Sketchy rendering for information visualization

We present and evaluate a framework for constructing sketchy style information visualizations that mimic data graphics drawn by hand. We provide an alternative renderer for the Processing graphics environment that redefines core drawing primitives including line, polygon and ellipse rendering. These primitives allow higher-level graphical features such as bar charts, line charts, treemaps and node-link diagrams to be drawn in a sketchy style with a specified degree of sketchiness. The framework is designed to be easily integrated into existing visualization implementations with minimal programming modification or design effort. We show examples of use for statistical graphics, conveying spatial imprecision and for enhancing aesthetic and narrative qualities of visual- ization. We evaluate user perception of sketchiness of areal features through a series of stimulus-response tests in order to assess users’ ability to place sketchiness on a ratio scale, and to estimate area. Results suggest relative area judgment is compromised by sketchy rendering and that its influence is dependent on the shape being rendered. They show that degree of sketchiness may be judged on an ordinal scale but that its judgement varies strongly between individuals. We evaluate higher-level impacts of sketchiness through user testing of scenarios that encourage user engagement with data visualization and willingness to critique visualization de- sign. Results suggest that where a visualization is clearly sketchy, engagement may be increased and that attitudes to participating in visualization annotation are more positive. The results of our work have implications for effective information visualization design that go beyond the traditional role of sketching as a tool for prototyping or its use for an indication of general uncertainty

Video Manipulation Techniques for the Protection of Privacy in Remote Presence Systems

Systems that give control of a mobile robot to a remote user raise privacy concerns about what the remote user can see and do through the robot. We aim to preserve some of that privacy by manipulating the video data that the remote user sees. Through two user studies, we explore the effectiveness of different video manipulation techniques at providing different types of privacy. We simultaneously examine task performance in the presence of privacy protection. In the first study, participants were asked to watch a video captured by a robot exploring an office environment and to complete a series of observational tasks under differing video manipulation conditions. Our results show that using manipulations of the video stream can lead to fewer privacy violations for different privacy types. Through a second user study, it was demonstrated that these privacy-protecting techniques were effective without diminishing the task performance of the remote user.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Emotional Qualities of VR Space

The emotional response a person has to a living space is predominantly affected by light, color and texture as space-making elements. In order to verify whether this phenomenon could be replicated in a simulated environment, we conducted a user study in a six-sided projected immersive display that utilized equivalent design attributes of brightness, color and texture in order to assess to which extent the emotional response in a simulated environment is affected by the same parameters affecting real environments. Since emotional response depends upon the context, we evaluated the emotional responses of two groups of users: inactive (passive) and active (performing a typical daily activity). The results from the perceptual study generated data from which design principles for a virtual living space are articulated. Such a space, as an alternative to expensive built dwellings, could potentially support new, minimalist lifestyles of occupants, defined as the neo-nomads, aligned with their work experience in the digital domain through the generation of emotional experiences of spaces. Data from the experiments confirmed the hypothesis that perceivable emotional aspects of real-world spaces could be successfully generated through simulation of design attributes in the virtual space. The subjective response to the virtual space was consistent with corresponding responses from real-world color and brightness emotional perception. Our data could serve the virtual reality (VR) community in its attempt to conceive of further applications of virtual spaces for well-defined activities.Comment: 12 figure

Virtual humans and Photorealism: The effect of photorealism of interactive virtual humans in clinical virtual environment on affective responses

The ability of realistic vs stylized representations of virtual characters to elicit emotions in users has been an open question for researchers and artists alike. We designed and performed a between subjects experiment using a medical virtual reality simulation to study the differences in the emotions aroused in participants while interacting with realistic and stylized virtual characters. The experiment included three conditions each of which presented a different representation of the virtual character namely; photo-realistic, non-photorealistic cartoon-shaded and non-photorealistic charcoal-sketch. The simulation used for the experiment, called the Rapid Response Training System was developed to train nurses to identify symptoms of rapid deterioration in patients. The emotional impact of interacting with the simulation on the participants was measured via both subjective and objective metrics. Quantitative objective measures were gathered using skin Electrodermal Activity (EDA) sensors, and quantitative subjective measures included Differential Emotion Survey (DES IV), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and the co-presence or social presence questionnaire. The emotional state of the participants was analyzed across four distinct time steps during which the medical condition of the virtual patient deteriorated, and was contrasted to a baseline affective state. The data from the EDA sensors indicated that the mean level of arousal was highest in the charcoal-sketch condition, lowest in the realistic condition, with responses in the cartoon-shaded condition was in the middle. Mean arousal responses also seemed to be consistent in both the cartoon-shaded and charcoal-sketch conditions across all time steps, while the mean arousal response of participants in the realistic condition showed a significant drop from time step 1 through time step 2, corresponding to the deterioration of the virtual patient. Mean scores of participants in the DES survey seems to suggest that participants in the realistic condition elicited a higher emotional response than participants in both non-realistic conditions. Within the non-realistic conditions, participants in the cartoon-shaded condition seemed to elicit a higher emotional response than those in the charcoal-sketch condition

