An evaluation framework for virtual reality safety training systems in the South African Mining Industry

The mining industry in South Africa contributes significantly to the national economy. Despite stringent safety legislation, mining accidents cause numerous fatalities and injuries. Inadequate or insufficient training is often cited as a root cause of accidents. Conventional class-based safety training has not reduced the incidence of accidents significantly. By contrast, virtual reality training tools can provide simulated exposure to real-world working conditions without the associated risks. This study describes the application of design-based research (DBR) in the design and development of two desktop virtual reality (VR) systems for safety training in the South African mining industry. The results of a usability context analysis were applied in the design of a VR prototype on generic hazards recognition and rectification, which was used and evaluated at South Africa‘s largest platinum mine site. A case study was conducted to investigate the causes and occurrences of falls of ground, which resulted in the design and development of a second VR prototype focusing on identifying and addressing underground geological conditions. DBR was also used in the generation of an evaluation framework for evaluating VR training systems, namely the Desktop VR Evaluation Framework (DEVREF), which is the major deliverable of the research. DEVREF can make a major contribution to the domain of e-training in mines and is transferable and customisable beyond its initial application. The process flow of the research thus moved beyond merely providing a solution to a complex real-world problem and became a classic DBR study with dual outcomes, namely a practical real-world solution in the form of two VR training systems and a theoretical contribution in the form of the DEVREF evaluation framework. DEVREF evaluates the design of desktop VR training systems in the categories of instructional design, usability, VR systems design, and context-specific criteria for mining. The use of DEVREF is demonstrated by reporting the application of its criteria in evaluating the two VR training systems. Heuristic evaluation, end-user surveys, and interviews were used as evaluation methods. A third contribution is methodological, in that this work proposes a new DBR process model and an interaction design lifecycle model suitable for VR training systems.ComputingD. Phil. (Information Systems

Procedural aging techniques of synthetic cities and 3D scenarios

Today we live in an increasingly computerized and demanding world. A world where is constantly presented the need for, the industry of video games and movies, to find ways to create more realistic graphics environments, faster and longer with a huge level of variety. To address this need, the techniques for procedural generation appeared. These techniques were used by the computer graphics industry to create textures to simulate special effects and generate complex natural models, including mostly vegetation. Within these first techniques we can find a wide range of techniques. Subsequently, with the needs to create increasingly more complex and realistic environments, emerged the solution to adapt these algorithms, already known, to something more complex such as the generation of a road infrastructure, the generation of buildings or allowed to practically generate a world only with procedural generation and a set of rules. Although this development is increasingly felt, we noticed there is an interest in a new area, which is the procedural aging of buildings in these graphical worlds. Several authors had proposed to create new and better algorithms of procedural aging in building. These authors when approaching this subject, tend to follow a very unique and specific way, creating an algorithm capable of playing a unique phenomenon of aging. Thus, identified this gap in the literature, it was decided to seize this opportunity and present and develop a procedural aging algorithm applied to buildings that is capable of reproduce different aging phenomena, and that consumes low computational resources being capable of be applied to a huge 3D scenario.Hoje em dia vivemos num mundo cada vez mais computorizado e exigente. Um mundo onde cada vez mais está presente a necessidade de a industria dos jogos de vídeo e dos filmes arranjar maneiras de criar ambientes gráficos mais realistas, mais rapidamente e já com um nível de variedade grande. Para colmatar esta necessidade surgiu então as técnicas de geração procedural. Estas técnicas aliaram-se á industria de computação gráfica para criar texturas naturais, simular efeitos especiais e gerar modelos naturais complexos, incluindo maioritariamente vegetação. Dentro destas primeiras técnicas podemos encontrar as fractais, L-system e Perlin Noise, entre outros. Posteriormente, com a necessidades de criar cada vez mais ambientes mais complexos, surgiu a solução de adaptar estes algoritmos já conhecidos para algo mais complexo, como a geração de uma estrutura rodoviária, ou como a geração de edifícios podendo assim praticamente gerar um mundo inteiro somente com a geração procedural e um conjunto de regras. Apesar de esta evolução ser cada vez mais sentida, notou-se um crescente interesse num tema em partcular, sendo essa, o envelhecimento procedural dos edifícios nestes mundos gráficos. Vários autores até então tinham-se proposto a criar novos e cada vez melhores algoritmos de envelhecimento procedural dos edifícios. Estes autores ao abordar este tema, tendem em seguir um caminho muito singular e especifico, criando um algoritmo capaz de reproduzir um unico fenomeno de envelhecimento. Assim, identificada esta lacuna na literatura, decidiu-se agarrar esta oportunidade e apresentar e desenvolver um algoritmo de envelhecimento procedural aplicado aos edifícios que é capaz de reproduzir diferentes fenomenos de envelhecimento, e que consome poucos recursos computacionais sendo capaz de ser aplicado a um grande cenário 3D

The relationship between research data management and virtual research environments

