Virtual Reality

At present, the virtual reality has impact on information organization and management and even changes design principle of information systems, which will make it adapt to application requirements. The book aims to provide a broader perspective of virtual reality on development and application. First part of the book is named as "virtual reality visualization and vision" and includes new developments in virtual reality visualization of 3D scenarios, virtual reality and vision, high fidelity immersive virtual reality included tracking, rendering and display subsystems. The second part named as "virtual reality in robot technology" brings forth applications of virtual reality in remote rehabilitation robot-based rehabilitation evaluation method and multi-legged robot adaptive walking in unstructured terrains. The third part, named as "industrial and construction applications" is about the product design, space industry, building information modeling, construction and maintenance by virtual reality, and so on. And the last part, which is named as "culture and life of human" describes applications of culture life and multimedia-technology

Virtuaaliprototypoinnin implementointi matalan tuotantovolyymin tuotepäivitysprojekteissa

The aim of this master’s thesis was to discover whether virtual prototyping could be utilized in a forest machine company’s product update projects to support the cooperation between design and production departments. The goal was to develop and evaluate an implementation method for virtual prototyping during design phases, which would make the current development process more efficient by reducing the amount of resources spent in physical prototyping in future product update projects. This thesis is part of a jointly funded research project. In the theoretical part of the thesis a literature review considering product development, concurrent engineering, prototyping, and virtual reality technology was undertaken. In addition virtual prototyping, its previous applications, and its impact and requirements on organizational and individual level were researched, providing the theoretical framework for the thesis. The practical part of the research included an analysis of the case company based on the literature review, materials produced during the jointly funded project, and qualitative interviews with 10 employees of the case company. The aim was to become acquainted with the case company’s product development process, current design reviews and communication between design and production departments. As a result, an implementation method for virtual prototyping was developed, which concentrated on the evaluation of assembly properties in collaborative design reviews. The implementation method was tested in one product update project by organizing a collaborative design review and by demonstrating the benefits of virtual prototyping at a virtual reality test facility. An inquiry along with observation and open discussion were utilized to collect feedback about the performance of the implementation method and virtual prototyping in evaluation of assembly properties. The results indicate that the company saw potential in virtual prototyping utilizing collaborative design reviews. As a result, these design reviews will be partly applied in future product upgrade projects. Evaluation of assembly properties was seen as a successful implementation target. The main shortcomings for comprehensive application of virtual prototyping were the need for optimization of 3D models and the product data management’s current status in the case company, which currently does not support the implementation method as well as it could. To gain results from the practical benefits of virtual prototyping, it should be further implemented during future product update projects as a whole

Using Combined Bipolar Semantic Scales and Eye-Tracking Metrics to Compare Consumer Perception of Real and Virtual Bottles

