A Prototype For Narrative-based Interactivity In Theme Parks

The purpose of this thesis is to look at the potential for interactive devices to enhance the story of future theme park attractions. The most common interactive theme park rides are about game-based interaction, competition, and scoring, rather than about story, character, and plot. Research into cognitive science, interactivity, narrative, immersion, user interface, theming and other fields of study illuminated some potentially useful guidelines for creating compelling experiences for park guests. In order to test some of these ideas, an interactive device was constructed and tested with study subjects. Each study subject watched a video recording of an existing theme park ride while using the device, and then filled out a survey concerning their experience. The results revealed how subjects view character-driven interactive devices, how a device should be blended into a ride sequence, how subjects think interactivity and responsiveness should be structured in regards to themselves and the ride, and begins to hint at their motivations for using interactive devices

This is the Greatest Show: A Study in Modern Live Experience and Management

Beginning with the advent of Disneyland in 1955, society has been riveted and enthralled with the notion of Experience. Throughout the ensuing Experience Economy, the entertainment, tourism, hospitality, and tech industries have expanded and adapted to provide their service. Using Pine and Gilmore's "Work as Theatre" model, it is easy to see how a theatrical stage manager can take on a unique and crucial role in the experience design industry, especially as the Millennial generation has adopted and expanded their own Experience Economy

Non-verbal interaction in the design of telepresence robots for social nomadic work

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-84).Telepresence robots have emerged as a novel solution to meeting the social communication needs of nomadic workers. This thesis provides an overview of non-verbal communication cues for telepresence robot applications, and a snapshot of the competitive landscape for commercially available telepresence robots today. It then follows the design of a low-cost telepresence robot which can be remotely operated whilst running Skype, and discusses how further non-verbal communication cues could be incorporated to increase the feeling of social presence. Specifically, face tracking and the ability to communicate gaze is developed in the final prototype.by Jennifer S. Milne.S.M

The Relationships of Media, Task, Spatial Presence, and Critical Thinking, in an Online Tutorial Designed to Teach Art Criticism

This experimental study analyzed the relationships between media type, task type, the learners’ experience of spatial presence in media and learning outcomes. Spatial presence is believed to represent the users’ focus of attention on and involvement with a media presentation. Some researchers believe that manipulating factors that increase spatial presence will increase learning and performance. Increased interest in media learning presentations raises questions about what types of media can best support learning, and whether design recommendations can be generalized across domains. Undergraduate and graduate college students were assigned to four experimental treatments to test the hypothesis that spatial presence mediates the effects of task type and media type on a learning task that requires critical thinking: writing an art critique. Media types were static and interactive/immersive; task types were guided and unguided. The Witmer and Singer Presence Questionnaire and the Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric were used to measure spatial presence and critical thinking, respectively. Results showed that Task type and Media type did not significantly influence Spatial Presence or Critical Thinking. Scores on Spatial Presence were significantly related to the Critical Thinking scores. The guided task immersive media treatment group had fewer high scores on Critical Thinking which suggests that the task structure and/or media type may have distracted from the main learning task. The results support contemporary theories of spatial presence as a phenomenon of mental processing that monitors intention and goal completion but is not dependent on specific media characteristics. The results also suggest congruence between contemporary ideas about spatial presence and the cognitive load theory of learning

Bleeding Control Using Multiple Amputee Trauma Trainer In Medical Simulation Comparison Of Movement Versus Non-movement In Training

