Pub Date : 2024-08-09DOI: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1351794
Cayley Macarthur, Eugene Kukshinov, Daniel Harley, Trisha Pawar, Nirali Modi, Lennart E. Nacke
Social Virtual Reality (SVR) offers new forms of social interaction, identity expression, and embodied experiences, but it has also revealed significant issues related to social inequalities and unequal power dynamics within virtual worlds. Employing a critical, intersectional approach, we investigate how existing power dynamics and inequalities shape individual experiences and interactions in SVR, shedding light on the differences between the ways that dominant groups and marginalized groups (in relation to race and gender specifically) experience SVR. Analyzing qualitative survey data, we discuss the complex relationship between power dynamics and key SVR affordances, including expectations around perceived anonymity, limited options for avatar customization, practices for self-representation, and actions relating to embodied social interactions. Identifying the specific ways that power and privilege are reenacted in virtual environments, our work calls for deeper engagements with the ways that non-dominant identities and experiences continue to be marginalized in SVR.
{"title":"Experiential disparities in social VR: uncovering power dynamics and inequality","authors":"Cayley Macarthur, Eugene Kukshinov, Daniel Harley, Trisha Pawar, Nirali Modi, Lennart E. Nacke","doi":"10.3389/frvir.2024.1351794","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1351794","url":null,"abstract":"Social Virtual Reality (SVR) offers new forms of social interaction, identity expression, and embodied experiences, but it has also revealed significant issues related to social inequalities and unequal power dynamics within virtual worlds. Employing a critical, intersectional approach, we investigate how existing power dynamics and inequalities shape individual experiences and interactions in SVR, shedding light on the differences between the ways that dominant groups and marginalized groups (in relation to race and gender specifically) experience SVR. Analyzing qualitative survey data, we discuss the complex relationship between power dynamics and key SVR affordances, including expectations around perceived anonymity, limited options for avatar customization, practices for self-representation, and actions relating to embodied social interactions. Identifying the specific ways that power and privilege are reenacted in virtual environments, our work calls for deeper engagements with the ways that non-dominant identities and experiences continue to be marginalized in SVR.","PeriodicalId":73116,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in virtual reality","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141924345","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 : 2024-08-08DOI: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1259429
Christian Hirt, Noah Isaak, Christian Holz, Andreas M. Kunz
Real walking is considered as the best locomotion metaphor to explore virtual environments in terms of user experience. In addition to being intuitive for the user, walking captures the true feelings of motion since the visual and proprioceptive sensations are harmonized well. The major disadvantage of choosing walking over other locomotion metaphors involves the physical constraints of the available space, which is usually considerably smaller than the virtual environment. To address this issue, redirected walking (RDW) introduces slight mismatches between a user’s visually perceived path and their actual walking pattern, compelling them to subconsciously compensate for the inconsistency by adjusting their walking trajectory. As a result, users are steered to a certain degree, and expansive virtual environments are effectively compressed into smaller physical spaces. Among others, particularly predictive RDW offers immense potential for growth since it unites various algorithmic systems, whereas many approaches from literature depend on drastic restrictions like single-user constraints or architectural limitations to ensure real-time performance. This work presents two novel predictive RDW systems that allow multiple physically colocated users to explore independent and unconstrained virtual environments. The systems rely on two new implementations of prediction systems based on clothoid trajectory generation combined with a cost-based planning concept built on non-harmonic artificial potential fields (APFs), which inherently allow non-convex and dynamic physical environments. Using the APFs, three additional RDW conditions popular in the literature are implemented for comparison purposes. The five RDW concepts are then validated in an extensive user study with 150 participants conducted in 75 pairs. The results indicate that the novel predictive RDW systems outperform the three systems from literature, except for particular sections of the virtual environment with specific architectural traits.
