Juegos de realidad virtual y pandemia. Un recurso didáctico polivalente

En esta segunda entrega de Working Papers Gamelab UPS se realiza un recorrido sobre el uso de los teléfonos celulares inteligentes para la enseñanza, derivando opciones didácticas con base en la realidad virtual, en las que se presentan una serie de aplicaciones incorporadas en el contexto educativo como Google Cardboard, VR Wire Walking, Within VR, VR Mission Leviathan, Virtual Skeleton. Además, se agrega una alternativa para la creación del visor de realidad virtual, finalizando con recomendaciones a docentes para concretar su incorporación en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, rompiendo así con la visión exclusiva y elitista dispuesta hacia este tipo de recursos didácticos

Realidade Aumentada contínua: proposta de um sistema de navegação e interação em ambientes interiores.

A Realidade Aumentada tem-se desenvolvido muito recentemente, perspetivando-se que esse desenvolvimento se mantenha nos próximos anos e que venha a ser aplicada em cada vez mais situações. No âmbito desta dissertação estudou-se a Realidade Aumentada contínua utilizando dispositivos capazes de fazer o tracking tridimensional da sua posição. Esta abordagem permite “aumentar” com conteúdos virtuais e sem interrupções, espaços reais, como por exemplo museus, de forma a melhorar a experiência de quem os visita. Efetuou-se um estudo para caracterizar a precisão do Tango nos vários modos de funcionamento que esta tecnologia disponibiliza e propôs-se um novo método com vista a melhorar o seu desempenho em ambientes com características dinâmicas. Uma vez que a configuração de ambientes de Realidade Aumentada é um aspeto importante para tornar este tipo de soluções praticáveis, desenvolveu-se e testou-se uma solução para facilitar esta configuração.Augmented Reality has become more and more used lately, and this trend will probably continue in the next years. This dissertation addresses the topic of continuous Augmented Reality using mobile devices capable of tracking their own 3D location. This approach allows “augmenting” real spaces with virtual contents, without any interruption, as it is the case of Museums, improving visitors’ experience. The accuracy of Tango was studied for different tracking methods provided by this platform and a method was proposed to improve their performance in changing environment conditions. As the configuration of such augmented environments is a relevant issue to their applicability, a solution was developed and tested to ease this configuration easier.Mestrado em Engenharia de Computadores e Telemátic

Virtual Guidance using Mixed Reality in Historical Places and Museums

Mixed Reality (MR) is one of the most disruptive technologies that shows potential in many application domains, particularly in the tourism and cultural heritage sector. MR using the latest headsets with the highest capabilities introduces a new visual platform that can change people’s visual experience. This thesis introduces a HoloLens-based mixed reality guidance system for museums and historical places. This new guidance form considers the inclusiveness of the necessary and optimised functionalities, visual and audio guiding abilities, essential roles of a guide, and the related social interactions in the real-time. A mixed reality guide, dubbed ‘MuseumEye’ was designed and developed for the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, to overcome challenges currently facing the museum, e.g. lack of guiding methods, limited information signposted on the exhibits, lack of visitor engagement resulting in less time spent in the museum compared to other museums with similar capacity and significance. These problems motivated the researcher to conduct an exploratory study to investigate the museum environment and guiding methods by interviewing 10 participants and observing 20 visitors. ‘MuseumEye’ was built based on a literature review of immersive systems in museums and the findings of an exploratory study that reveals visitor behaviours and the nature of guidance in the museum. This project increased levels of engagement and the length of time visitors spend in museums, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in particular, using the mixed reality technology that provides visitors with additional visual, audio information and computer-generated images at various levels of details and via different media. This research introduces the guidelines of designing immersive reality guide applications using the techniques of spatial mapping, designing the multimedia and UI, and designing interactions for exploratory purposes. The main contributions of this study include various theoretical contributions: 1) creating a new form of guidance that enhances the museum experience through developing a mixed reality system; 2) a theoretical framework that assesses mixed reality guidance systems in terms of perceived usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment, interactivity, the roles of a guide and the likelihood of future use; 3) the Ambient Information Visualisation Concept for increasing visitor engagement through better presenting information and enhancing communication and interaction between visitors and exhibits; and a practical contribution in creating a mixed reality guidance system that reshapes the museum space, enhances visitors’ experience and significantly increases the length of time they spend in the museum. The evaluation comprised of quantitative surveys (171 participants and 9 experts) and qualitative observation (51 participants) using MuseumEye in their tours. The results showed positive responses for all measured aspects and compares these to similar studies. The observation results showed that visitors who use MuseumEye spent four times the duration visitors spent without guides or with human guides in front of exhibited items. The quantitative results showed significant correlations between the measured constructs (perceived usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment, multimedia and UI, interactivity) and the likelihood of future use when the roles of guide mediate the relations. Moreover, the ‘perceived guidance’ is the most influential construct on the likelihood of future use of MuseumEye. The results also revealed a high likelihood of future use, which ensures the sustainability of adopting mixed reality technology in museums. This thesis shows the potential of mixed reality guides in the museum sector that reshape the museum space and offers endless possibilities for museums and heritage sites