Three-dimensional virtual representations of consumer products are expected to gain relevance in e-commerce applications as low cost virtual reality headsets arrive on the market in the next years. However, there are a limited number of studies related to the perceptual evaluation of virtual products and their packaging where virtual and real (photographic) representations are compared. As part of an extensive exploration toward understanding product perception in virtual stores, this work presents a study with 38 participants in which consumer perceptions of a photographic and a virtual representation of a beer bottle are examined. Perceptual evaluation is assessed using two metrics: first, an evaluation was performed by applying a bipolar semantic scale based on four axes: novelty, resolution, style and emotion. Second, eye-tracking metrics were employed to analyse participant gaze behaviour during the visualization of stimuli. Virtual bottles were modelled using a medium polygonal load (5K polygons per bottle), and render quality was also medium to intentionally recreate the computing limitations of smartphone-based virtual reality headsets. Results show that a medium render quality alters consumer perception and responses using semantic scales. Eye-tracking analysis confirms that the orientation of the bottle and how it is presented also affect consumer perception. While some orientations result in similar eye-tracking metrics, others show different results.This work was partially funded by the research programme of 'Catedra Heineken Espana S.A.-UPV' at Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Rojas, J.; Contero, M.; Bartomeu, N.; Guixeres Provinciale, J. (2015). Using Combined Bipolar Semantic Scales and Eye-Tracking Metrics to Compare Consumer Perception of Real and Virtual Bottles. Packaging Technology and Science. 28(12):1047-1056. doi:10.1002/pts.2178S104710562812Underwood, R. L., Klein, N. M., & Burke, R. R. (2001). Packaging communication: attentional effects of product imagery. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 10(7), 403-422. doi:10.1108/10610420110410531Reutskaja, E., Nagel, R., Camerer, C. F., & Rangel, A. (2011). Search Dynamics in Consumer Choice under Time Pressure: An Eye-Tracking Study. American Economic Review, 101(2), 900-926. doi:10.1257/aer.101.2.900Moskowitz, H. R., Reisner, M., Lawlor, J. B., & Deliza, R. (2009). Packaging Research in Food Product Design and Development. doi:10.1002/9781444319330Chatterjee, A. (2011). Neuroaesthetics: A Coming of Age Story. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23(1), 53-62. doi:10.1162/jocn.2010.21457Waterlander, W. E., Scarpa, M., Lentz, D., & Steenhuis, I. H. (2011). The virtual supermarket: An innovative research tool to study consumer food purchasing behaviour. BMC Public Health, 11(1). doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-589Pieters, R., & Warlop, L. (1999). Visual attention during brand choice: The impact of time pressure and task motivation. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 16(1), 1-16. doi:10.1016/s0167-8116(98)00022-6Reimann, M., Zaichkowsky, J., Neuhaus, C., Bender, T., & Weber, B. (2010). Aesthetic package design: A behavioral, neural, and psychological investigation. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(4), 431-441. doi:10.1016/j.jcps.2010.06.009Hoffman, J. E., & Subramaniam, B. (1995). The role of visual attention in saccadic eye movements. Perception & Psychophysics, 57(6), 787-795. doi:10.3758/bf03206794Piqueras-Fiszman, B., Velasco, C., Salgado-Montejo, A., & Spence, C. (2013). Using combined eye tracking and word association in order to assess novel packaging solutions: A case study involving jam jars. Food Quality and Preference, 28(1), 328-338. doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2012.10.006Djamasbi, S., Siegel, M., & Tullis, T. (2010). Generation Y, web design, and eye tracking. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 68(5), 307-323. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2009.12.006TE Kessels, L., & AC Ruiter, R. (2012). Eye movement responses to health messages on cigarette packages. BMC Public Health, 12(1). doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-352Serrano, B., Botella, C., Baños, R. M., & Alcañiz, M. (2013). Using virtual reality and mood-induction procedures to test products with consumers of ceramic tiles. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 648-653. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.10.024Söderman, M. (2005). Virtual reality in product evaluations with potential customers: An exploratory study comparing virtual reality with conventional product representations. Journal of Engineering Design, 16(3), 311-328. doi:10.1080/09544820500128967Artacho-Ramírez, M. A., Diego-Mas, J. A., & Alcaide-Marzal, J. (2008). Influence of the mode of graphical representation on the perception of product aesthetic and emotional features: An exploratory study. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 38(11-12), 942-952. doi:10.1016/j.ergon.2008.02.020Park, H., Son, J.-S., & Lee, K.-H. (2008). Design evaluation of digital consumer products using virtual reality-based functional behaviour simulation. Journal of Engineering Design, 19(4), 359-375. doi:10.1080/09544820701474129Ledoux, T., Nguyen, A. S., Bakos-Block, C., & Bordnick, P. (2013). Using virtual reality to study food cravings. Appetite, 71, 396-402. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2013.09.006Gomes, T., Hurley, R. A., Duchowski, A., Darby, D., & Ouzts, A. (2014). The Effect of Full Body Versus Partial Body Graphic Labelling on Beverage Packaging. Packaging Technology and Science, 27(12), 933-943. doi:10.1002/pts.207