{"title":"Predictive multiuser redirected walking using artificial potential fields","authors":"Christian Hirt, Noah Isaak, Christian Holz, Andreas M. Kunz","doi":"10.3389/frvir.2024.1259429","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1259429","url":null,"abstract":"Real walking is considered as the best locomotion metaphor to explore virtual environments in terms of user experience. In addition to being intuitive for the user, walking captures the true feelings of motion since the visual and proprioceptive sensations are harmonized well. The major disadvantage of choosing walking over other locomotion metaphors involves the physical constraints of the available space, which is usually considerably smaller than the virtual environment. To address this issue, redirected walking (RDW) introduces slight mismatches between a user’s visually perceived path and their actual walking pattern, compelling them to subconsciously compensate for the inconsistency by adjusting their walking trajectory. As a result, users are steered to a certain degree, and expansive virtual environments are effectively compressed into smaller physical spaces. Among others, particularly predictive RDW offers immense potential for growth since it unites various algorithmic systems, whereas many approaches from literature depend on drastic restrictions like single-user constraints or architectural limitations to ensure real-time performance. This work presents two novel predictive RDW systems that allow multiple physically colocated users to explore independent and unconstrained virtual environments. The systems rely on two new implementations of prediction systems based on clothoid trajectory generation combined with a cost-based planning concept built on non-harmonic artificial potential fields (APFs), which inherently allow non-convex and dynamic physical environments. Using the APFs, three additional RDW conditions popular in the literature are implemented for comparison purposes. The five RDW concepts are then validated in an extensive user study with 150 participants conducted in 75 pairs. The results indicate that the novel predictive RDW systems outperform the three systems from literature, except for particular sections of the virtual environment with specific architectural traits.","PeriodicalId":73116,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in virtual reality","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141927731","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 : 2024-06-04DOI: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1379351
Y. Sawahata, M. Harasawa, K. Komine
This study investigates the effects of multimodal cues on visual field guidance in 360° virtual reality (VR). Although this technology provides highly immersive visual experiences through spontaneous viewing, this capability can disrupt the quality of experience and cause users to miss important objects or scenes. Multimodal cueing using non-visual stimuli to guide the users’ heading, or their visual field, has the potential to preserve the spontaneous viewing experience without interfering with the original content. In this study, we present a visual field guidance method that imparts auditory and haptic stimulations using an artificial electrostatic force that can induce a subtle “fluffy” sensation on the skin. We conducted a visual search experiment in VR, wherein the participants attempted to find visual target stimuli both with and without multimodal cues, to investigate the behavioral characteristics produced by the guidance method. The results showed that the cues aided the participants in locating the target stimuli. However, the performance with simultaneous auditory and electrostatic cues was situated between those obtained when each cue was presented individually (medial effect), and no improvement was observed even when multiple cue stimuli pointed to the same target. In addition, a simulation analysis showed that this intermediate performance can be explained by the integrated perception model; that is, it is caused by an imbalanced perceptual uncertainty in each sensory cue for orienting to the correct view direction. The simulation analysis also showed that an improved performance (synergy effect) can be observed depending on the balance of the uncertainty, suggesting that a relative amount of uncertainty for each cue determines the performance. These results suggest that electrostatic force can be used to guide 360° viewing in VR, and that the performance of visual field guidance can be improved by introducing multimodal cues, the uncertainty of which is modulated to be less than or comparable to that of other cues. Our findings on the conditions that modulate multimodal cueing effects contribute to maximizing the quality of spontaneous 360° viewing experiences with multimodal guidance.
{"title":"Synergy and medial effects of multimodal cueing with auditory and electrostatic force stimuli on visual field guidance in 360° VR","authors":"Y. Sawahata, M. Harasawa, K. Komine","doi":"10.3389/frvir.2024.1379351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1379351","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the effects of multimodal cues on visual field guidance in 360° virtual reality (VR). Although this technology provides highly immersive visual experiences through spontaneous viewing, this capability can disrupt the quality of experience and cause users to miss important objects or scenes. Multimodal cueing using non-visual stimuli to guide the users’ heading, or their visual field, has the potential to preserve the spontaneous viewing experience without interfering with the original content. In this study, we present a visual field guidance method that imparts auditory and haptic stimulations using an artificial electrostatic force that can induce a subtle “fluffy” sensation on the skin. We conducted a visual search experiment in VR, wherein the participants attempted to find visual target stimuli both with and without multimodal cues, to investigate the behavioral characteristics produced by the guidance method. The results showed that the cues aided the participants in locating the target stimuli. However, the performance with simultaneous auditory and electrostatic cues was situated between those obtained when each cue was presented individually (medial effect), and no improvement was observed even when multiple cue stimuli pointed to the same target. In addition, a simulation analysis showed that this intermediate performance can be explained by the integrated perception model; that is, it is caused by an imbalanced perceptual uncertainty in each sensory cue for orienting to the correct view direction. The simulation analysis also showed that an improved performance (synergy effect) can be observed depending on the balance of the uncertainty, suggesting that a relative amount of uncertainty for each cue determines the performance. These results suggest that electrostatic force can be used to guide 360° viewing in VR, and that the performance of visual field guidance can be improved by introducing multimodal cues, the uncertainty of which is modulated to be less than or comparable to that of other cues. Our findings on the conditions that modulate multimodal cueing effects contribute to maximizing the quality of spontaneous 360° viewing experiences with multimodal guidance.","PeriodicalId":73116,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in virtual reality","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141267903","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 : 2024-05-16DOI: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1392825
Jayanth Pratap, Charlotte Laane, Neal Chen, Abhiram Bhashyam
Trauma and orthopedic surgery commonly rely on intraoperative radiography or fluoroscopy, which are essential for visualizing patient anatomy and safely completing surgical procedures. However, these imaging methods generate ionizing radiation, which in high doses carries a potential health risk to patients and operating personnel. There is an established need for formal training in obtaining precise intraoperative imaging while minimizing radiation exposure. Virtual reality (VR) simulation serves as a promising tool for orthopaedic trainees to develop skills in safe intraoperative imaging, without posing harm to patients, operating room staff, or themselves. This paper aims to provide a brief overview of literature surrounding VR training for intraoperative imaging in orthopaedic surgery. In addition, we discuss areas for improvement and future directions for development in the field.
