Location-based technologies for learning

Emerging technologies for learning report - Article exploring location based technologies and their potential for educatio

MAGIC: Manipulating Avatars and Gestures to Improve Remote Collaboration

Remote collaborative work has become pervasive in many settings, from engineering to medical professions. Users are immersed in virtual environments and communicate through life-sized avatars that enable face-to-face collaboration. Within this context, users often collaboratively view and interact with virtual 3D models, for example, to assist in designing new devices such as customized prosthetics, vehicles, or buildings. However, discussing shared 3D content face-to-face has various challenges, such as ambiguities, occlusions, and different viewpoints that all decrease mutual awareness, leading to decreased task performance and increased errors. To address this challenge, we introduce MAGIC, a novel approach for understanding pointing gestures in a face-to-face shared 3D space, improving mutual understanding and awareness. Our approach distorts the remote user\'s gestures to correctly reflect them in the local user\'s reference space when face-to-face. We introduce a novel metric called pointing agreement to measure what two users perceive in common when using pointing gestures in a shared 3D space. Results from a user study suggest that MAGIC significantly improves pointing agreement in face-to-face collaboration settings, improving co-presence and awareness of interactions performed in the shared space. We believe that MAGIC improves remote collaboration by enabling simpler communication mechanisms and better mutual awareness.Comment: Presented at IEEE VR 202

Defining the Potential of Extended Reality Tools for Implementing Co-creation of User Oriented Products and Systems

In the last two decades a huge number of interactive and collaborative applications of Virtual Environments for designing products has been proposed. Such applications have been recommended as tools to implement Human Centered Design Approach in experiments where potential users are involved in participatory design sessions before going for production. In this kind of experiments, we observe that users are mainly involved in the validation of solutions previously elaborated by designers while in the last decade the most innovative approach in the creation of solutions seems to be moving from a user centered design to a co-design or co-creation process. Thus, it is essential to have a platform where the elements of co-creation can be fulfilled in building a successful project. The purpose of this paper is to outline the concept of co creation and the significance of co-creation platforms alongside of proposing innovative tools for building the co-creative environments. The paper aims to layout a classification of the Extended Reality (XR) tools currently available and of their functionality as valuable means to actually embed co-design and co creation concepts in Virtual Environments evaluating the advantages that this can bring to Industry through field studies. A review of innovative solutions like Virtual, Augmented and Mixed reality technologies is examined and drawn towards the requirements of the concept through a literature research. Additionally, a co-creative environment for designing aircraft cabin interiors is conceived and discussed a with company representative

Conceitos e métodos para apoio ao desenvolvimento e avaliação de colaboração remota utilizando realidade aumentada

