Pub Date : 2024-02-19DOI: 10.3390/computers13020056
Hancheng Zuo, Bernard Tiddeman
In this paper, we investigate the inpainting of normal maps that were captured from a lightstage. Occlusion of parts of the face during performance capture can be caused by the movement of, e.g., arms, hair, or props. Inpainting is the process of interpolating missing areas of an image with plausible data. We build on previous works about general image inpainting that use generative adversarial networks (GANs). We extend our previous work on normal map inpainting to use a U-Net structured generator network. Our method takes into account the nature of the normal map data and so requires modification of the loss function. We use a cosine loss rather than the more common mean squared error loss when training the generator. Due to the small amount of training data available, even when using synthetic datasets, we require significant augmentation, which also needs to take account of the particular nature of the input data. Image flipping and inplane rotations need to properly flip and rotate the normal vectors. During training, we monitor key performance metrics including the average loss, structural similarity index measure (SSIM), and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of the generator, alongside the average loss and accuracy of the discriminator. Our analysis reveals that the proposed model generates high-quality, realistic inpainted normal maps, demonstrating the potential for application to performance capture. The results of this investigation provide a baseline on which future researchers can build with more advanced networks and comparison with inpainting of the source images used to generate the normal maps.
{"title":"A U-Net Architecture for Inpainting Lightstage Normal Maps","authors":"Hancheng Zuo, Bernard Tiddeman","doi":"10.3390/computers13020056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13020056","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we investigate the inpainting of normal maps that were captured from a lightstage. Occlusion of parts of the face during performance capture can be caused by the movement of, e.g., arms, hair, or props. Inpainting is the process of interpolating missing areas of an image with plausible data. We build on previous works about general image inpainting that use generative adversarial networks (GANs). We extend our previous work on normal map inpainting to use a U-Net structured generator network. Our method takes into account the nature of the normal map data and so requires modification of the loss function. We use a cosine loss rather than the more common mean squared error loss when training the generator. Due to the small amount of training data available, even when using synthetic datasets, we require significant augmentation, which also needs to take account of the particular nature of the input data. Image flipping and inplane rotations need to properly flip and rotate the normal vectors. During training, we monitor key performance metrics including the average loss, structural similarity index measure (SSIM), and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of the generator, alongside the average loss and accuracy of the discriminator. Our analysis reveals that the proposed model generates high-quality, realistic inpainted normal maps, demonstrating the potential for application to performance capture. The results of this investigation provide a baseline on which future researchers can build with more advanced networks and comparison with inpainting of the source images used to generate the normal maps.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"186 ","pages":"56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140449806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-18DOI: 10.3390/computers13020054
Georgios Lambropoulos, S. Mitropoulos, C. Douligeris, Leandros A. Maglaras
The widespread adoption of cloud computing has resulted in centralized datacenter structures; however, there is a requirement for smaller-scale distributed infrastructures to meet the demands for speed, responsiveness, and security for critical applications. Single-Board Computers (SBCs) present numerous advantages such as low power consumption, low cost, minimal heat emission, and high processing power, making them suitable for applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT), experimentation, and other advanced projects. This paper investigates the possibility of adopting virtualization technology on Single-Board Computers (SBCs) for the implementation of reliable and cost-efficient edge-computing environments.The results of this study are based on experimental implementations and testing conducted in the course of a case study performed on the edge infrastructure of a financial organization, where workload migration was achieved from a traditional to an SBC-based edge infrastructure. The performance of the two infrastructures was studied and compared during this process, providing important insights into the power efficiency gains, resource utilization, and overall suitability for the organization’s operational needs.