{"title":"Virtual reality training for intraoperative imaging in orthopaedic surgery: an overview of current progress and future direction","authors":"Jayanth Pratap, Charlotte Laane, Neal Chen, Abhiram Bhashyam","doi":"10.3389/frvir.2024.1392825","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1392825","url":null,"abstract":"Trauma and orthopedic surgery commonly rely on intraoperative radiography or fluoroscopy, which are essential for visualizing patient anatomy and safely completing surgical procedures. However, these imaging methods generate ionizing radiation, which in high doses carries a potential health risk to patients and operating personnel. There is an established need for formal training in obtaining precise intraoperative imaging while minimizing radiation exposure. Virtual reality (VR) simulation serves as a promising tool for orthopaedic trainees to develop skills in safe intraoperative imaging, without posing harm to patients, operating room staff, or themselves. This paper aims to provide a brief overview of literature surrounding VR training for intraoperative imaging in orthopaedic surgery. In addition, we discuss areas for improvement and future directions for development in the field.","PeriodicalId":73116,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in virtual reality","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140967277","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 : 2024-05-15DOI: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1290396
Pipsa P. A. Tuominen, Lea A. Saarni
The use of virtual environments in rehabilitation has been growing. The current systematic review aimed to evaluate how and where virtual technologies are combined with music in rehabilitation.A literature search was conducted in seven databases (ACM Digital Library, CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Library, Computer Science database, Medline, Nursing & Allied Health database, and Scopus). It included articles published from 2006 to February 2023. The search followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for study selection. Twelve studies with 160 participants were included in the review. In addition, a descriptive approach was used to gather data from the studies for the areas of interest.Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality were most familiar and used in rehabilitation, but Mixed Reality, and Extended Reality were less studied. It became evident that equipment, diverse applications, assessment metrics, training environments, and methodologies were highly varied. Most of the studies were pilots, the overall quality of included studies was rated moderate, and the risk of bias was high in the included studies. The studies on motor rehabilitation after stroke showed a clinical improvement in hand functions, specifically fractionation. Furthermore, studies that included motivation, adherence, and mental health, slightly supported the idea that VR technologies with music have the potential to promote motivation and exercise adherence, increase positive emotions, and decrease anxiety. In addition, user experience and feasibility studies presented technologies combined with music to be safe and acceptable in rehabilitation.In light of these findings, it can be inferred that virtual technologies with music offer promising avenues for future rehabilitation research. However, some confusion was obtained related to the included studies’ definitions of technologies and management terms. Furthermore, it is important to note the limited number of studies and participants, the heterogeneity among participants, and the overall quality of the studies that restrict the generalizability of these results to a larger population. Therefore, future researchers should define concepts and terms, delve deeper into this area to uncover the potential benefits, and clarify the specific mechanisms through which virtual technologies with music can positively impact rehabilitation outcomes.
