Augmented and virtual realities : the future of building design and visualization

The present study precisely conveys the methodology of developing a three-dimensional (3D) architectural model of a villa with its walk-through and displaying the model in virtual reality, which as a result, be used by the clients to spectate, customize and buy the real estate property. Additionally, the case study highlights the advancement in architecture, as certain specifications of each element of a 3D model can be viewed in a virtual environment. Virtual reality is a transpiring platform, and in addition to that, the real-estate sector shows its incorporation in designing, marketing, and selling projects. The teaching and learning process can be eased out by intervening it with technology that generates an enhanced visualization environment. These technologies, when used constructively, save time and energy and also hoard economic standards ensuing lucrative benefits

The unexplored potential of virtual reality for cultural learning

[EN] Educational technology tools that improve learning and foster engagement are constantly sought by teachers and researchers. In the domain of Computer-Assisted Language Learning a variety of tools, for instance blogs and podcasts, have been used to promote language and cultural learning (Shih, 2015). More recently, virtual reality has been identified as a technology with great potential for the creation of meaningful and contextualized learning experiences. Despite the  learning affordances of virtual reality, in language education most of the literature has focused on the low-immersive version, whereas research investigating highly immersive virtual environments has only emerged in recent years (e.g., Berti, 2019; Blyth, 2018). In other fields, the use of highly immersive virtual reality has been compared to traditional pedagogical resources and demonstrated that students’ learning improved with the use of virtual environments as compared to two-dimensional video and textbook learning conditions (Allcoat & von Mühlenen, 2018). Considering the potential learning benefits of this technology, this paper argues that longitudinal empirical research in language education is strongly needed to investigate its potential unexplored impact on language and cultural learning.Berti, M. (2021). The unexplored potential of virtual reality for cultural learning. The EuroCALL Review. 29(1):60-67. https://doi.org/10.4995/eurocall.2021.12809OJS6067291Allcoat, D., & von Mühlenen, A. (2018). Learning in virtual reality: Effects on performance, emotion, and engagement. Research in Learning Technology, 26, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2140Barab, S. A., Hay, K. E., & Duffy, T. M. (1998). Grounded constructions and how technology can help. TechTrends, 43(2), 15-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02818171Berti, M. (2019). Italian open education: virtual reality immersions for the language classroom. New Case Studies of Openness in and beyond the Language Classroom, Research-publishing. net, 37-47. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2019.37.965Blyth, C. (2018). Immersive technologies and language learning. Foreign Language Annals, 51(1), 225-232. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12327Chen, C. J. (2009). Theoretical bases for using virtual reality in education. Themes in Science and Technology Education, 2(1-2), 71-90.Dawley, L., & Dede, C. (2014). Situated learning in virtual worlds and immersive simulations. In J. M. Spector, M. D. Merrill, J. Elen, & M. J. Bishop (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 723-734). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_58Fowler, C. (2015). Virtual reality and learning: Where is the pedagogy? British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(2), 412-422. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12135Freina, L., & Ott, M. (2015). A literature review on immersive virtual reality in education: State of the art and perspectives. eLearning & Software for Education, 1, 133-141.Huang, H. M., Rauch, U., & Liaw, S. S. (2010). Investigating learners' attitudes toward virtual reality learning environments: Based on a constructivist approach. Computers & Education, 55(3), 1171-1182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.05.014Jacobson, J. (2017). Authenticity in immersive design. In D., Liu, C., Dede, R., Huang, & J., Richards (Eds.), Virtual, augmented, and mixed realities in education (pp. 35-54). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5490-7_3Lin, T. J., & Lan, Y. J. (2015). Language learning in virtual reality environments: Past, present, and future. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 18(4), 486-497.Liu, D., Bhagat, K. K., Gao, Y., Chang, T., & Huang, R. (2017). The potentials and trends of virtual reality in education. In D., Liu, C., Dede, R., Huang, & J., Richards (Eds.), Virtual augmented, and mixed realities in education (pp. 105-130). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5490-7_7Lloyd, A., Rogerson, S., & Stead, G. (2017). Imagining the potential for using virtual reality technologies in language learning. In M. Carrier, R. M. Damerow, & K. M. Bailey (Eds.), Digital language learning and teaching: Research, theory, and practice (pp. 222-234). Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315523293-19Sadler, R. (2017). Virtual worlds and language education. In S. L. Thorne & S. May (Eds.), Language, education and technology (pp. 375-388). New York: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02237-6_29Schott, C., & Marshall, S. (2018). Virtual reality and situated experiential education: A conceptualization and exploratory trial. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34(6), 843-852. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12293Schwienhorst, K. (2002a). The state of VR: A meta-analysis of virtual reality tools in second language acquisition. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 15(3), 221-239. https://doi.org/10.1076/call.15.3.221.8186Schwienhorst, K. (2002b). Why virtual, why environments? Implementing virtual reality concepts in computer-assisted language learning. Simulation & Gaming, 33(2), 196-209. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878102033002008Scrivner, O., Madewell, J., Buckley, C., & Perez, N. (2019). Best practices in the use of augmented and virtual reality technologies for SLA: Design, implementation, and feedback. In M. L. Carrió-Pastor (Ed.), Teaching language and teaching literature in virtual environments (pp. 55-72). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1358-5_4Shih, Y. C. (2015). A virtual walk-through London: Culture learning through a cultural immersion experience. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 28(5), 407-428. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2013.851703Shih, Y. C. (2018). Contextualizing language learning with street view panoramas. In Y. Qian (Ed.), Integrating multi-user virtual environments in modern classrooms (pp. 74-91). Hershey: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-3719-9.ch004Slater, M. & Wilbur, S. (1996). A framework for immersive virtual environments (FIVE): Speculations on the role of presence in virtual environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 6(6), 603- 616. https://doi.org/10.1162/pres.1997.6.6.60