{"title":"Implementing Virtualization on Single-Board Computers: A Case Study on Edge Computing","authors":"Georgios Lambropoulos, S. Mitropoulos, C. Douligeris, Leandros A. Maglaras","doi":"10.3390/computers13020054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13020054","url":null,"abstract":"The widespread adoption of cloud computing has resulted in centralized datacenter structures; however, there is a requirement for smaller-scale distributed infrastructures to meet the demands for speed, responsiveness, and security for critical applications. Single-Board Computers (SBCs) present numerous advantages such as low power consumption, low cost, minimal heat emission, and high processing power, making them suitable for applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT), experimentation, and other advanced projects. This paper investigates the possibility of adopting virtualization technology on Single-Board Computers (SBCs) for the implementation of reliable and cost-efficient edge-computing environments.The results of this study are based on experimental implementations and testing conducted in the course of a case study performed on the edge infrastructure of a financial organization, where workload migration was achieved from a traditional to an SBC-based edge infrastructure. The performance of the two infrastructures was studied and compared during this process, providing important insights into the power efficiency gains, resource utilization, and overall suitability for the organization’s operational needs.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"34 1","pages":"54"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140452867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-18DOI: 10.3390/computers13020055
Alaa Eleyan, Ebrahim Alboghbaish
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) like arrhythmia and heart failure remain the world’s leading cause of death. These conditions can be triggered by high blood pressure, diabetes, and simply the passage of time. The early detection of these heart issues, despite substantial advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and technology, is still a significant challenge. This research addresses this hurdle by developing a deep-learning-based system that is capable of predicting arrhythmias and heart failure from abnormalities in electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. The system leverages a model that combines long short-term memory (LSTM) networks with convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Extensive experiments were conducted using ECG data from both the MIT-BIH and BIDMC databases under two scenarios. The first scenario employed data from five distinct ECG classes, while the second focused on classifying data from three classes. The results from both scenarios demonstrated that the proposed deep-learning-based classification approach outperformed existing methods.
{"title":"Electrocardiogram Signals Classification Using Deep-Learning-Based Incorporated Convolutional Neural Network and Long Short-Term Memory Framework","authors":"Alaa Eleyan, Ebrahim Alboghbaish","doi":"10.3390/computers13020055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13020055","url":null,"abstract":"Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) like arrhythmia and heart failure remain the world’s leading cause of death. These conditions can be triggered by high blood pressure, diabetes, and simply the passage of time. The early detection of these heart issues, despite substantial advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and technology, is still a significant challenge. This research addresses this hurdle by developing a deep-learning-based system that is capable of predicting arrhythmias and heart failure from abnormalities in electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. The system leverages a model that combines long short-term memory (LSTM) networks with convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Extensive experiments were conducted using ECG data from both the MIT-BIH and BIDMC databases under two scenarios. The first scenario employed data from five distinct ECG classes, while the second focused on classifying data from three classes. The results from both scenarios demonstrated that the proposed deep-learning-based classification approach outperformed existing methods.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"33 2","pages":"55"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140452871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-17DOI: 10.3390/computation12020037
A. Lopato, Pavel Utkin
The propagation of detonation waves (i.e., supersonic combustion waves) in non-uniform gaseous mixtures has become a matter of interest over the past several years due to the development of rotating detonation engines. It was shown in a number of recent theoretical studies of one-dimensional pulsating detonation that perturbation of the parameters in front of the detonation wave can lead to a resonant amplification of intrinsic pulsations for a certain range of perturbation wavelengths. This work is dedicated to the clarification of the mechanism of this effect. One-dimensional reactive Euler equations with single-step Arrhenius kinetics were solved. Detonation propagation in a gas with sine waves in density was simulated in a shock-attached frame of reference. We carried out a series of simulations, varying the wavelength of the disturbances. We obtained a non-linear dependence of the amplitude of these pulsations on the wavelength of disturbances with resonant amplification for a certain range of wavelengths. The gain in velocity was about 25% of the Chapman–Jouguet velocity of the stable detonation wave. The effect is explained using the characteristic analysis in the x-t diagram. For the resonant case, we correlated the pulsation period with the time it takes for the C+ and C− characteristics to travel through the effective reaction zone. A similar pulsation mechanism is realized when a detonation wave propagates in a homogeneous medium.