{"title":"The use of virtual technologies with music in rehabilitation: a scoping systematic review","authors":"Pipsa P. A. Tuominen, Lea A. Saarni","doi":"10.3389/frvir.2024.1290396","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1290396","url":null,"abstract":"The use of virtual environments in rehabilitation has been growing. The current systematic review aimed to evaluate how and where virtual technologies are combined with music in rehabilitation.A literature search was conducted in seven databases (ACM Digital Library, CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Library, Computer Science database, Medline, Nursing & Allied Health database, and Scopus). It included articles published from 2006 to February 2023. The search followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for study selection. Twelve studies with 160 participants were included in the review. In addition, a descriptive approach was used to gather data from the studies for the areas of interest.Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality were most familiar and used in rehabilitation, but Mixed Reality, and Extended Reality were less studied. It became evident that equipment, diverse applications, assessment metrics, training environments, and methodologies were highly varied. Most of the studies were pilots, the overall quality of included studies was rated moderate, and the risk of bias was high in the included studies. The studies on motor rehabilitation after stroke showed a clinical improvement in hand functions, specifically fractionation. Furthermore, studies that included motivation, adherence, and mental health, slightly supported the idea that VR technologies with music have the potential to promote motivation and exercise adherence, increase positive emotions, and decrease anxiety. In addition, user experience and feasibility studies presented technologies combined with music to be safe and acceptable in rehabilitation.In light of these findings, it can be inferred that virtual technologies with music offer promising avenues for future rehabilitation research. However, some confusion was obtained related to the included studies’ definitions of technologies and management terms. Furthermore, it is important to note the limited number of studies and participants, the heterogeneity among participants, and the overall quality of the studies that restrict the generalizability of these results to a larger population. Therefore, future researchers should define concepts and terms, delve deeper into this area to uncover the potential benefits, and clarify the specific mechanisms through which virtual technologies with music can positively impact rehabilitation outcomes.","PeriodicalId":73116,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in virtual reality","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140976421","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}
We present a novel Virtual Reality (VR) life review therapy system. Life review therapy is an intervention used by clinical psychologists, counselors, and social workers for patients under palliative care to systematically examine various life experiences to resolve conflicts and complete life tasks. The goal of the therapy is to narrativize the patient’s life before death in order to come to terms with their mortality. Our VR life review therapy system allows therapists to perform their interventions in customized virtual spaces designed to encourage the patient to reflect and reminisce about their life experiences. Our system is also developed in response to mobility restrictions and COVID-19 pandemic-related quarantine measures that have separated patients under palliative care from family and friends, resulting in emotional and psychological distress. As VR systems related to health are increasingly being used by therapists in their interventions, it is of utmost importance that the health professionals who will be the end users of these systems are involved in the design process to create ethical healthcare technologies. In response, we initiated the participatory design and evaluation of our VR life review therapy system prototype with six clinical psychologists who have practical experience delivering life review therapy to patients in palliative care in the Hong Kong hospital system. In the study, each participant experienced the VR life review therapy system and evaluated its strengths and weaknesses through semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data gathered from these interviews was coded according to nine different categories; avatars, content design, evaluation, haptic sensations, interaction, gesturing and gaze direction, movement and navigation, non-verbal communication, soundtrack. These conceptual categories were chosen based on our analysis of common themes reported by the clinical psychologists’ experience of the system. Feedback from clinical psychologists on each of these categories was incorporated into the redesign and update of the final system. Overall, participants generally evaluated the system as feasible and effective for use with patients under palliative care, while movement and interaction were the features requiring the most improvement.
