivity in Virtual Reality
No full textImmersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) rapidly transform how we experience media and interact with information. As these emerging mediums reshape notions of space, time, and reality, there is a pressing need to develop rigorous frameworks for understanding the multidimensional facets that collectively define their experiential qualities. This thesis offers timely theoretical explications and empirical insights to advance scholarly comprehension of immersive media experiences (IMEx) in their human-centric complexity.
The overarching motivation stems from recognizing that while technological capabilities are integral, they tell only part of the story. To holistically evaluate IMEx, cross-disciplinary perspectives that consider the confluence of system parameters with cognitive, perceptual, and behavioral processes must be adopted. Through conceptual consolidations coupled with systematic mixed-methods studies, the research presented here expands the toolkit for assessing user-cent kkered facets that shape experiential quality. A seminal contribution lies in formulating an overarching taxonomy delineating key aspects, elements, and features that characterize quality within immersive media. This thesis proposes authenticity as a complementary concept to presence and draws attention to their conceptual correlation within a user-centric framework. It is a reflective appraisal of coherence and congruence in their significance towards a virtual experience. A comprehensive taxonomy is then introduced to untangle the complex, interconnected aspects influencing VR experiences and to capture their multidimensional nature for a more systematic assessment.
Further, adopting observational techniques from human behavioral research, it investigates overt physical manifestations of perceived affordances and actions within VR environments. Comparisons with self-reported measurements reveal complex interplays between technology, cognition, and behavior. Shifting to input modalities, the thesis empirically examines oft-held assumptions about interaction naturalness through comparative assessments of hand-tracking and controllers for motor tasks. Findings expose subtle divergences between technological capabilities and user performance that warrant greater prudence in equating fidelity with quality.
A notable emphasis is highlighting the need to look beyond technological capabilities when evaluating immersive experiences. While engineering advancements in display resolution, field of view, and tracking accuracy are indispensable, the thesis cautions against equating fidelity with quality. It advocates a perspective that weighs the fidelity of technology against the fidelity of experience. The latter includes intricate cognitive and emotional processes associated with concepts such as presence, flow, and cognitive absorption that require further explanation. In this pursuit, the research applies cross-disciplinary tools like behavioral observation, affordance taxonomy, and pragmatic-hedonic modeling that uncover relationships and gaps not discernible through system parameters alone. It expands the methodological repertoire for investigating subjective and latent facets of user experience.
Collectively, this thesis expands and enriches the understanding of IMEx by integrating cross-disciplinary perspectives. The empirical findings offer original evidence, highlighting system potential and experience gaps. In illuminating relationships between technology and behavior, the thesis advocates complementing engineering advancements with deeper insights into human factors for optimizing fully immersive VR experiences. Overall, it provides timely contributions toward comprehensive quality assessment frameworks for emerging mediums that reshape perceptions of how we interact with data, tell stories, and socialize
Exploring the Role of UX Influencing Factors in Virtual Reality for Natural Hazards Prepardness: A Disign-Based Approach
Get PDFClimate change is one of the major challenges of our time, and its complexity makes finding innovative solutions challenging. One of the ways that climate change poses a challenge is by reshaping the earth’s natural ecosystem and increasing the frequency and severity of Natural Hazards (NH), such as floods and landslides, that affect millions of people and cause substantial losses. One potential solution is to leverage digital transformation and explore the use of narratives and immersive media technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), to communicate scientific information about NH and enable change. However, traditional methods of communication, such as reports and maps, may not be sufficient or accessible to a broader audience. Therefore, there is a need to develop transformative and immersive experiences that can facilitate the comprehension and communication of scientific information about NH.
This research project created immersive and engaging Virtual Reality Environments (VRE) that communicated NH using digital transformation technology as part of an interdisciplinary project called World of Wild Waters (WoWW). VR offered a unique opportunity to create digital twins of NH by integrating numerical simulations of geophysical phenomena that users could explore and manipulate. However, to create engaging VR, it was crucial to explore the factors that influenced User Experience (UX) within VR.
To address this challenge, the work adopted a design-based research (DBR) approach, which consisted of three iterative cycles, each addressing a specific objective. DBR Cycle 1 explored the factors that could enhance user-perceived quality in Immersive Media Experiences (IME). A conceptual framework was formulated by integrating Interactive Digital Narratives (IDN) as an important dimension to be investigated in VR. Based on the proposed framework, a case study was designed to explore the role of IDN and its impact on UX in VR.
DBR Cycle 2 evaluated the impact of affordances on user-perceived experiences in VR. It developed a VR that integrated wayfinding cues as affordances for NH preparedness. The VR prototype implemented three VREs with several types of wayfinding cues: no cues, static cues, and dynamic cues, and it evaluated the psychological and psychometric effects of wayfinding cues on UX within the VR.
