Using virtual worlds for online role-play

The paper explores the use of virtual worlds to support online role-play as a collaborative activity. This paper describes some of the challenges involved in building online role-play environments in a virtual world and presents some of the ideas being explored by the project in the role-play applications being developed. Finally we explore how this can be used within the context of immersive education and 3D collaborative environments

Tangible user interfaces : past, present and future directions

In the last two decades, Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have emerged as a new interface type that interlinks the digital and physical worlds. Drawing upon users' knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, TUIs show a potential to enhance the way in which people interact with and leverage digital information. However, TUI research is still in its infancy and extensive research is required in or- der to fully understand the implications of tangible user interfaces, to develop technologies that further bridge the digital and the physical, and to guide TUI design with empirical knowledge. This paper examines the existing body of work on Tangible User In- terfaces. We start by sketching the history of tangible user interfaces, examining the intellectual origins of this field. We then present TUIs in a broader context, survey application domains, and review frame- works and taxonomies. We also discuss conceptual foundations of TUIs including perspectives from cognitive sciences, phycology, and philoso- phy. Methods and technologies for designing, building, and evaluating TUIs are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limita- tions of TUIs and chart directions for future research

The Design And Evaluation Of A Video Game To Help Train Perspective-taking And Empathy In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This paper discusses the design, implementation, and evaluation of a serious game intended to reinforce applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques used with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by providing a low cost and easily accessible supplement to traditional methods. Past and recent research strongly supports the use of computer assisted instruction in the education of individuals with ASD (Moore & Calvert, 2000; Noor, Shahbodin, & Pee, 2012). Computer games have been shown to boost confidence and provide calming mechanisms (Griffiths, 2003) while being a safe environment for social exploration and learning (Moore, Cheng, McGrath, & Powell, 2005). Games increase children\u27s motivation and thus increase the rate of learning in computer mediated environments (Moore & Calvert, 2000). Furthermore, children with ASD are able to understand basic emotions and facial expressions in avatars more easily than in real-world interactions (Moore, Cheng, McGrath, & Powell, 2005). Perspective-taking (also known as role-taking) has been shown to be a crucial component and antecedent to empathy (Gomez-Becerra, Martin, Chavez-Brown, & Greer, 2007; Peng, Lee, & Heeter, 2010). Though symptoms vary across children with ASD, perspective-taking and empathy are abilities that have been shown to be limited across a wide spectrum of individuals with ASD and Asperger\u27s disorder (Gomez-Becerra, Martin, Chavez-Brown, & Greer, 2007). A game called WUBeeS was developed to aid young children with ASD in perspective taking and empathy by placing the player in the role of a caregiver to a virtual avatar. It is hypothesized that through the playing of this game over a series of trials, children with ASD will show an iv increase in the ability to discriminate emotions, provide appropriate responses to basic needs (e.g. feeding the avatar when it is hungry), and be able to communicate more clearly about emotions

Visual communication in urban planning and urban design

This report documents the current status of visual communication in urban design and planning. Visual communication is examined through discussion of standalone and network media, specifically concentrating on visualisation on the World Wide Web(WWW).Firstly, we examine the use of Solid and Geometric Modelling for visualising urban planning and urban design. This report documents and compares examples of the use of Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) and proprietary WWW based Virtual Reality modelling software. Examples include the modelling of Bath and Glasgow using both VRML 1.0 and 2.0. A review is carried out on the use of Virtual Worldsand their role in visualising urban form within multi-user environments. The use of Virtual Worlds is developed into a case study of the possibilities and limitations of Virtual Internet Design Arenas (ViDAs), an initiative undertaken at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London. The use of Virtual Worlds and their development towards ViDAs is seen as one of the most important developments in visual communication for urban planning and urban design since the development plan.Secondly, photorealistic media in the process of communicating plans is examined.The process of creating photorealistic media is documented, examples of the Virtual Streetscape and Wired Whitehall Virtual Urban Interface System are provided. The conclusion is drawn that although the use of photo-realistic media on the WWW provides a way to visually communicate planning information, its use is limited. The merging of photorealistic media and solid geometric modelling is reviewed in the creation of Augmented Reality. Augmented Reality is seen to provide an important step forward in the ability to quickly and easily visualise urban planning and urban design information.Thirdly, the role of visual communication of planning data through GIS is examined interms of desktop, three dimensional and Internet based GIS systems. The evolution to Internet GIS is seen as a critical component in the development of virtual cities which will allow urban planners and urban designers to visualise and model the complexity of the built environment in networked virtual reality.Finally a viewpoint is put forward of the Virtual City, linking Internet GIS with photorealistic multi-user Virtual Worlds. At present there are constraints on how far virtual cities can be developed, but a view is provided on how these networked virtual worlds are developing to aid visual communication in urban planning and urban design