User Experience in Virtual Reality, conducting an evaluation on multiple characteristics of a Virtual Reality Experience

Virtual Reality applications are today numerous and cover a wide range of interests and tastes. As popularity of Virtual Reality increases, developers in industry are trying to create engrossing and exciting experiences that captivate the interest of users. User-Experience, a term used in the field of Human-Computer Interaction and Interaction Design, describes multiple characteristics of the experience of a person interacting with a product or a system. Evaluating User-Experience can provide valuable insight to developers and researchers on the thoughts and impressions of the end users in relation to a system. However, little information exists regarding on how to conduct User-Experience evaluations in the context of Virtual Reality. Consecutively, due to the numerous parameters that influence User-Experience in Virtual Reality, conducting and organizing evaluations can be overwhelming and challenging. The author of this thesis investigated how to conduct a User-Experience evaluation on multiple aspects of a Virtual Reality headset by identifying characteristics of the experience, and the methods that can be used to measure and evaluate them. The data collected was both qualitative and quantitative to cover a wide range of characteristics of the experience. Furthermore, the author applied usability testing, think-aloud protocol, questionnaires and semi-structured interview as methods to observe user behavior and collect information regarding the aspects of the Virtual Reality headset. The testing session described in this study included 14 participants. Data from this study showed that the combination of chosen methods were able to provide adequate information regarding the experience of the users despite encountered difficulties. Additionally, this thesis showcases which methods were used to evaluate specific aspects of the experience and the performance of each method as findings of the study

Assessing user experience of context-aware interfaces in a retail store

Context-awareness is becoming an essential functionality of mobile applications. However, it remains challenging to capture the contextual experience in innovation research, since early-stage technologies have not reached maturity to be implemented in a real-life context. Moreover, users have difficulty in evaluating implicit interactions with context-aware interfaces since imagination of users is limited. Assuming that context impacts user experience, virtual reality (VR) provides an untapped potential for the domain of innovation research. The aim of this study (in progress) is to investigate the potential of user tests in virtual reality (here virtual retail store) for human-computer interaction to better match the needs of users and designers. Initially, the mock-up has been implemented in a retail store with its context-awareness being simulated using the Wizard of Oz methodology (N = 18). This approach is found to be time-consuming and not sufficient for evaluating radical context-aware innovations

Visualisation of semantic architectural information within a game engine environment

Because of the importance of graphics and information within the domain of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), an appropriate combination of visualisation technology and information management technology is of utter importance in the development of appropriately supporting design and construction applications. We therefore started an investigation of two of the newest developments in these domains, namely game engine technology and semantic web technology. This paper documents part of this research, containing a review and comparison of the most prominent game engines and documenting our architectural semantic web. A short test-case illustrates how both can be combined to enhance information visualisation for architectural design and construction

Haptic Hybrid Prototyping (HHP): An AR Application for Texture Evaluation with Semantic Content in Product Design

The manufacture of prototypes is costly in economic and temporal terms and in order to carry this out it is necessary to accept certain deviations with respect to the final finishes. This article proposes haptic hybrid prototyping, a haptic-visual product prototyping method created to help product design teams evaluate and select semantic information conveyed between product and user through texturing and ribs of a product in early stages of conceptualization. For the evaluation of this tool, an experiment was realized in which the haptic experience was compared during the interaction with final products and through the HHP. As a result, it was observed that the answers of the interviewees coincided in both situations in 81% of the cases. It was concluded that the HHP enables us to know the semantic information transmitted through haptic-visual means between product and user as well as being able to quantify the clarity with which this information is transmitted. Therefore, this new tool makes it possible to reduce the manufacturing lead time of prototypes as well as the conceptualization phase of the product, providing information on the future success of the product in the market and its economic return