DBR Cycle 3 designed and evaluated a VR framework for visualizing numerical simulations of geophysical flows (i.e., floods) to enhance risk communication of NH in VR. We implemented a VR prototype that used the VR framework to visualize and interact with simulations of NH. Furthermore, DBR cycle 3 evaluated the influence of emotions and identity on UX in VR. The research demonstrated the novelty and originality of using VR to enhance the understanding and communication of NH and foster risk awareness and resilience among diverse audiences and stakeholders.
The results showed how UX influencing factors such as IDN, affordances, emotions, and identity enhanced the VR experience, thus contributing to the advancement of knowledge and practice in the fields of VR, UX, and NH. Moreover, this research provided insights and guidelines for creating effective and engaging VR for communicating complex and uncertain scientific information about NH
A Novel Framework for Raising Landslide Risk Awareness Using Immersive Technology
Get PDFFlow landslides represent a diverse category of landslide events involving various materials, all characterized by their fluid-like flow behavior. These landslides can travel significant distances at extremely high velocities, posing significant dangers to human life, infrastructure, and the natural environment. Therefore, runout analysis of these landslides is vital for assessing risk, implementing mitigation measures and strengthening the resilience of the affected communities. The runout anal-ysis employs empirical formulas or numerical modeling. Integrating the analysis results with Digital Terrain Models (DTM), basemaps, and georeferenced orthophotos facilitates communication among experts and aids in hazard and risk map development. However, traditional 2D maps may struggle to convey the dynamic nature of runout analysis and often demand specialized expertise for inter-pretation.
On the other hand, Virtual Reality (VR) is widely applied in hazard recognition and safety train-ing simulation for hazards such as fire, earthquake, construction, and flooding, but its utilization in landslide hazards is limited. The main objective of this Ph.D. research is to develop an immersive and interactive VR experience for realistic on flow landslide hazard scenarios. Integrating numerical modeling data into VR environments is crucial for achieving this experience. In this work, a novel VR framework that effectively integrates numerical modeling data into VR environments was de-veloped. It includes preprocessing data, seamless integration into VR platforms, and creating im-mersive experiences. The result is a realistic virtual environment for simulating flow landslides, with accurate spatial and temporal scales. Importantly, this framework can be extended to simulate other geophysical flows beyond just flow landslides.
While the dynamics of the flow landslide are a crucial aspect of the VR environment, they alone are insufficient for the development of a comprehensive VR experience aimed at creating awareness and educating individuals about landslide hazards. In this work, a co-design approach was employed to develop a VR tool focused on sensitive clay landslide hazards. The co-design process involved affinity diagram and brainstorming sessions, which served as mechanisms to capture valuable in-sights related to quick clay landslide hazards and transform them into a VR experience. This collab-orative effort engaged nine experts from various fields, including geotechnical engineering, hydrol-ogy, psychology, electronic systems, and VR. The outcome of this co-design approach resulted in the development of QuickAware, a VR tool designed to raise awareness about quick clay landslide hazards. Testing the usability of this tool showed promising results, suggesting its potential to en-hance awareness of quick clay landslide hazards
Interactivity in Digital Storytelling:An Influencing Factor of Qualityof Experience
Get PDFStorytelling has always existed in human culture, and it has applications in many areas, including tourism and education. In recent years, thanks to the rapid development of technologies, digital tools have become part of the storytelling process, and digital storytelling is thus made possible. Interactive narratives are commonly found in digital storytelling, in which participants can become part of the story, play an active role, alter the path of the story, or generate their own contents and leave an impact on the story.
Tourism is one of the areas that could benefit from location based digital storytelling. It enriches tourist destinations, and provides an experience that is tightly connected to the specific locations.
An augmented reality (AR) application on a mobile device, was developed in Unity. It is built based on the previous prototype that tells a simple troll story in Trollheimen. In this prototype, only GPS data is used, to collect the location information of the mobile device. The application displays different media content based on the location information. The story of this prototype is improved, with more contents, and new ways of interaction and implementation. Some of the story contents were provided by iTrollheimen, and Nord Universitet.
