23,275 research outputs found
Using Virtual Reality to increase technical performance during rowing workouts
Technology is advancing rapidly in virtual reality (VR) and sensors, gathering feedback from our body and the environment we are interacting in. Combining the two technologies gives us the opportunity to create personalized and reactive immersive environments. These environments can be used e.g. for training in dangerous situations (e.g. fire, crashes, etc), or to improve skills with less distraction than regular natural environments would have. The pilot study described in this thesis puts an athlete who is rowing on a stationary rowing machine into a virtual environment. The VR takes movement from several sensors of the ergo-meter and displays those in VR. In addition, metrics on technique are being derived from the sensor data and physiological data. All this is used to investigate if, and to which extent, VR may improve the technical skills of the athlete during the complex sport of rowing. Furthermore, athletes are giving subjective feedback about their experience comparing a standard rowing workout, with the workout using VR. First results indicate better performance and an enhanced experience by the athlete
Proceedings of the International Workshop on EuroPLOT Persuasive Technology for Learning, Education and Teaching (IWEPLET 2013)
"This book contains the proceedings of the International Workshop on EuroPLOT Persuasive Technology for Learning, Education and Teaching (IWEPLET) 2013 which was held on 16.-17.September 2013 in Paphos (Cyprus) in conjunction with the EC-TEL conference. The workshop and hence the proceedings are divided in two parts: on Day 1 the EuroPLOT project and its results are introduced, with papers about the specific case studies and their evaluation. On Day 2, peer-reviewed papers are presented which address specific topics and issues going beyond the EuroPLOT scope. This workshop is one of the deliverables (D 2.6) of the EuroPLOT project, which has been funded from November 2010 â October 2013 by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission through the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLL) by grant #511633. The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate Persuasive Learning Objects and Technologies (PLOTS), based on ideas of BJ Fogg. The purpose of this workshop is to summarize the findings obtained during this project and disseminate them to an interested audience. Furthermore, it shall foster discussions about the future of persuasive technology and design in the context of learning, education and teaching. The international community working in this area of research is relatively small. Nevertheless, we have received a number of high-quality submissions which went through a peer-review process before being selected for presentation and publication. We hope that the information found in this book is useful to the reader and that more interest in this novel approach of persuasive design for teaching/education/learning is stimulated. We are very grateful to the organisers of EC-TEL 2013 for allowing to host IWEPLET 2013 within their organisational facilities which helped us a lot in preparing this event. I am also very grateful to everyone in the EuroPLOT team for collaborating so effectively in these three years towards creating excellent outputs, and for being such a nice group with a very positive spirit also beyond work. And finally I would like to thank the EACEA for providing the financial resources for the EuroPLOT project and for being very helpful when needed. This funding made it possible to organise the IWEPLET workshop without charging a fee from the participants.
The Impact of Flow in an EEG-based Brain Computer Interface
Major issues in Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) include low usability and
poor user performance. This paper tackles them by ensuring the users to be in a
state of immersion, control and motivation, called state of flow. Indeed, in
various disciplines, being in the state of flow was shown to improve
performances and learning. Hence, we intended to draw BCI users in a flow state
to improve both their subjective experience and their performances. In a Motor
Imagery BCI game, we manipulated flow in two ways: 1) by adapting the task
difficulty and 2) by using background music. Results showed that the difficulty
adaptation induced a higher flow state, however music had no effect. There was
a positive correlation between subjective flow scores and offline performance,
although the flow factors had no effect (adaptation) or negative effect (music)
on online performance. Overall, favouring the flow state seems a promising
approach for enhancing users' satisfaction, although its complexity requires
more thorough investigations
Online Group-exercises for Older Adults of Different Physical Abilities
In this paper we describe the design and validation of a virtual fitness
environment aiming at keeping older adults physically and socially active. We
target particularly older adults who are socially more isolated, physically
less active, and with less chances of training in a gym. The virtual fitness
environment, namely Gymcentral, was designed to enable and motivate older
adults to follow personalised exercises from home, with a (heterogeneous) group
of remote friends and under the remote supervision of a Coach. We take the
training activity as an opportunity to create social interactions, by
complementing training features with social instruments. Finally, we report on
the feasibility and effectiveness of the virtual environment, as well as its