Army first responders, specifically Combat Medics and Combat Lifesavers, provide medical intervention while in the field. Didactic as well as hands-on training helps to prepare these first responders, and one module they receive involves bleeding control. First responders are taught to use the Combat Application Tourniquet® (CAT® ) to stop bleeding from limbs subjected to severe injury such as amputation, gunshot, or severe lacerations. A training aid like the Multiple Amputee Trauma Trainer™ (MATT™) simulator provides tourniquet training using a lifelike bilateral lower limb amputee. In addition, MATT™ combines movement and resistance while the first responder applies the tourniquet, mimicking conditions one would see in a real situation. This research describes tourniquet history, appropriate usage, field tourniquet review, surgical tourniquet, CAT® bleeding intervention procedures, bleeding physiology and complications, prehospital tourniquet use in recent conflicts, medical simulation fidelity, and a review of the value of animatronic movement during tourniquet simulation-based training. I then evaluate the effectiveness of animatronic movement during tourniquet training using the Advanced MATT in an experiment using Army first responders. The control group experienced no movement while the experimental group experienced movement when applying a tourniquet during the lab-training. Each group then alternately experienced Advanced MATT movement during an immersive scenario along with fog, strobe lights, and battle sounds. It was hypothesized that 1) In the immersive scenario, the experimental groups (i.e., those who were trained on a moving simulator) would have a faster reaction time as compared to those participants who did not receive training on the moving Advanced MATT simulator; 2) In the iv lab-based training, the experimental groups would have a slower reaction time; 3) In the immersive scenario, the experimental groups would have a faster tourniquet application time when subjected to movement while in the lab-based training, but the experimental groups would also have a slower tourniquet application time when initially subjected to movement in the laboratory-based training; finally, 4, 5, and 6) Participants who completed lab-based tourniquet training on the Advanced MATT simulation with animatronic movement would report higher perceived realism scores than participants who complete the training on a static version of the Advanced MATT and participants who completed a tourniquet training immersive scenario on the Advanced MATT simulation with movement would report higher perceived realism, presence, and self-efficacy scores than participants who complete the training on a static version of the Advanced MATT. The empirical results show a significant overall training effect of the Advanced MATT simulator (with or without movement). For reaction time and tourniquet application time, involving simulator movement was significant over varying scenarios. A small reduction in reaction and tourniquet application time on the battlefield may be extremely beneficial on the battlefield. Participants who received movement generally gave more positive reactions than those who did not received movement, although these results failed to reach statistical significance. Participants who received movement, followed by a scenario without movement rated the subjective ratings the lowest, suggestive of the lack of movement. Furthermore, despite the order movement was received, no large drops in performance occurred in any condition, indicating that negative training was avoide

Instructional Design Techniques Used to Develop Virtual Reality-Based Safety Training in an Industrial Environment

Instructional designers face the challenge of developing strong immersive virtual environments for education. However, there is very little research regarding the study of both the competence and practice of instructional design in the immersive virtual reality environment. The purpose of this qualitative Delphi study was to identify best practices that could be used by instructional designers when designing virtual reality-based safety training in order to improve safety competence and practice in the industrial environment. The conceptual framework for this study was based on the 3 primary groups of learning theory: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Guiding questions were specific to the identification of instructional design elements, practices, and models that are used by instructional designers when developing virtual reality-based safety training. Participants were 4 expert panelists who were experienced instructional designers geographically dispersed across the United States with more than 10 years of experience. Data sources were 1 round of open-ended questionnaires and 2 rounds of rank-based questionnaires. After the 3 rounds, results revealed that best practices should include scenario-based instructional strategies that use psychomotor skills with competency-based assessments. The assessments should be clearly aligned to the learning objectives/outcomes and be demonstrative in scope. This study facilitates positive social change by providing instructional design insight regarding the use of virtual reality technology when merged with instructional theoretical considerations. The reflective nature of this study affords the instructional designer an opportunity to consider application of the technology specific to their individual projects

Exploring Additional Factors Of Presence

One of the oft cited reasons for virtual environments is that they provide experiences with places one would never be able to visit and to perform tasks that would otherwise be dangerous, or inaccessible. The ability to become transported to another environment, such that you think you are there, is known as presence. Existing presence literature focuses largely on the sensory aspects of virtual environment experiences. However, there is more to experience than what is sensed. This dissertation investigates the theoretical components of holistic experiences in virtual environments. In order to explore the relationship between experiential design and presence, a new evaluation tool was needed. This ultimately led to the development of the Virtual Experience Test. To validate the Virtual Experience Test, an experiment was designed that utilized subjective evaluations regarding game-play in the commercial game Mirror\u27s Edge. Measures of experiential design, flow, and presence were taken and the relationships between the measures analyzed. The results of this research showed that environments utilizing holistic designs result in significantly higher presence. Furthermore, this study produced a validated measure of holistic experience that designers could use to evaluate their virtual environments

Engasjert og Myndiggjort — En kvalitativ undersøkelse av hvordan konsumentene opplever 360° nyheter