This prototype was used to conduct experiments for proving the hypothesis: richer interactivity leads to a better Quality of Experience (QoE) in digital storytelling. 18 participants were recruited to take part in the experiments. Two variations of the prototype were made, one with richer interactivity while the other with reduced options of interaction. The participants were split up into 2 groups, and each group did the experiments with one version of the prototype. The results indicate that the richer interactivity prototype offered better Quality of Experience to the users
Design of an AR Based Framework for Acoustic Simulation
Get PDFRomakustikk er viktig for komfort og en helhetlig opplevelse, men kan være vanskelig å oppnå. Vanlige akustikk-simuleringsprogrammer kan få frem romakustiske egenskaper, men legger ikke til rette for at en klient kan "oppleve" resultatene. Denne rapporten ser nærmere på hvordan teknologi som bruker immersjon kan få en klient til å oppleve forskjeller i akustiske design og hvilke effekter utvidet virkelighet (AR) bidrar til romfølelse og lydoppfatning i akustiske simuleringer.
En Android-applikasjon er utviklet som et rammeverk for romakustiske simuleringer i sanntid med AR. Dette rammeverket skal gi brukeren en arena for å oppleve akustikken i et virtuelt rom og oppfatte hvordan endringer i designet påvirker lyden. Den akustiske gjengivelsen av rommet er basert på bildekildemetoden for å generere romimpulsresponser som kan foldes med anekoiske lyder. Systemet er testet av en fokusgruppe som jobber innen akustikk for å evaluere konseptet og indikere de immersive effektene AR tilføyer akustiske simuleringer.
Resultatene fra eksperimentet med fokusgruppen indikerer at akustisk romsimulering i sanntid med AR gir en klient en følelse av å være til stede i et akustisk rom. Det var også tydelig at AR-teknologi forbedrer oppfatningen av små lydendringer. Derimot trenger den akustiske gjengivelsen ytterligere forbedringer for å gi brukeren en mer realistisk følelse.Proper room acoustics is vital for a holistic experience and comfort but can be challenging to achieve. Classic acoustic simulation software can present properties about a room's acoustics but does not let a client "experience" the results. This thesis looks into how immersive technologies can let clients experience different acoustical designs and what effects augmented reality (AR) contribute to spatial presence and sound perception for acoustic simulations.
An Android application is developed as a framework for real-time acoustic room simulations in AR. This framework aims to give the user an arena for experiencing a virtual room's acoustics and perceiving how changes to the design affect the sound. The acoustic replication of the room is based on the image-source model for generating room impulse responses to be convolved with anechoic sounds. The system is tested by a focus group, whose profession is acoustics, for evaluating the concept and indicate the immersive effects AR provides to acoustic simulations.
The results from the experiment with the focus group suggest that real-time acoustic room simulation in AR provides a client a sense of being present in an acoustical room. It was also evident that AR technology enhances the perception of small changes in sound. However, the acoustic representation needs further improvements to give the user a more realistic feeling
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
QoE Aspects of Motion Tracking in Sensor Based Digital Storytelling
No full textStorytelling is, and always will be, an important part of cultures all around
the world. It is used for education, to entertain and to preserve history. Sen-
sor based digital storytelling is a new concept within Interactive and Immersive
Narratives(i 2 n) where sensors are used to offer interactivity, multi-sensory stim-
uli and non-linear storylines. These features are important in order to make the
Participants immersed in the story, meaning that they will move to another men-
tal state and perceive the story as they were a part of it. The work related to this
report is researching interactivity in sensor based digital storytelling with focus
on Quality of Experience(QoE). It aims to investigate how the QoE is influenced
by different motion tracking systems and the level of accuracy needed in the in-
teraction. The research is valuable in order to enhance the QoE in sensor based
digital storytelling by getting a better understanding of the interactivity aspect.
This report describes the design and the implementation of a system for sensor
based digital storytelling. The system consists of two motion tracking systems,
Leap Motion and OptiTrack, a Head Mounted Display(HMD), Oculus Rift DK2,
and a Storyteller Tool, the game engine Unity. In Unity three stories using this
system were created in order to use them in an experiment investigating the
above questions. The experiment was conducted after a methodology described
in a research protocol developed as a part of this project.
OptiTrack was chosen as one of the motion tracking systems because it was
of great interest to see if it was possible to use it for hand -and finger tracking in
sensor based digital storytelling. The implementation showed that it was possi-
ble to use OptiTrack for finger tracking, but that it was a bit difficult with the
available software release TrackingTools.
In total 50 Participants conducted the experiment. Both objective and subjective
measures were gathered and used in the analysis. The objective measure used
was the time used to finishing the stories, while a questionnaire was used to get
the subjective data. It was also saved paths for how the Participants moved their
hands or head, but after conducting an expert test the data was found to difficult
to analyze. The results stated that it could not be found any significant difference
between the QoE of the two systems, but the tendency was that the Participants
experienced OptiTrack as slightly better. The experiment also showed that the
Participants had a significantly higher QoE when the level of accuracy needed
in the interaction was low, compared to when the level of accuracy needed was
high
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
- …