Remote Collaboration using Augmented Reality (AR) shows great potential to establish a common ground in physically distributed scenarios where team-members need to achieve a shared goal. However, most research efforts in this field have been devoted to experiment with the enabling technology and propose methods to support its development. As the field evolves, evaluation and characterization of the collaborative process become an essential, but difficult endeavor, to better understand the contributions of AR. In this thesis, we conducted a critical analysis to identify the main limitations and opportunities of the field, while situating its maturity and proposing a roadmap of important research actions. Next, a human-centered design methodology was adopted, involving industrial partners to probe how AR could support their needs during remote maintenance. These outcomes were combined with literature methods into an AR-prototype and its evaluation was performed through a user study. From this, it became clear the necessity to perform a deep reflection in order to better understand the dimensions that influence and must/should be considered in Collaborative AR. Hence, a conceptual model and a humancentered taxonomy were proposed to foster systematization of perspectives. Based on the model proposed, an evaluation framework for contextualized data gathering and analysis was developed, allowing support the design and performance of distributed evaluations in a more informed and complete manner. To instantiate this vision, the CAPTURE toolkit was created, providing an additional perspective based on selected dimensions of collaboration and pre-defined measurements to obtain “in situ” data about them, which can be analyzed using an integrated visualization dashboard. The toolkit successfully supported evaluations of several team-members during tasks of remote maintenance mediated by AR. Thus, showing its versatility and potential in eliciting a comprehensive characterization of the added value of AR in real-life situations, establishing itself as a generalpurpose solution, potentially applicable to a wider range of collaborative scenarios.Colaboração Remota utilizando Realidade Aumentada (RA) apresenta um enorme potencial para estabelecer um entendimento comum em cenários onde membros de uma equipa fisicamente distribuídos precisam de atingir um objetivo comum. No entanto, a maioria dos esforços de investigação tem-se focado nos aspetos tecnológicos, em fazer experiências e propor métodos para apoiar seu desenvolvimento. À medida que a área evolui, a avaliação e caracterização do processo colaborativo tornam-se um esforço essencial, mas difícil, para compreender as contribuições da RA. Nesta dissertação, realizámos uma análise crítica para identificar as principais limitações e oportunidades da área, ao mesmo tempo em que situámos a sua maturidade e propomos um mapa com direções de investigação importantes. De seguida, foi adotada uma metodologia de Design Centrado no Humano, envolvendo parceiros industriais de forma a compreender como a RA poderia responder às suas necessidades em manutenção remota. Estes resultados foram combinados com métodos da literatura num protótipo de RA e a sua avaliação foi realizada com um caso de estudo. Ficou então clara a necessidade de realizar uma reflexão profunda para melhor compreender as dimensões que influenciam e devem ser consideradas na RA Colaborativa. Foram então propostos um modelo conceptual e uma taxonomia centrada no ser humano para promover a sistematização de perspetivas. Com base no modelo proposto, foi desenvolvido um framework de avaliação para recolha e análise de dados contextualizados, permitindo apoiar o desenho e a realização de avaliações distribuídas de forma mais informada e completa. Para instanciar esta visão, o CAPTURE toolkit foi criado, fornecendo uma perspetiva adicional com base em dimensões de colaboração e medidas predefinidas para obter dados in situ, que podem ser analisados utilizando o painel de visualização integrado. O toolkit permitiu avaliar com sucesso vários colaboradores durante a realização de tarefas de manutenção remota apoiada por RA, permitindo mostrar a sua versatilidade e potencial em obter uma caracterização abrangente do valor acrescentado da RA em situações da vida real. Sendo assim, estabelece-se como uma solução genérica, potencialmente aplicável a uma gama diversificada de cenários colaborativos.Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Informátic

A Phenomenological approach to media art environments: The Immersive art experience and the Finnish art scene