Master in digital communication and culture, 2017.English: News producers are looking to new media technologies like 360-degree video to capture the imagination of the consumers and re-engage them in news. The last two years have seen a growing number of media outlets use spherical (360-degree) video in their work. A leader in the field is the New York Times, which released its first 360 production, “The Displaced,” in November 2015. As with all 360 works, “The Displaced” can be viewed on a mobile – with or with a virtual reality headset. It also can be viewed on other mobile devices like a computer or an iPad. Spherical (360-degree) video often is described as the “gateway to virtual reality.” The technology allows viewers to navigate the scene by moving their mobile around or, if they are using a virtual reality headset, by swinging their head from side to side. Those viewing the work on a computer, however, must click and grab onto the screen to navigate. The advocates of 360 video point to the technology´s inherent ability to allow viewers to experience the news firsthand hand by placing them on site. But is this really the case and if so, is this reason enough to use 360 technology in news? The news producers think so but there is little research available that addresses the consumers´ thoughts on the matter. This master´s thesis is an attempt to redress the issue. The overall aim of this research is to present the consumers´ perspective of 360 news. A basic qualitative study, which is exploratory in nature, was conducted to obtain the information needed to understand and conceptualize the consumers´ experience and their thoughts about the media´s use of 360 technology. The study bases its empirical findings on in-depth interviews and the analysis of viewers´ comments posted on the Internet. Nine participants took part in this study. Each were asked to watch a 360 report and to discuss the experience. The results of the research indicate that watching the news in 360 engaged and empowered the viewer. The participants in this study indicated that they did not just observe the action. They took part in it. They felt as if they were there and that they had control over their viewing experience. Their ability to obtain the information firsthand, they say, gave them a deeper understanding of the issue – one that they would not have received from traditional media. The use of 360 technology also made the work more engaging and transparent.Norsk: Nyhetsprodusenter er hele tiden på leting etter ny teknologi for å fange publikums interesse og fantasi. Flere mediebedrifter har funnet at 360-grader (sfærisk) video engasjerer publikum og representerer noe helt nytt innen mediadistribusjon. De siste to årene har blitt sett et økende antall 360-grader videoer distribuert via mobiltelefonteknologi. New York Times var blant de første som tok i bruk 360-video i reportasjene sine. De produserte “The Displaced” i november 2015. Som alle 360-grader produksjoner, kan “The Displaced” vises på mobil – med eller uten brukt av VR-briller. Den også kan bli sett på ved bruk av datamaskin. Sfærisk (360-grader) video beskrives ofte som “inngangsporten til virtuell virkelighet.” Teknologien gjør det mulig for publikum å navigere på “innsiden” av reportasjene ved å bevege mobilen opp og ned eller til siden. De som bruker VR-briller navigerer ved å bevege hodet. De som ser på reportasjen på en datamaskin må imidlertid bruke PC mus eller tastatur til å navigere på innsiden av reportasjen. Tilhengere av 360-video peker på teknologiens iboende evne til å la publikum oppleve førstehåndsnyheter og reportasjer ved å plassere dem på innsiden av reportasjen. Men er dette virkelig tilfelle, og er det i så fall grunn nok til å bruke 360-teknologi i nyheter? Nyhetsprodusenter er sikre, men det er gjort lite forskning på området og lite har blitt gjort med tanke på hvordan publikum opplever bruken av 360-video. Denne masteroppgaven er et forsøk på å belyse dette. Mitt overordnede mål med denne oppgaven er å presentere publikumsperspektiv på 360-video. Jeg tok i bruk kvalitativ metode gjennom utforskende, individuelle dybdeintervjuer. Jeg har også analysert kommentarer om 360-video som har blitt lagt ut på kommentarfeltet på Internett. Ni informanter er med i denne studien. De ble bedt om å se på en 4-11 minutters 360-videoreportasje og deretter forklare hva de opplevde. Mitt hovedmål er å forstå og konseptualisere publikums opplevelse av 360-video. Resultatene av forskningen min viser at informantene blir engasjert og myndiggjort ved å se nyheter i 360 grader. De ni informantene indikerte at de ikke bare observerte reportasjene, men de deltok i dem. De ble en del av handlingen, samtidig som de kunne kontrollere opplevelsen sin. Informantene får førstehåndsinformasjon som gir dem en dypere forståelse av problemet – noe som de ikke ville ha fått gjennom tradisjonelle medier som TV og avis. Bruken av 360-teknologi gjorde også reportasjen mer engasjerende og gjennomsiktig, ifølge informantene

IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY ADVERTISEMENT: EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF VIVIDNESS AND INTERACTIVITY ON CONSUMERS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSES

The main goal of the present study was to test the advertisement effectiveness of immersive virtual reality (VR) systems. Two experimental studies were conducted to address the goal. The first experiment was done to compare the effects of an immersive VR interface and a traditional non-VR 2-D interface on consumers’ perceived presence, brand recall, perceived product knowledge, ad attitude, brand attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention. The second study was conducted to identify and compare the effects of a high immersive VR system and a low immersive VR system. In addition, study 2 focused on examining the effects of modality interactivity (a type of interactivity) and sensory breadth (a type of vividness) on both platforms. In doing so, the study also tested how the perceived media novelty moderated the effects of immersive VR system type on consumers’ responses. Finally, the mediating role of presence was examined in both studies. Results of study 1 revealed that an immersive VR ad is more effective in creating users’ sense of presence, ad attitude, purchase intentions and sharing intentions than a 2-D ad. The mediation analysis also confirmed an indirect effect of interface type on such variables via different dimensions of presence (e.g., spatial presence, engagement, and naturalness). Interestingly, although significant direct effects of interface type were not found on participants’ brand recall, perceived product knowledge, and brand attitude, the mediation analysis identified indirect effects of interface type on such variables via different dimensions of presence. Results of study 2 revealed that a high immersive VR system is more effective in creating sense of presence and sharing intentions than a low immersive VR system. Although most of the direct effects of the immersive VR type were absent, the mediation analysis confirmed indirect effects of the immersive VR type on all variables (i.e., brand recall, perceived product knowledge, ad attitude, brand attitude, purchase intention and sharing intention) via different dimensions of presence. Study 2 also revealed that the combination of modality interactivity and sensory breadth significantly increased the sense of presence, while their individual main effects on presence were missing. The immersive VR type was found to interact with different levels of modality interactivity only on presence such that a high immersive VR system was more effective in increasing the dimensions of presence than a low immersive VR system. However, perceived media novelty of the users moderated several relationships in study 2. In the case of presence, perceived media novelty moderated the interaction of modality interactivity and sensory breadth such that when perceived media novelty is high, then any combination of modality interactivity and sensory breadth became more effective. But, the combination of modality interactivity and high sensory breadth did not contribute more effectively than other situations in the case of high perceived novelty. Perceived media novelty of the users also moderated the effectiveness of the high immersive VR on ad attitude and sharing intention. The study found that when perceived novelty was high, an immersive VR system was more effective than low immersive VR in creating favorable ad attitude and sharing intention. But, when perceived novelty was low, the difference between high and low immersive VR became very low or almost similar. Further, the study found that perceived media novelty also moderated the interaction of immersive VR type and sensory breadth on brand attitude. When the perceived novelty was low, a high immersive VR system with high sensory breadth was not more effective than low immersive VR. But, when the perceived novelty was high, a high immersive VR system with high sensory breadth became more effective than low immersive VR. Both studies have important theoretical and practical implications. The first primary theoretical contribution of this dissertation comes from its overall test to find out the effects of an ad presented via different interfaces that varied in terms of immersive features or modalities: non-immersive interface/non-VR interface (e.g., 2-D), low immersive VR interface (e.g., monoscopic VR), and high immersive VR (stereoscopic VR). The results contribute to the body of research on immersive VR media and VR environments done earlier. Another key contribution made by the dissertation was its conceptualization of perceived media novelty as a moderator of the relationships between immersive VR systems and the measure of ad effectiveness. The dissertation showed how high perceived media novelty can exaggerate the real effect of high immersive VR, making it almost equally effective to low immersive VR. Effects of perceived media novelty can provide important insight into the theoretical framework development of immersive VR and virtual product experience to evaluate the effectiveness of emerging immersive VR media more accurately. This dissertation’s next theoretical contribution comes from its mediation analysis done on the relationship between interface type and ad effectiveness measures via the sense of presence. Such relationships are theoretically important for several reasons. First, it established the important role of presence to evaluate VR ad effectiveness. The study found that although the direct effects of interface type on several variables were absent, indirect effects were still active in VR ad via different dimensions of presence. Second, the mediating role of presence is rarely tested in case of monoscopic or stereoscopic VR ads. So, the current study extended the theoretical validity of the mediating role of presence on such platforms. Next, the study focused on determining different dimensions of presence (e.g., spatial presence, engagement, naturalness, and negative effects), rather than determining presence as one single construct. Finally, the dissertation empirically tested Steuer’s (1992) presence framework. The dissertation indicates that Steuer’s presence framework worked only when users consider the combined role of interactivity and vividness. The findings of the two studies of this dissertation are also important to marketers and have immediate implications. The results indicate that marketers can implement technological modalities of VR to enhance persuasive outcomes. Next, the dissertation upholds the importance of improving “presence” strategy in VR ad campaign and including presence measurement in ad copy pre-testing. Moreover, the dissertation also suggested several insights on the strategy of elevating presence via different combinations of modality interactivity (i.e., using/not using a hotspot) and sensory breadth (i.e., using only text/using text plus visual information). Finally, the dissertation also suggested how marketers should consider the role of perceived media novelty with caution while evaluating the immersive VR ad effectiveness

