Virtual reality utility and usefulness in the furniture, fixture and equipment sector: a validation of interactive and distributed immersion

PURPOSE: The Furniture, Fixture and Equipment (FFE) sector is well placed to leverage virtual reality (VR) technology for competitive and operational advantages; however, the diffusion of VR applications in this sector has followed a steep curve. This study reports on the implementation of two novel VR applications in the FFE sector and also investigates the challenges and benefits associated with their use and adaptability. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A sequential exploratory mixed research methodology consisting of three phases was adopted for this study. This included identification of factors that affect/facilitate the implementation of VR (Challenges and Benefits) using experiments during in-house prototyping of VR applications, a rigorous literature review and questionnaire survey to solicit FFE Stakeholder's (n = 117) opinion on the utility and usefulness of the proposed applications and to the understand factors that facilitate and inhibit their implementation in FFE's context, particularly as a design communication and coordination tool. FINDINGS: The findings of this study revealed that distributed and single-user VR has become essential to digitalising the FFE sector's design communication with improved design communication being regarded as the most important benefit of its use. Conversely, the most critical challenge that inhibits the implementation of these two VR applications in the FFE sector is the perceived cost. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study provides valuable insight to FFE's stakeholders to devise action plans to mitigate myriad complex and interrelated factors that affect the adoption of virtual reality technology in the FFE sector that are otherwise very hard to understand, and the consequential implementation of any mitigation plans cannot be devised

Reshaping the Museum of Zoology in Rome by Visual Storytelling and Interactive Iconography

This article summarizes the concept of a new immersive and interactive setting for the Zoology Museum in Rome, Italy. The concept, co-designed with all the museum’s curators, is aimed at enhancing the experiential involvement of the visitors by visual storytelling and interactive iconography. Thanks to immersive and interactive technologies designed by Centro Studi Logos, developed by Logosnet and known as e-REALâ and MirrorMeä, zoological findings and memoirs come to life and interact directly with the visitors in order to deepen their understanding, visualize stories and live experiences, and interact with the founder of the Museum (Mr. Arrigoni degli Oddi) who is now a virtualized avatar, or digital human, able to talk with the visitors. All the interactions are powered through simple hand gestures and, in a few cases, vocal inputs that transform into recognized commands from multimedia systems

Ludic Learning Lab: Serious Games for Nurses. Theatre Training Reimagined

Theatre improvisation supports the development of interpersonal skills, building verbal and physical imagination, whilst enabling compassionate interaction between people to enhance connections. Improvisation is emerging in health care as a pedagogical tool that can enhance human to human connections such as the interaction between a nurse and patient enabling experiential learning. This thesis argues that the ludic nature of improvisation exercises stimulates enhanced interaction skills (Toivanen, 2011). The ancient body-mind practices that improvisation draws on offer valuable skills to the learner, contributing to the andragogy of nurse practice and pre-registration education and training. Nurses require unique cognitive capabilities to multi-task, problem-solve and prioritise urgent needs in a fast-paced hospital environment. Human factors such as communication and situational awareness are essential to maintaining high-level patient care across a challenging environment (Eisenhardt, 2021). The World Health Organisation (WHO, 2019) and The Australian Commission for Quality and Safety in Health Care (Report The State of Patient Safety and Quality in Australian Hospitals, 2019; Fotis, 2010) found that deficiencies in human factor skills in hospital settings are affecting patient safety; fifty per cent of adverse events are preventable. Communicating for safety in training is a number one priority to reduce preventable adverse events. This thesis explores the principles and theories of theatrical improvisation through engaging with the work of Viola Spolin, Rudolph Laban, Augusto Boal, Jacob L Moreno, David Kolb and Howard Gardner. It comprises both a theoretical/critical component and a creative component which is a digital toolkit, the Improv-e-toolkit designed to be used in blended delivery, face-to-face and digital mode. The Improv-e-toolkit is a prototype that aims to unite important clinical nursing skills such as situational awareness, decision making and relationship management. I argue, drawing on the work of Hager (2004) that improvisation training develops team-based trust and effective communication to support positive nurse-patient connections which deliver favourable patient outcomes

A Guide to Authentic e-Learning

Part of the groundbreaking Connecting with e-Learning series, A Guide to Authentic e-Learning provides effective, working examples to engage learners with authentic tasks in online settings. As technology continues to open up possibilities for innovative and effective teaching and learning opportunities, students and teachers are no longer content to accept familiar classroom or lecture-based pedagogies that rely on information delivery and little else. Situated and constructivist theories advocate that learning is best achieved in circumstances resembling the real-life application of knowledge. While there are multiple learning design models that share similar foundations, authentic e-learning tasks go beyond process to become complex, sustained activities that draw on realistic situations to produce realistic outcomes

Developing a Virtual Reality- and Lean-based Training Platform for Productivity Improvement of Scaffolding Installation in Liquefied Natural Gas Industry

This thesis aims to integrate lean and work postures to simultaneously improve productivity and health and safety and develop a lean- and virtual reality-based platform for effective education and training in scaffolding installation in turnaround maintenance projects. It represents an effort to help on-site workers in the Liquefied Natural Gas industry identify waste activities and achieve a balanced improvement in both productivity and health and safety through improved training in a virtual platform

The design and evaluation of distributed virtual environment to support learning in global operations management

The primary goal of this research is to design and develop an education technology to support learning in global operations management. The research implements a series of studies to determine the right balance among user requirements, learning methods and applied technologies, on a view of student-centred learning. This research is multidisciplinary by nature, involving topics from various disciplines such as global operations management, curriculum and contemporary learning theory, and computer aided learning. Innovative learning models that emphasise on technological implementation are employed and discussed throughout this research

Applications of Virtual Reality

Information Technology is growing rapidly. With the birth of high-resolution graphics, high-speed computing and user interaction devices Virtual Reality has emerged as a major new technology in the mid 90es, last century. Virtual Reality technology is currently used in a broad range of applications. The best known are games, movies, simulations, therapy. From a manufacturing standpoint, there are some attractive applications including training, education, collaborative work and learning. This book provides an up-to-date discussion of the current research in Virtual Reality and its applications. It describes the current Virtual Reality state-of-the-art and points out many areas where there is still work to be done. We have chosen certain areas to cover in this book, which we believe will have potential significant impact on Virtual Reality and its applications. This book provides a definitive resource for wide variety of people including academicians, designers, developers, educators, engineers, practitioners, researchers, and graduate students