This research focuses on immersive art, defined as a multimedia experience where visitors interact with artwork whilst immersed in a range of sensory experiences. In this dissertation, I investigate the immersive art experience from the perspective of art history, social theory, and media studies situated within a phenomenological theoretical framework. I present a comparative analysis of forms of immersive spatiality, including projected moving-image art, spatial environments, participatory installations, video art installations and interactive environments in the international art scene. One of my objectives is to emphasise the role of video art in the development of interactive and immersive art environments. The growing importance of spectators for giving meaning to the artwork allows immersivity to be analysed in relation to the notions of spectacle and spectatorship. I connect disciplines, practices and concepts by adopting principles from Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological writings. Spatiality and motility are pivotal points in immersive experiences. Immersive art, as an embodied mutual experience, materialises the phenomenological concepts of spectatorship, corporeality, motility, porosity, chiasm, and encounter. I have selected a group of relevant Finnish artists from different generations to characterise the development of media art and, particularly, immersive media art in an international context. The group includes Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Lauri Astala, Laura Beloff, Hanna Haaslahti, Tuomas A. Laitinen, Erkka Nissinen, and Marjatta Oja. I examine the historical dissemination of phenomenology in Finland and a renewed interest in the 1990s which coincided with the spatialisation of video art and the emergence of immersivity. I also investigate the opening of Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art and its impact on Finnish culture, and the recent Amos Rex Museum, specifically built for immersive exhibitions. Regarding the unstable nature of media art, I analyse the changes in displaying art collections and exhibitions, the new commitments of art museums and the innovative directions taken by media conservators. My examination of immersive art, with its performativity and transience, reveals environmentally friendly and sustainable aspects.Fenomenologinen tulokulma mediataideympäristöihin. Immersiivinen taidekokemus ja Suomen taidekenttä Tämä tutkimus käsittelee immersiivistä taidetta multimediaalisena kokemuksena. Immersiossa kävijät ovat erilaisten aistimellisten kokemusten ympäröiminä vuorovaikutuksessa taiteen kanssa. Tutkin väitöskirjassani immersiivistä taidekokemusta fenomenologisessa teoriakehyksessä taidehistorian, yhteiskuntateorian ja mediatutkimuksen näkökulmasta. Esitän vertailevan analyysin immersiivisistä tilallisuuden muodoista, joihin sisällytän liikkuvan kuvan projisoinnit, tilateokset, osallistavat installaatiot, videoinstallaatiot ja interaktiiviset ympäristöt kansainvälisen taidekentän ilmiöinä. Yhtenä pyrkimyksenäni on painottaa videotaiteen merkitystä interaktiivisen ja immersiivisen taiteen kehityksessä. Katsojien kasvava rooli taideteoksen merkityksen muodostuksessa tarjoaa perustan immersion analyysille nimenomaan spektaakkelin ja katsojuuden viitekehyksessä. Yhdistän eri tieteenaloja, käytäntöjä ja käsitteitä toisiinsa Maurice Merleau-Pontyn fenomenologisten kirjoitusten avulla. Tilallisuus ja liike ovat immersiivisten kokemusten ytimessä. Jaettuna ruumiillisena kokemuksena immersiivinen taide ilmentää materiaalisesti fenomenologisia katsojuuden, ruumiillisuuden, liikkeessä olemisen, huokoisuuden, kiasman ja kohtaamisen käsitteitä. Olen valinnut joukon eri sukupolvia edustavia suomalaistaiteilijoita hahmot-taakseni mediataiteen ja erityisesti immersiivisen mediataiteen kansainvälisiä kehityskulkuja. Heihin lukeutuvat Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Lauri Astala, Laura Beloff, Hanna Haaslahti, Tuomas A. Laitinen, Erkka Nissinen ja Marjatta Oja. Käsittelen fenomenologian saapumista Suomeen sekä siihen 1990-luvulla videotaiteen tilallistumisen ja immersion esiin nousun yhteydessä uudelleen virinnyttä mielenkiintoa. Tarkastelen myös Nykytaiteen museo Kiasman perustamista ja sen vaikutusta suomalaiseen kulttuuriin, samoin kuin vastikään avattua Amos Rex -taidemuseota, joka on rakennettu erityisesti immersiivisiä näyttelyitä silmällä pitäen. Analysoin muutoksia taidekokoelmien ja näyttelyiden esillepanossa, taidemuseoiden uudenlaisia sitoumuksia ja mediataiteen kuratoinnin uutta luovia suuntia suhteessa mediataiteen nopeasti muuttuvaan luonteeseen. Painottamalla performatiivisuutta ja hetkellisyyttä nostan immersiivisen taiteen analyysissani näkyville sen ympäristöystävällisiä ja kestäviä ulottuvuuksia

The social AR continuum : wearable AR for sharing social experiences.

The primary goal of the work reported in this thesis is to explore, develop and evaluate novel interaction techniques for Augmented Reality (AR) wearable head- sets, by focusing on how they can be used to share social experiences with family and friends. AR has the potential to provide an intuitive and natural approach to sharing our social experiences in life with others while being co-present. In order to better visualise and interact with social networks on wearable AR devices, we intro- duce the concept of the "Social AR Continuum", which describes the space of sharing experiences in AR across various axes. We discuss the advantages and limitations of various implementations and techniques of shared social experiences on wearable AR. Based on Human-Computer Interaction methodologies, we conducted user studies to evaluate user presences and system usability of our implementations for visualising, sharing and interacting with social experiences on AR headsets. The work focused on the essential Social AR Continuum dimensions of representing contacts, sharing data and interactions, developed user interfaces on these dimensions and evaluated them using user studies. Our results show that using AR to share social experiences can increase users’ social presence. The results are summarised as design recommendations to help interface designers better design shared social experiences on wearable AR systems