A Pedagogy for Original Synners

Part of the Volume on Digital Young, Innovation, and the UnexpectedThis essay begins by speculating about the learning environment of the class of 2020. It takes place entirely in a virtual world, populated by simulated avatars, managed through the pedagogy of gaming. Based on this projected version of a future-now-in-formation, the authors consider the implications of the current paradigm shift that is happening at the edges of institutions of higher education. From the development of programs in multimedia literacy to the focus on the creation of hybrid learning spaces (that combine the use of virtual worlds, social networking applications, and classroom activities), the scene of learning as well as the subjects of education are changing. The figure of the Original Synner is a projection of the student-of-the-future whose foundational literacy is grounded in their ability to synthesize information from multiple information streams

VR cooperative environments for the interpretation and reconstruction of the archaeological landscape

[ES] The Internet 2.0 has diffused a new approach enhancing creativity, multimedia communication, information sharing, cooperation: millions of people in the world are expressing the will to interconnect, co-create digital contents and share experience in the cyberspace. The possibility to develop complex dynamics of interaction inside the virtual domain are determining new scenarios in the field of cultural transmission. In this paper two case studies will be presented: the “Integrated Technologies of robotics and virtual environment in archaeology” project (supported by the Italian Ministry of Research), and the “Virtual Rome” project, two virtual collaborative environments in the web for the interpretation, reconstruction and 3D exploration of archaeological contexts.Pietroni, E.; Pescarin, S. (2010). VR cooperative environments for the interpretation and reconstruction of the archaeological landscape. Virtual Archaeology Review. 1(2):25-29. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2010.4680OJS252912ANNUNZIATO M., BONINI E., PIERUCCI P.,, PIETRONI E. (2008): "Cultural mirrors: an epistemological approach to artificial life for cultural heritage communication", in Proceedings DMACH 2008, Digital Media and its Applications in Cultural Heritage, 3-6 November, 2008, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan.FORTE M. e AA.VV (2008). "La Villa di Livia, un percorso di ricerca di archeologia virtuale", ed. Erma di Bretschneider, Roma.FORTE M, PESCARIN S., PIETRONI E. (2005): "The Appia Antica Project". In The reconstruction of Archaeological Landscapes through Digital Technologies, Forte M. Ed., BAR Int. Series.pp. 79-92GEROSA M. (2006): Second Life, Meltemi, RomeJONES Q. (2003): "Applying Cyber-Archaeology", in Proceedings of the eighth European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, Helsinki, Finland, pp. 41-60. http://www.ecscw.org/2003/003Jones_ecscw03.pdfMATURANA H., VARELA F. (1980): "Autopoiesis and Cognition: The Realization of the Living", in: Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, ed. by Robert S. Cohen and Marx W. Wartofsky, vol. 42, Dordecht (Holland): D. Reidel Publishing Co. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8947-4PESCARIN S. ET ALII (2008): "Back to 2nd AD". In VAST 2008 Proceedings., Braga Portugal, 2008SCHROEDER R. (1997): "Networked Worlds: Social Aspects of Multi-User Virtual Reality Technology", in Sociological Research Online, vol. 2, no. 4. http://www.socresonline.org.uk/2/4/5.html http://dx.doi.org/10.5153/sro.291ZEKI S. (1999): "Inner Vision". Oxford Univ. Press

New Tools in Social Practice: Learning, Medical Education and 3D Environments

Learning with different kinds of ICT-based tools is an important issue in today's society. In this article we focus on how design of technology rich environments based on state of the art learning principles can give us new insights about how learning occur, and how we can develop new types of learning environments. Medical education constitutes the subject domain. There has been a considerable effort to develop 3D technologies in this field, and the article provides a careful review of how these technologies are applied. There is, however, a substantial gap between these advances and the use of technologies in medical education. Related work proposes individualistic assumptions or metaphors that do not focus explicitly on learning and technology mediation. Based on theoretical analysis of previous literature in the field we argue that there is a need for a new unit of analysis that includes the relationship between individual and collective activity and the role of technology herein. The socio-cultural and especially activity theory is taken as the perspective which gives the possibility to develop the argumentation about the unit of analysis. The unit of analysis also has implications for design of 3D environments. The design principles are elaborated upon and examples are given in relation to an application called Matador (Medical Advanced Training in an Artificial Distributed Environment). Matador is aimed at developing a simulation environment for training in emergency medicine