La Realidad Virtual como mediadora de aprendizajes : Desarrollo de una aplicación móvil de Realidad Virtual orientada a niños

Las investigaciones hasta el momento, han demostrado que las aplicaciones de RV son efectivas en múltiples niveles de educación y formación, con un alto grado de aceptación por parte de los estudiantes. Una característica importante en las aplicaciones de RV, es la interacción por parte de usuario con el mundo virtual. Esta interacción fomenta el compromiso activo, que es deseable para el aprendizaje. Las propiedades intrínsecas y el mecanismo cognitivo de la RV, permiten a los estudiantes concentrarse conscientemente en lo que están experimentando y participar en un aprendizaje más significativo. Las aplicaciones de RV pueden permitir a los estudiantes explorar y aprender a su propio ritmo y repetir las experiencias tantas veces como lo deseen. Esto resulta atractivo tanto para los estudiantes como para los educadores, a quienes les permite enseñar diferentes habilidades. De las tecnologías educativas que se utilizan actualmente, la RV es considerada prometedora debido a su capacidad de “sumergir” a los alumnos en el entorno que están estudiando. El valor agregado de la RV es involucrar al estudiante en contextos de aprendizaje que son difíciles de comprender debido a su abstracción, dificultad o incluso debido a que son peligrosos. De acuerdo con lo anteriormente expuesto, y del interés por buscar mecanismos alternativos en los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje, surge la motivación de esta tesis, de investigar sobre estas temáticas y del desarrollo de una aplicación móvil educativa de RV, basada en diversas experiencias obtenidas de la investigación previa y un análisis exhaustivo de distintas aplicaciones de RV. A partir de estas motivaciones se plantean, los objetivos de esta tesis. El objetivo general de este trabajo es investigar y analizar sobre la Realidad Virtual (RV) y su aplicación en entornos educativos, como una “tecnología” mediadora en los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Como objetivos específicos se plantean: - Estudiar el concepto de RV y sus fundamentaciones. - Analizar ventajas y desventajas de su uso. - Estudiar las teorías de aprendizaje sobre las cuales se forjan las bases de su implementación en el contexto educativo y de formación. - Identificar prácticas pedagógicas, particularmente relacionadas con la experiencia, que justifican el uso de la RV en procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje. - Estudiar y analizar distintas aplicaciones de RV y su aplicación en el ámbito educativo. - Desarrollar una aplicación educativa de RV, a partir de los lineamientos del análisis teórico realizado, y haciendo uso de herramientas de distribución libre, que permitan el desarrollo de aplicaciones de RV, orientadas a temáticas educativas. - Llevar a cabo un estudio de caso con la aplicación desarrollada en el punto anterior: •Definir los objetivos y el contexto para el estudio de caso. •Validar las hipótesis que surjan a partir de la investigación teórica. - Realizar el análisis de los resultados obtenidos de la experiencia. Plantear nuevas líneas de investigación.Asesor profesional: Sebastián Dapoto.Facultad de Informátic