Knowledge Construction of 3D Geometry Concepts and Processes Within a Virtual Reality Learning Environment

A consensus has emerged within the mathematics education community about the limitations of traditional approaches for teaching and learning 3D geometry. Therefore, it has been suggested that new approaches based on the use of computers need to be adopted. One such new approach that has been proposed utilises Virtual Reality Learning Environment (VRLE). This paper reports on the initial phases of a research study whose major aim is to design and evaluate a VRLE to facilitate the construction of knowledge about 3D geometry concepts and processes. This research study investigates two primary school students’ construction of 3D geometry knowledge whilst engaged within a VRLE developed by the researcher. A design experiments research methodology was employed in this study. This is research that iterates through cycles of design and research with the objective of arriving at theoretical and design principles that will have application both within and beyond the immediate research study. Therefore, the results being reported in this paper will be used to inform the modification not only of the VRLE but also of theoretical frameworks underlying the design and implementation of VRLEs

The benefits of using a walking interface to navigate virtual environments

Navigation is the most common interactive task performed in three-dimensional virtual environments (VEs), but it is also a task that users often find difficult. We investigated how body-based information about the translational and rotational components of movement helped participants to perform a navigational search task (finding targets hidden inside boxes in a room-sized space). When participants physically walked around the VE while viewing it on a head-mounted display (HMD), they then performed 90% of trials perfectly, comparable to participants who had performed an equivalent task in the real world during a previous study. By contrast, participants performed less than 50% of trials perfectly if they used a tethered HMD (move by physically turning but pressing a button to translate) or a desktop display (no body-based information). This is the most complex navigational task in which a real-world level of performance has been achieved in a VE. Behavioral data indicates that both translational and rotational body-based information are required to accurately update one's position during navigation, and participants who walked tended to avoid obstacles, even though collision detection was not implemented and feedback not provided. A walking interface would bring immediate benefits to a number of VE applications

For efficient navigational search, humans require full physical movement but not a rich visual scene

During navigation, humans combine visual information from their surroundings with body-based information from the translational and rotational components of movement. Theories of navigation focus on the role of visual and rotational body-based information, even though experimental evidence shows they are not sufficient for complex spatial tasks. To investigate the contribution of all three sources of information, we asked participants to search a computer generated “virtual” room for targets. Participants were provided with either only visual information, or visual supplemented with body-based information for all movement (walk group) or rotational movement (rotate group). The walk group performed the task with near-perfect efficiency, irrespective of whether a rich or impoverished visual scene was provided. The visual-only and rotate groups were significantly less efficient, and frequently searched parts of the room at least twice. This suggests full physical movement plays a critical role in navigational search, but only moderate visual detail is required

Evolving a Behavioral Repertoire for a Walking Robot

Numerous algorithms have been proposed to allow legged robots to learn to walk. However, the vast majority of these algorithms is devised to learn to walk in a straight line, which is not sufficient to accomplish any real-world mission. Here we introduce the Transferability-based Behavioral Repertoire Evolution algorithm (TBR-Evolution), a novel evolutionary algorithm that simultaneously discovers several hundreds of simple walking controllers, one for each possible direction. By taking advantage of solutions that are usually discarded by evolutionary processes, TBR-Evolution is substantially faster than independently evolving each controller. Our technique relies on two methods: (1) novelty search with local competition, which searches for both high-performing and diverse solutions, and (2) the transferability approach, which com-bines simulations and real tests to evolve controllers for a physical robot. We evaluate this new technique on a hexapod robot. Results show that with only a few dozen short experiments performed on the robot, the algorithm learns a repertoire of con-trollers that allows the robot to reach every point in its reachable space. Overall, TBR-Evolution opens a new kind of learning algorithm that simultaneously optimizes all the achievable behaviors of a robot.Comment: 33 pages; Evolutionary Computation Journal 201

Game Based Learning for Safety and Security Education

Safety and security education are important part of technology related education, because of recent number of increase in safety and security related incidents. Game based learning is an emerging and rapidly advancing forms of computer-assisted instruction. Game based learning for safety and security education enables students to learn concepts and skills without the risk of physical injury and security breach. In this paper, a pedestal grinder safety game and physical security game have been developed using industrial standard modeling and game development software. The average score of the knowledge test of grinder safety game was 82%, which is higher than traditional lecture only instruction method. In addition, the survey of physical security game shows 84% average satisfaction ratio from high school students who played the game during the summer camp. The results of these studies indicated that game based learning method can enhance students' learning without potential harm to the students