{"title":"Participatory design of a virtual reality life review therapy system for palliative care","authors":"Royce Ng, Olive Kit Ling Woo, Daniel Eckhoff, Mengyao Zhu, Antoinette Lee, Alvaro Cassinelli","doi":"10.3389/frvir.2024.1304615","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1304615","url":null,"abstract":"We present a novel Virtual Reality (VR) life review therapy system. Life review therapy is an intervention used by clinical psychologists, counselors, and social workers for patients under palliative care to systematically examine various life experiences to resolve conflicts and complete life tasks. The goal of the therapy is to narrativize the patient’s life before death in order to come to terms with their mortality. Our VR life review therapy system allows therapists to perform their interventions in customized virtual spaces designed to encourage the patient to reflect and reminisce about their life experiences. Our system is also developed in response to mobility restrictions and COVID-19 pandemic-related quarantine measures that have separated patients under palliative care from family and friends, resulting in emotional and psychological distress. As VR systems related to health are increasingly being used by therapists in their interventions, it is of utmost importance that the health professionals who will be the end users of these systems are involved in the design process to create ethical healthcare technologies. In response, we initiated the participatory design and evaluation of our VR life review therapy system prototype with six clinical psychologists who have practical experience delivering life review therapy to patients in palliative care in the Hong Kong hospital system. In the study, each participant experienced the VR life review therapy system and evaluated its strengths and weaknesses through semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data gathered from these interviews was coded according to nine different categories; avatars, content design, evaluation, haptic sensations, interaction, gesturing and gaze direction, movement and navigation, non-verbal communication, soundtrack. These conceptual categories were chosen based on our analysis of common themes reported by the clinical psychologists’ experience of the system. Feedback from clinical psychologists on each of these categories was incorporated into the redesign and update of the final system. Overall, participants generally evaluated the system as feasible and effective for use with patients under palliative care, while movement and interaction were the features requiring the most improvement.","PeriodicalId":73116,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in virtual reality","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140972859","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 : 2024-05-14DOI: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1386460
Mamehgol Yousefi, Stephanie Elena Crowe, Simon Hoermann, Mos Sharifi, Alvaro Romera, Ahmad Shahi, Thammathip Piumsomboon
Attention has increasingly been focused on the potential of Extended Reality (XR) and Embodied Virtual Agents (EVAs) to significantly influence human behaviour. While an expanding body of literature explores the individual impacts of XR and EVAs, there is a noticeable gap in the literature regarding their combined influence on eliciting prosocial behaviour in humans. The purpose of this systematic review is to explore this intersection, offering insights into their multifaceted effects on human prosocial behaviour and the implications for future research and development of EVAs in XR. Our systematic review adopted a scoping approach due to the limited number of studies directly focused on EVAs (i.e., autonomously computer-controlled entities). Despite this, we observed the use of various forms of virtual characters (VCs) to elicit prosocial behaviour. An in-depth analysis of 15 selected studies indicates complex patterns in how XR and VCs affect users’ prosocial behaviour and interactions. Our review suggests that there is promising potential for EVAs to promote prosocial behaviour. However, further research is necessary to identify the design and interaction-related attributes that enhance the effectiveness of these technologies, particularly for socially interactive EVAs in XR environments.
人们越来越关注扩展现实（XR）和嵌入式虚拟代理（EVA）对人类行为产生重大影响的潜力。虽然有越来越多的文献探讨了 XR 和 EVAs 的单独影响，但关于它们对激发人类亲社会行为的综合影响的文献却存在明显空白。本系统性综述的目的就是要探索这两者之间的交叉点，深入了解它们对人类亲社会行为的多方面影响，以及对未来研究和开发 XR 中的 EVA 的影响。由于直接关注 EVA（即自主计算机控制实体）的研究数量有限，我们的系统综述采用了范围界定法。尽管如此，我们还是观察到了使用各种形式的虚拟人物（VCs）来激发亲社会行为的情况。对 15 项选定研究的深入分析表明，XR 和虚拟人物在如何影响用户的亲社会行为和互动方面有着复杂的模式。我们的综述表明，EVA 在促进亲社会行为方面具有广阔的潜力。然而，有必要开展进一步的研究，以确定能够提高这些技术有效性的设计和互动相关属性，特别是 XR 环境中的社交互动 EVA。
{"title":"Advancing prosociality in extended reality: systematic review of the use of embodied virtual agents to trigger prosocial behaviour in extended reality","authors":"Mamehgol Yousefi, Stephanie Elena Crowe, Simon Hoermann, Mos Sharifi, Alvaro Romera, Ahmad Shahi, Thammathip Piumsomboon","doi":"10.3389/frvir.2024.1386460","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1386460","url":null,"abstract":"Attention has increasingly been focused on the potential of Extended Reality (XR) and Embodied Virtual Agents (EVAs) to significantly influence human behaviour. While an expanding body of literature explores the individual impacts of XR and EVAs, there is a noticeable gap in the literature regarding their combined influence on eliciting prosocial behaviour in humans. The purpose of this systematic review is to explore this intersection, offering insights into their multifaceted effects on human prosocial behaviour and the implications for future research and development of EVAs in XR. Our systematic review adopted a scoping approach due to the limited number of studies directly focused on EVAs (i.e., autonomously computer-controlled entities). Despite this, we observed the use of various forms of virtual characters (VCs) to elicit prosocial behaviour. An in-depth analysis of 15 selected studies indicates complex patterns in how XR and VCs affect users’ prosocial behaviour and interactions. Our review suggests that there is promising potential for EVAs to promote prosocial behaviour. However, further research is necessary to identify the design and interaction-related attributes that enhance the effectiveness of these technologies, particularly for socially interactive EVAs in XR environments.","PeriodicalId":73116,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in virtual reality","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140980033","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 : 2024-05-13DOI: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1212216