{"title":"The Mechanism of Resonant Amplification of One-Dimensional Detonation Propagating in a Non-Uniform Mixture","authors":"A. Lopato, Pavel Utkin","doi":"10.3390/computation12020037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computation12020037","url":null,"abstract":"The propagation of detonation waves (i.e., supersonic combustion waves) in non-uniform gaseous mixtures has become a matter of interest over the past several years due to the development of rotating detonation engines. It was shown in a number of recent theoretical studies of one-dimensional pulsating detonation that perturbation of the parameters in front of the detonation wave can lead to a resonant amplification of intrinsic pulsations for a certain range of perturbation wavelengths. This work is dedicated to the clarification of the mechanism of this effect. One-dimensional reactive Euler equations with single-step Arrhenius kinetics were solved. Detonation propagation in a gas with sine waves in density was simulated in a shock-attached frame of reference. We carried out a series of simulations, varying the wavelength of the disturbances. We obtained a non-linear dependence of the amplitude of these pulsations on the wavelength of disturbances with resonant amplification for a certain range of wavelengths. The gain in velocity was about 25% of the Chapman–Jouguet velocity of the stable detonation wave. The effect is explained using the characteristic analysis in the x-t diagram. For the resonant case, we correlated the pulsation period with the time it takes for the C+ and C− characteristics to travel through the effective reaction zone. A similar pulsation mechanism is realized when a detonation wave propagates in a homogeneous medium.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"168 ","pages":"37"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140453363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-31DOI: 10.3390/computers13020041
Parisasadat Shojaei, Elena Vlahu-Gjorgievska, Yang-Wai Chow
Health information systems (HISs) have immense value for healthcare institutions, as they provide secure storage, efficient retrieval, insightful analysis, seamless exchange, and collaborative sharing of patient health information. HISs are implemented to meet patient needs, as well as to ensure the security and privacy of medical data, including confidentiality, integrity, and availability, which are necessary to achieve high-quality healthcare services. This systematic literature review identifies various technologies and methods currently employed to enhance the security and privacy of medical data within HISs. Various technologies have been utilized to enhance the security and privacy of healthcare information, such as the IoT, blockchain, mobile health applications, cloud computing, and combined technologies. This study also identifies three key security aspects, namely, secure access control, data sharing, and data storage, and discusses the challenges faced in each aspect that must be enhanced to ensure the security and privacy of patient information in HISs.
医疗信息系统（HIS）为医疗机构提供了安全存储、高效检索、深入分析、无缝交换和协作共享病人健康信息的功能，因此具有巨大的价值。实施 HIS 系统是为了满足患者的需求，并确保医疗数据的安全性和隐私性，包括保密性、完整性和可用性，这些都是实现高质量医疗服务的必要条件。本系统性文献综述指出了目前为提高医疗信息系统内医疗数据的安全性和隐私性而采用的各种技术和方法。各种技术已被用于增强医疗保健信息的安全性和隐私性，如物联网、区块链、移动医疗应用、云计算和组合技术。本研究还确定了三个关键的安全方面，即安全访问控制、数据共享和数据存储，并讨论了每个方面所面临的挑战，这些挑战必须得到加强，以确保 HIS 中患者信息的安全性和隐私性。
{"title":"Security and Privacy of Technologies in Health Information Systems: A Systematic Literature Review","authors":"Parisasadat Shojaei, Elena Vlahu-Gjorgievska, Yang-Wai Chow","doi":"10.3390/computers13020041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13020041","url":null,"abstract":"Health information systems (HISs) have immense value for healthcare institutions, as they provide secure storage, efficient retrieval, insightful analysis, seamless exchange, and collaborative sharing of patient health information. HISs are implemented to meet patient needs, as well as to ensure the security and privacy of medical data, including confidentiality, integrity, and availability, which are necessary to achieve high-quality healthcare services. This systematic literature review identifies various technologies and methods currently employed to enhance the security and privacy of medical data within HISs. Various technologies have been utilized to enhance the security and privacy of healthcare information, such as the IoT, blockchain, mobile health applications, cloud computing, and combined technologies. This study also identifies three key security aspects, namely, secure access control, data sharing, and data storage, and discusses the challenges faced in each aspect that must be enhanced to ensure the security and privacy of patient information in HISs.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"12 ","pages":"41"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140478062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-31DOI: 10.3390/computers13020042
Beatriz Miranda, P. Rego, Luís Romero, Pedro Miguel Moreira
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that requires the use of cognitive treatments to decrease symptoms in which the use of medication is less effective. Innovative strategies such as the use of Virtual Reality (VR) are being tested, but there is still a long way into developing solutions as effective as the current conventional forms of treatment. To study more effective forms of developing these systems, an immersive VR game with a tutorial and two levels of difficulty was developed. Tests were performed in twenty-one healthy subjects, showing promising results, indicating VR’s potential as a complementary approach to conventional treatments for schizophrenia. When properly applied, the use of VR could lead to more efficient and accessible treatments, potentially reducing its costs and reaching a broader population.