THE EFFECT OF COLOR ON EMOTIONS IN ANIMATED FILMS

Lighting color in animated films is usually chosen very carefully in order to portray a specific mood or emotion. Artists follow conventional techniques with color choices with the intention to create a greater emotional response in the viewer. This study examined the relationship between color variations in videos and emotional arousal as indicated by physiological response. Subjects wore a galvanic skin response (GSR) sensor and watched two different videos: one portraying love and one portraying sadness. The videos were watched multiple times, each with variations in the lighting color. No significant effects on emotion for either hue or saturation were observed from the GSR sensor data. It was concluded that the hue and saturation of lighting are not likely to cause a significant impact in the strength of emotions being portrayed in animated films to a degree in which it can be measured by electrodermal activity

Effects of Virtual Humans’ Facial Emotional Displays on Persuasion

This dissertation explores the effect of virtual humans’ facial emotional displays in the context of persuasion. In a collaborative problem-solving game, participants received persuasive information from a virtual teammate. The first study demonstrated that a subservient virtual teammate’s facial emotional displays reduced his or her persuasive capacity. The second study revealed that the effect of a virtual human’s facial emotional displays was jointly determined by whether the observer was in power, and/or whether the observer considered it appropriate to express emotions. Emotional expressions undermined persuasion when the observer overpowered the virtual human, and/or when the observer perceived emotional expressions to be inappropriate. When both conditions were satisfied, emotional expressions reduced persuasion the most. The third study suggested that the amount of anger expressions predicted the outcome of persuasion. Photorealism, while on one hand enhanced the perception of anger expressions, did not moderate the effect of emotional expressions. Findings from this study inform theories of emotional expressions in persuasion, and guide the design of persuasive virtual humans

The effect of 3D realism and meaning making: A conceptual model

Field studies show that computer graphics, as in this case the 3D model of a heritage building, are only iconic representations rich perceived differently by individuals. Still, there is lack of evidence on how realistic 3D in contributes to the meaning making process.This article discusses on the proposed conceptual model for 3D realism towards meaning-making.It elaborates on principles of realism and 3D realism, meaning-making theories and processes and related works in the area.Based on four elements of 3D realism, it attempts to identify possible relationship with meaning making.The research methodology is outlined to achieve the intended research outcomes.The findings of this study would contribute to understanding of the ability to learning via 3D content

A Design Framework and AI System for Affective Destination Image Generation to Influence Tourists’ Emotional Response

Affective destination images have received considerable attention from tourism marketing researchers as evidence suggests that affective components in destination images affect tourists’ emotional responses, which in turn influence their behavioural intentions toward the destination. Therefore, tourism practitioners seek solutions to influence the emotional effects of affective destination images for B2C communication. This paper presents a design science research project to develop an AI system to assist practitioners in generating affective destination images that potentially trigger the desired emotional responses of tourists. By leveraging knowledge and techniques from NeuroIS, this paper also proposes a framework of scientific experiments to assess how the generated affective destination images by the AI system affect tourists’ emotional experiences

On the application of extended reality technologies for the evaluation of product characteristics during the initial stages of the product development process

[EN] Fast-growing global markets are forcing companies to continuously re-assess customer needs when designing new products. Product evaluation is a critical task to ensure success, but it can require significant financial and time investments. From an end-user standpoint, consumers must also evaluate multiple design options before purchasing a product, which is often a complex process, especially in online environments where traditional formats coexist with more sophisticated media. Modern extended reality technologies have become an effective tool for product assessment in professional design environments as well as a powerful mechanism for consumers during decision making activities. However, the modality used to view and evaluate the product may affect the perceptual response and thus the user¿s overall evaluation. In this paper, we examine the influence of visual media in product assessment using different designs of a particular product typology. We discuss two studies where a group of participants used the semantic differential technique to evaluate four chair designs displayed in three different media. In our first study, participants used simultaneous evaluation to assess the products as presented in photographs, a non-immersive environment, and an Augmented Reality (AR) experience. In the second study, participants evaluated the product separately as viewed in non-photorealistic rendering, AR, and virtual reality (VR). We used the ¿Aligned Rank Transform¿ proceedings to find differences between groups for the semantic scales, the overall evaluation, the purchasing decision, and the response confidence. Our results show that visual media influences product perception. Certain characteristics in Jordan's physio-pleasure category are particularly significant as perceptual differences are more pronounced. Immersive media can highlight some product attributes and a joint evaluation can help minimize these differences.The authors would like to thank the team at Clon Digital for providing us with a software license to perform the experiment, and students Jenny Trieu, Abizer Raja, Arturo Barrera, and Carrah Kaijser from the University of Houston for the inspiration for the chair designs used in our study.Palacios-Ibáñez, A.; Navarro-Martínez, R.; Blasco-Esteban, J.; Contero, M.; Dorribo-Camba, J. (2023). On the application of extended reality technologies for the evaluation of product characteristics during the initial stages of the product development process. Computers in Industry. 144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2022.10378014