Emily Payne, Kayli Battel, Nancy A. Baker, Nathan Ward
Immersion is a crucial component to characterizing virtual reality (VR) and discovering its many implications for our lives. Studies have defined immersion as the extent that virtual environments submerge users’ perceptual systems, shut out the physical environments’ inputs, and induce engrossment in users. The present study sought to further understand the applications of immersion in virtual environments by leveraging traditional self-report measures, as well as investigating the use of distraction to quantify immersion objectively. We hypothesized that participants in immersive 3-dimensional VR would self-report higher levels of immersion and engagement compared to a non-VR condition. We also predicted that participants in the VR condition would have impaired responses to a secondary task compared to the non-VR condition. Using a within-subjects design, participants engaged in a VR meditation both on a computer screen (non-VR) and through a VR headset (VR). During the meditations, they completed a secondary detection-response task (DRT) by pressing a button in response to a tactile stimulus. We used DRT reaction times to objectively measure immersion. Following the meditations, participants completed questionnaires regarding their experiences. As predicted, participants reported that the VR condition increased their engagement and presence compared to the non-VR version of the same meditation scenario. With regard to the secondary detection task, we did not find a significant effect of VR on DRT performance, although DRT performance was numerically worse in the VR condition compared to the non-VR condition. These mixed results suggest that the use of a secondary task depends upon several factors, which we discuss.
{"title":"Considerations when trying to quantify immersion with secondary tasks","authors":"Emily Payne, Kayli Battel, Nancy A. Baker, Nathan Ward","doi":"10.3389/frvir.2024.1212216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1212216","url":null,"abstract":"Immersion is a crucial component to characterizing virtual reality (VR) and discovering its many implications for our lives. Studies have defined immersion as the extent that virtual environments submerge users’ perceptual systems, shut out the physical environments’ inputs, and induce engrossment in users. The present study sought to further understand the applications of immersion in virtual environments by leveraging traditional self-report measures, as well as investigating the use of distraction to quantify immersion objectively. We hypothesized that participants in immersive 3-dimensional VR would self-report higher levels of immersion and engagement compared to a non-VR condition. We also predicted that participants in the VR condition would have impaired responses to a secondary task compared to the non-VR condition. Using a within-subjects design, participants engaged in a VR meditation both on a computer screen (non-VR) and through a VR headset (VR). During the meditations, they completed a secondary detection-response task (DRT) by pressing a button in response to a tactile stimulus. We used DRT reaction times to objectively measure immersion. Following the meditations, participants completed questionnaires regarding their experiences. As predicted, participants reported that the VR condition increased their engagement and presence compared to the non-VR version of the same meditation scenario. With regard to the secondary detection task, we did not find a significant effect of VR on DRT performance, although DRT performance was numerically worse in the VR condition compared to the non-VR condition. These mixed results suggest that the use of a secondary task depends upon several factors, which we discuss.","PeriodicalId":73116,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in virtual reality","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140981972","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 : 2024-05-09DOI: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1404890
Max Tretter, Michael Hahn, Peter Dabrock
The release of Apple Vision Pro in early February and the subsequent media coverage have pushed Mixed Reality (MR) and augmenting technologies into public consciousness, raising the question of whether we are moving towards a “smart glasses society” where wearing MR-devices in public becomes commonplace, and regularly engaging with extended realities will be part of our everyday experience. This paper delves into the ethical implications of this potential development, scrutinizing the effects smart glasses may have on our humanity, our relation to the world, and our shared-life world. It calls for a nuanced approach that earnestly engages with these concerns while maintaining a composed outlook, recognizing that many of these issues discussed in the context of immersive technologies, although they seem new, have been with us for quite some time.
二月初苹果公司发布的 Vision Pro 以及随后的媒体报道将混合现实（MR）和增强技术推向了公众的视野，引发了这样一个问题：我们是否正在迈向一个 "智能眼镜社会"，即在公共场合佩戴 MR 设备已成为一种普遍现象，而经常接触扩展现实将成为我们日常体验的一部分。本文深入探讨了这一潜在发展的伦理影响，仔细研究了智能眼镜可能对我们的人性、我们与世界的关系以及我们的共享生活世界产生的影响。本文呼吁采取一种细致入微的方法，在认真对待这些问题的同时保持冷静的观点，认识到在沉浸式技术背景下讨论的许多问题虽然看似新颖，但其实已经存在了相当长的时间。
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