Investigation of fMRI protocol for evaluation of Gestural Interaction applied to upper-limb motor improvement

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) systems for rehabilitation treatment as a complement to conventional therapy has grown in recent years. Upper limbs therapy using VR has already been shown useful for stroke patients. In this work, we present a pilot study aiming to investigate the use of a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) protocol to analyze brain connectivity changes in subjects undergoing upper limb training through a VR environment. Thirteen healthy subjects underwent resting-state fMRI exams before and after a VR session. Although no significant changes are expected in healthy subjects performing only one training session, this study could pave the way for future studies performed with both stroke patients or athletes performing more sessions. Indeed, no significant changes in motor cortex connectivity were found. Nonetheless, an evaluation protocol for this type of VR rehabilitation procedure was successfully established, to be used in further studies with patients or athletes

The software-simulated airworld: anticipatory code and affective aeromobilities

This paper is concerned with the way in which airspaces are organised, managed, and understood by virtual representations - software simulations that are tested and used both preemptively and in real time. We suggest that, while airspaces are often understood as simulations themselves - models and blueprints for real-world futuresöthey are among the most mediated of all contemporary social environments, produced not only through code, but based on scenarios which predict and plan for future events - real virtualities that might come true. Drawing on historical and contemporary examples of aeronautical software simulation employed by civilian and military aviation, we explore how code has become increasingly sophisticated and ubiquitous in response to the challenges set by the mobilities the simulations model and the affective susceptibility of the corporeal body that uses them. The paper explores how software simulations work to structure and mediate behaviour by producing specific emotional and affective experiences in order to prepare the body for future encounters

Design semantics of connections in a smart home environment

As the environments in which we live become more intelligent— through more computational power, embedded sensors and network connections between the devices that reside in the environment—there is a risk of leaving its users clueless about what is going on. User interaction changes from interaction with a single device into interaction with a larger system— an ecology of things. Physical things are becoming mediators between the physical world and the digital, invisible world that is inside and behind them. The work we present in this article is part of ongoing academic research on using explicit design semantics to convey abstracted models of connections between devices in a smart home environment. This enables users to understand and construct meaningful mental models of the smart environment and interact with it accordingly. We illustrate our findings by presenting a demonstrator that gives users physical control over invisible, wireless connections between devices in a home entertainment scenario

Exploring the potential usefulness of binary space partitions in architectural representations

There have been recent advances developed within the computer gaming industry that have made real-time first-person perspective spatial experiences feasible on the personal computer. Principally through the use of binary space partition tree structures, developers of threedimensional gaming environments are able to convey to computer users a convincing sense of movement through space. The technology behind these advances may be termed as a particularization of Virtual Reality. This paper will outline research intended to determine the possible usefulness of binary space partitions in the fields of architectural education and practice. The feasibility of this technology was studied by directly observing original experimentation in practical application, which was conducted primarily in the Imaging Laboratory at the New Jersey School of Architecture. In addition, this paper references existing theories and experiencebased expositions on the application of computer technology to architectural design and representation, with particular regard to the use of generalized virtual reality

In the Beginning was the Deed: From Sensorimotor Interactions to Integrative Spatial Encodings

Goal-oriented behavior requires reliable predictions regarding action outcomes. The theory of event segmentation and the free energy principle allow to derive hypotheses regarding the formation and maintenance of predictive models and their representational format. According to the free energy principle, cognitive systems constantly try to infer the causes of perceived sensations. This results in the formation of predictive models based on sensorimotor experience. Even if there is an ongoing debate regarding the representational format of these models, an integrative spatial code, which integrates different modalities in an abstract representation seems plausible. The integration process is assumed to be biased towards behaviorally relevant modalities. Moreover, a striving for consistency is assumed to maintain unambiguous states. Besides the representational format, the prediction process itself is of central interest. According to the event segmentation theory, cognitive systems segment the stream of sensorimotor information along significant changes, so-called event boundaries. Hence, it seems likely that predictions are carried out in terms of a simulation of the next, desired event boundary within the proposed integrative spatial code. The spatial code might support mental simulation in general, providing sensorimotor grounding to higher cognitive functions – as proposed by theories of embodied cognition. The proposed properties of the integrative spatial code were investigated in four studies, concerning the questions (i) whether multisensory integration is biased towards action-relevant modalities, (ii) how representations are kept consistent across frames of reference in case of multisensory conflict, (iii) if predictive models provide an anticipatory, event-like structure in the service of behavior control, and (iv) how different modalities are combined through a spatial code in the service of predictive simulations. The obtained results confirm the assumptions regarding the proposed integrative spatial code. The combination of the free energy principle and the theory of event segmentation seems a viable approach to account for the emergence of a predictive, integrative spatial code from sensorimotor interactions. The results allow the derivation of design principles for an artificial spatial reasoning system and the developed experimental paradigms allow further investigations of the causal role of spatial models in higher cognitive functions

Total Immersion: Virtual Reality\u27s Path to Mass Adoption

With the release of devices such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Google Daydream in 2016, virtual reality seems poised to take over the tech and media landscape. Professional estimates of the projected popularity of these devices span extremely wide ranges, and many of these predictions fall victim to a self-serving bias. The purpose of this research is to identify the variables that affect the spread of the use of virtual reality, and to analyze how the characteristics of modern virtual reality relate to these variables. The framework used to identify and assess these variables comes from Everett Rogers’s seminal Diffusion of Innovations theory. To contextualize modern day VR, the paper include a brief history of the technology and relevant predecessors. It also compares and contrasts the diverse VR offerings on the market today. After analyzing virtual reality through the principles of the Diffusion of Innovations theory, it is clear that many factors are slowing VR’s rate of adoption, and that near-future estimates of the spread of the technology should be conservative. Despite this, the benefits of VR as seen through Rogers’s lens suggest that the long term view of the platform is much more optimistic