Virtual Guidance using Mixed Reality in Historical Places and Museums

Mixed Reality (MR) is one of the most disruptive technologies that shows potential in many application domains, particularly in the tourism and cultural heritage sector. MR using the latest headsets with the highest capabilities introduces a new visual platform that can change people’s visual experience. This thesis introduces a HoloLens-based mixed reality guidance system for museums and historical places. This new guidance form considers the inclusiveness of the necessary and optimised functionalities, visual and audio guiding abilities, essential roles of a guide, and the related social interactions in the real-time. A mixed reality guide, dubbed ‘MuseumEye’ was designed and developed for the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, to overcome challenges currently facing the museum, e.g. lack of guiding methods, limited information signposted on the exhibits, lack of visitor engagement resulting in less time spent in the museum compared to other museums with similar capacity and significance. These problems motivated the researcher to conduct an exploratory study to investigate the museum environment and guiding methods by interviewing 10 participants and observing 20 visitors. ‘MuseumEye’ was built based on a literature review of immersive systems in museums and the findings of an exploratory study that reveals visitor behaviours and the nature of guidance in the museum. This project increased levels of engagement and the length of time visitors spend in museums, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in particular, using the mixed reality technology that provides visitors with additional visual, audio information and computer-generated images at various levels of details and via different media. This research introduces the guidelines of designing immersive reality guide applications using the techniques of spatial mapping, designing the multimedia and UI, and designing interactions for exploratory purposes. The main contributions of this study include various theoretical contributions: 1) creating a new form of guidance that enhances the museum experience through developing a mixed reality system; 2) a theoretical framework that assesses mixed reality guidance systems in terms of perceived usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment, interactivity, the roles of a guide and the likelihood of future use; 3) the Ambient Information Visualisation Concept for increasing visitor engagement through better presenting information and enhancing communication and interaction between visitors and exhibits; and a practical contribution in creating a mixed reality guidance system that reshapes the museum space, enhances visitors’ experience and significantly increases the length of time they spend in the museum. The evaluation comprised of quantitative surveys (171 participants and 9 experts) and qualitative observation (51 participants) using MuseumEye in their tours. The results showed positive responses for all measured aspects and compares these to similar studies. The observation results showed that visitors who use MuseumEye spent four times the duration visitors spent without guides or with human guides in front of exhibited items. The quantitative results showed significant correlations between the measured constructs (perceived usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment, multimedia and UI, interactivity) and the likelihood of future use when the roles of guide mediate the relations. Moreover, the ‘perceived guidance’ is the most influential construct on the likelihood of future use of MuseumEye. The results also revealed a high likelihood of future use, which ensures the sustainability of adopting mixed reality technology in museums. This thesis shows the potential of mixed reality guides in the museum sector that reshape the museum space and offers endless possibilities for museums and heritage sites