effects on the usage and social interactions, from an intervention study in
Trento, Ital
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Trends in virtual reality technologies for the learning patient
NextMed convened the Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 22 (MMVR 22) conference in 2016. Since 1992, the conference has brought together a diverse group of researchers to share creative solutions for the evolving challenge of integrating virtual reality tools into medical education. Virtual reality (VR) and its enabling technologies utilize hardware and software to simulate environments and encounters where users can interact and learn. The MMVR 22 symposium proceedings contain projects that support a variety of learners: medical students, practitioners, soldiers, and patients. This report will contemplate the trends in virtual reality technologies for patients navigating their medical and healthcare learning. The learning patient seeks more than intervention; they seek prevention. From virtual humans and environments to motion sensors and haptic devices, patients are surrounded by increasingly rich and transformative data-driven tools. Applied data enables VR applications to simulate experience, predict health outcomes, and motivate new behavior. The MMVR 22 presents investigations into the usability of wearable devices, the efficacy of avatar inclusion, and the viability of multi-player gaming. With increasing need for individualized and scalable programming, only committed open source efforts will align instructional designers, technology integrators, trainers, and clinicians.âCurriculum and InstructionCurriculum and Instructio
Efficacy of augmented reality-based virtual hiking in cardiorespiratory endurance: a pilot study
Exergames can be used to overcome a sedentary lifestyle. Virtual Reality (VR) has made exergames
successful, and they can be used to increase heart rate, but some limitations are found, such as the adaptation
of the heart rate in exergames to the player's fitness profile. VR technology has been used to simulate virtual
cycling and walking experiences. We designed and developed an exergame' Virtual Levadas' in a cave-based
VR environment to simulate the Levadas hiking tracks. They are the main attraction for tourists in Madeira
Island, Portugal. This study's main objective was to assess player exertion, usability, participation, and realism
of the simulation of the Levadas tracks. We performed this study with 13 participants who played Virtual
Levadas for 6 minutes and found a significant increase in player's average physical activity and heart rate.
Overall, our results demonstrate that Virtual Levada's exergame provides a higher exertion level, immersion,
and realism of the virtual environment than the literature.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Virtual reality gaming in rehabilitation after musculoskeletal injur: user experience pilot study
The purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to describe a new technological solution for
the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries based on virtual reality (VR) gaming, and (2) to analyze
the variation in rated perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate (HR) of the participants when
undergoing a rehabilitation session based on different VR games. Thirty-seven participants aged
23.7 ± 7.0 years tested during five customized VR games to provide a complete rehabilitation session
after a musculoskeletal injury. The results of the Friedman test indicated a statistically significant
difference in RPE scale and HR across the five VR games throughout a complete rehabilitation
session (Ï2 (4, n = 35) = 75.59; p < 0.001 and Ï2 (4, n = 35) = 27.75, p < 0.001, respectively). RPE and HR
increased significantly from Game 1 to Game 2 (z = â5.16, p < 0.001), from Game 1 to Game 3 (z = â
5.05, p < 0.001), from Game 1 to Game 4 (z = â4.87, p < 0.001), and from Game 1 to Game 5 (z = â3.61,
p < 0.001). Moreover, the results showed a high perceived usability of the system, greater intrinsic
motivation to perform the rehabilitation exercises, a high level of immersion, and a good experience
in the VR gaming environment. Our study stimulates extended intervention programs following up on this immersive virtual reality rehabilitation system to support soccer players recovering from
musculoskeletal injuries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
SIMNET: simulation-based exercises for computer net-work curriculum through gamification and augmented reality
Gamification and Augmented Reality techniques, in recent years, have tackled many subjects and environments. Its implementation can, in particular, strengthen teaching and learning processes in schools and universities. Therefore, new forms of knowledge, based on interactions with objects, contributing game, experimentation and collaborative work. Through the technologies mentioned above, we intend to develop an application that serves as a didactic tool, giving support in the area of Computer Networks. This application aims to stand out in simulated controlled environments to create computer networks, taking into ac-count the necessary physical devices and the different physical and logical topologies. The main goal is to enrich the studentsâ learning experiences and contrib-ute to teacher-student interaction, through collaborative learning provided by the tool, minimizing the need for expensive equipment in learning environments.Universidad de MĂĄlaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucĂa Tech
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