{"title":"Application of Immersive VR Serious Games in the Treatment of Schizophrenia Negative Symptoms","authors":"Beatriz Miranda, P. Rego, Luís Romero, Pedro Miguel Moreira","doi":"10.3390/computers13020042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13020042","url":null,"abstract":"Schizophrenia is a mental illness that requires the use of cognitive treatments to decrease symptoms in which the use of medication is less effective. Innovative strategies such as the use of Virtual Reality (VR) are being tested, but there is still a long way into developing solutions as effective as the current conventional forms of treatment. To study more effective forms of developing these systems, an immersive VR game with a tutorial and two levels of difficulty was developed. Tests were performed in twenty-one healthy subjects, showing promising results, indicating VR’s potential as a complementary approach to conventional treatments for schizophrenia. When properly applied, the use of VR could lead to more efficient and accessible treatments, potentially reducing its costs and reaching a broader population.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"385 ","pages":"42"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140470810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-31DOI: 10.3390/computation12020022
Robert S. Eisenberg
Maxwell defined a ‘true’ or ‘total’ current in a way not widely used today. He said that “… true electric current … is not the same thing as the current of conduction but that the time-variation of the electric displacement must be taken into account in estimating the total movement of electricity”. We show that the true or total current is a universal property of electrodynamics independent of the properties of matter. We use mathematics without the approximation of a dielectric constant. The resulting Maxwell current law is a generalization of the Kirchhoff law of current used in circuit analysis, that also includes the displacement current. The generalization is not a long-time low-frequency approximation in contrast to the traditional presentation of Kirchhoff’s law.
{"title":"Maxwell's True Current","authors":"Robert S. Eisenberg","doi":"10.3390/computation12020022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computation12020022","url":null,"abstract":"Maxwell defined a ‘true’ or ‘total’ current in a way not widely used today. He said that “… true electric current … is not the same thing as the current of conduction but that the time-variation of the electric displacement must be taken into account in estimating the total movement of electricity”. We show that the true or total current is a universal property of electrodynamics independent of the properties of matter. We use mathematics without the approximation of a dielectric constant. The resulting Maxwell current law is a generalization of the Kirchhoff law of current used in circuit analysis, that also includes the displacement current. The generalization is not a long-time low-frequency approximation in contrast to the traditional presentation of Kirchhoff’s law.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"1 6","pages":"22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140478417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-31DOI: 10.3390/computation12020023
Carlos Balsa, Victoria Otero-Espinar, S. Gama
This work focuses on optimizing the displacement of a passive particle interacting with vortices located on the surface of a sphere. The goal is to minimize the energy expended during the displacement within a fixed time. The modeling of particle dynamics, whether in Cartesian or spherical coordinates, gives rise to alternative formulations of the identical problem. Thanks to these two versions of the same problem, we can assert that the algorithm, employed to transform the optimal control problem into an optimization problem, is effective, as evidenced by the obtained controls. The numerical resolution of these formulations through a direct approach consistently produces optimal solutions, regardless of the selected coordinate system.
{"title":"Exploring Controlled Passive Particle Motion Driven by Point Vortices on a Sphere","authors":"Carlos Balsa, Victoria Otero-Espinar, S. Gama","doi":"10.3390/computation12020023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computation12020023","url":null,"abstract":"This work focuses on optimizing the displacement of a passive particle interacting with vortices located on the surface of a sphere. The goal is to minimize the energy expended during the displacement within a fixed time. The modeling of particle dynamics, whether in Cartesian or spherical coordinates, gives rise to alternative formulations of the identical problem. Thanks to these two versions of the same problem, we can assert that the algorithm, employed to transform the optimal control problem into an optimization problem, is effective, as evidenced by the obtained controls. The numerical resolution of these formulations through a direct approach consistently produces optimal solutions, regardless of the selected coordinate system.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"308 ","pages":"23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140473779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-29DOI: 10.3390/computers13020039
G. Gledec, Mladen Sokele, M. Horvat, M. Mikuc
This paper introduces a novel approach to the creation and application of confusion matrices for error pattern discovery in spellchecking for the Croatian language. The experimental dataset has been derived from a corpus of mistyped words and user corrections collected since 2008 using the Croatian spellchecker available at ispravi.me. The important role of confusion matrices in enhancing the precision of spellcheckers, particularly within the diverse linguistic context of the Croatian language, is investigated. Common causes of spelling errors, emphasizing the challenges posed by diacritic usage, have been identified and analyzed. This research contributes to the advancement of spellchecking technologies and provides a more comprehensive understanding of linguistic details, particularly in languages with diacritic-rich orthographies, like Croatian. The presented user-data-driven approach demonstrates the potential for custom spellchecking solutions, especially considering the ever-changing dynamics of language use in digital communication.
{"title":"Error Pattern Discovery in Spellchecking Using Multi-Class Confusion Matrix Analysis for the Croatian Language","authors":"G. Gledec, Mladen Sokele, M. Horvat, M. Mikuc","doi":"10.3390/computers13020039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13020039","url":null,"abstract":"This paper introduces a novel approach to the creation and application of confusion matrices for error pattern discovery in spellchecking for the Croatian language. The experimental dataset has been derived from a corpus of mistyped words and user corrections collected since 2008 using the Croatian spellchecker available at ispravi.me. The important role of confusion matrices in enhancing the precision of spellcheckers, particularly within the diverse linguistic context of the Croatian language, is investigated. Common causes of spelling errors, emphasizing the challenges posed by diacritic usage, have been identified and analyzed. This research contributes to the advancement of spellchecking technologies and provides a more comprehensive understanding of linguistic details, particularly in languages with diacritic-rich orthographies, like Croatian. The presented user-data-driven approach demonstrates the potential for custom spellchecking solutions, especially considering the ever-changing dynamics of language use in digital communication.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"19 1","pages":"39"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140490330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-29DOI: 10.3390/computers13020040
Diego Johnson, Brayan Mamani, Cesar Salas Arbaiza
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education has accelerated the shift in learning paradigms toward synchronous and asynchronous online approaches, significantly reducing students’ social interactions. This study introduces CollabVR, as a social virtual reality (SVR) platform designed to improve social interaction among remote university students through extracurricular activities (ECAs). Leveraging technologies such as Unity3D for the development of the SVR environment, Photon Unity Networking for real-time participant connection, Oculus Quest 2 for immersive virtual reality experience, and AWS for efficient and scalable system performance, it aims to mitigate this social interaction deficit. The platform was tested using the sociability scale of Kreijns et al., comparing it with traditional online platforms. Results from a focus group in Lima, Peru, with students participating in online ECAs, demonstrated that CollabVR significantly improved participants perceived social interaction, with a mean of 4.65 ± 0.49 compared to traditional platforms with a mean of 2.35 ± 0.75, fostering a sense of community and improving communication. The study highlights the potential of CollabVR as a powerful tool to overcome socialization challenges in virtual learning environments, suggesting a more immersive and engaging approach to distance education.
{"title":"CollabVR: VR Testing for Increasing Social Interaction between College Students","authors":"Diego Johnson, Brayan Mamani, Cesar Salas Arbaiza","doi":"10.3390/computers13020040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13020040","url":null,"abstract":"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education has accelerated the shift in learning paradigms toward synchronous and asynchronous online approaches, significantly reducing students’ social interactions. This study introduces CollabVR, as a social virtual reality (SVR) platform designed to improve social interaction among remote university students through extracurricular activities (ECAs). Leveraging technologies such as Unity3D for the development of the SVR environment, Photon Unity Networking for real-time participant connection, Oculus Quest 2 for immersive virtual reality experience, and AWS for efficient and scalable system performance, it aims to mitigate this social interaction deficit. The platform was tested using the sociability scale of Kreijns et al., comparing it with traditional online platforms. Results from a focus group in Lima, Peru, with students participating in online ECAs, demonstrated that CollabVR significantly improved participants perceived social interaction, with a mean of 4.65 ± 0.49 compared to traditional platforms with a mean of 2.35 ± 0.75, fostering a sense of community and improving communication. The study highlights the potential of CollabVR as a powerful tool to overcome socialization challenges in virtual learning environments, suggesting a more immersive and engaging approach to distance education.","PeriodicalId":10526,"journal":{"name":"Comput.","volume":"57 52","pages":"40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140487207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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