The aim of the study was to compile a conceptual model of a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) that indicates the relationship between Research Data Management (RDM) and VREs. The outcome of this study was that VREs are ideal platforms for the management of research data. In the first part of the study, a literature review was conducted by focusing on four themes: VREs and other concepts related to VREs; VRE components and tools; RDM; and the relationship between VREs and RDM. The first theme included a discussion of definitions of concepts, approaches to VREs, their development, aims, characteristics, similarities and differences of concepts, an overview of the e-Research approaches followed in this study, as well as an overview of concepts used in this study. The second theme consisted of an overview of developments of VREs in four countries (United Kingdom, USA, The Netherlands, and Germany), an indication of the differences and similarities of these programmes, and a discussion on the concept of research lifecycles, as well as VRE components. These components were then matched with possible tools, as well as to research lifecycle stages, which led to the development of a first conceptual VRE framework. The third theme included an overview of the definitions of the concepts ‘data’ and ‘research data’, as well as RDM and related concepts, an investigation of international developments with regards to RDM, an overview of the differences and similarities of approaches followed internationally, and a discussion of RDM developments in South Africa. This was followed by a discussion of the concept ‘research data lifecycles’, their various stages, corresponding processes and the roles various stakeholders can play in each stage. The fourth theme consisted of a discussion of the relationship between research lifecycles and research data lifecycles, a discussion on the role of RDM as a component within a VRE, the management of research data by means of a VRE, as well as the presentation of a possible conceptual model for the management of research data by means of a VRE. This literature review was conducted as a background and basis for this study. In the second part of the study, the research methodology was outlined. The chosen methodology entailed a non-empirical part consisting of a literature study, and an empirical part consisting of two case studies from a South African University. The two case studies were specifically chosen because each used different methods in conducting research. The one case study used natural science oriented data and laboratory/experimental methods, and the other, human orientated data and survey instruments. The proposed conceptual model derived from the literature study was assessed through these case studies and feedback received was used to modify and/or enhance the conceptual model. The contribution of this study lies primarily in the presentation of a conceptual VRE model with distinct component layers and generic components, which can be used as technological and collaborative frameworks for the successful management of research data.Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2018.National Research FoundationInformation ScienceDPhilUnrestricte

Presence 2005: the eighth annual international workshop on presence, 21-23 September, 2005 University College London (Conference proceedings)

OVERVIEW (taken from the CALL FOR PAPERS) Academics and practitioners with an interest in the concept of (tele)presence are invited to submit their work for presentation at PRESENCE 2005 at University College London in London, England, September 21-23, 2005. The eighth in a series of highly successful international workshops, PRESENCE 2005 will provide an open discussion forum to share ideas regarding concepts and theories, measurement techniques, technology, and applications related to presence, the psychological state or subjective perception in which a person fails to accurately and completely acknowledge the role of technology in an experience, including the sense of 'being there' experienced by users of advanced media such as virtual reality. The concept of presence in virtual environments has been around for at least 15 years, and the earlier idea of telepresence at least since Minsky's seminal paper in 1980. Recently there has been a burst of funded research activity in this area for the first time with the European FET Presence Research initiative. What do we really know about presence and its determinants? How can presence be successfully delivered with today's technology? This conference invites papers that are based on empirical results from studies of presence and related issues and/or which contribute to the technology for the delivery of presence. Papers that make substantial advances in theoretical understanding of presence are also welcome. The interest is not solely in virtual environments but in mixed reality environments. Submissions will be reviewed more rigorously than in previous conferences. High quality papers are therefore sought which make substantial contributions to the field. Approximately 20 papers will be selected for two successive special issues for the journal Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments. PRESENCE 2005 takes place in London and is hosted by University College London. The conference is organized by ISPR, the International Society for Presence Research and is supported by the European Commission's FET Presence Research Initiative through the Presencia and IST OMNIPRES projects and by University College London

Industrial Augmented Reality As An Approach For Device Identification Within A Manufacturing Plant For Property Alteration Purposes

ThesisThe introduction of 3D computer graphics has led to an increase in the processing capacity of the computational units monumentally, along with speed, memory and transmission bandwidth. Augmented Reality (AR) has modelled remarkable progress towards real-world consumer applications. Considering the fact that mass production occurs daily in the manufacturing plants with large sums of wastage, caused either by human error, load-shedding (power outage), machine malfunction, or the time it takes the engineers to identify and fix the problem, are observed in high volumes. Therefore, the need to identify strategies and solutions to reduce such problems on-site with accurate data, rather than outsourcing or depending solely on the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system data, which might damage the integrity and economy of the manufacturing plant, needs to be developed and implemented. In a controlled network, identification and detection of a component in the process are difficult without prior knowledge and background in the design and implementation process. Thus, the concept of device identification with the aid of augmented reality, utilising markerless identifiers, such as machine vision, other than Quick Response Codes (QR codes) or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), needs to be investigated. It is because of such reasons that the deployment of new types of technologies, such as “augmented reality” and “machine vision” need to further be investigated to obtain the device details, based on their positions and features within the indoor manufacturing plant to procure and commercialise this solution technology. This study proposes an optimal and efficient model, utilising machine vision application to detect and identify devices, based on their positions and features within the manufacturing plant with the aid of an augmented reality application for extending the device details. The study has outlined a machine vision application developed for object detection, based on colour and shape. Additionally, another method based on the augmented reality application was developed for the identification and augmentation of device details, based on the feature and position of the device within the indoor manufacturing plant. The study proved to be very successful in the identification and detection of objects, making use of machine vision algorithms, namely colour, shape and Canny Edge detection and the identification of devices (robotic arm and motors), based on their features and position within an indoor manufacturing environment set-up. For the optimal efficiency of this model, the Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm (ORB-SLAM) was used, in conjunction with the bundle adjustment algorithm as an alternative solution in the absence of the user built-in maps for the calculation of the device positions, based on the uncertainties of the exact locations within the indoor manufacturing environment set-up. However, some of the shortcomings were identified and addressed, such as the communication speed and the room’s light conditions, which impacted the sensing of the camera to detect the correct objects. These shortcomings were, however, addressed by conducting two studies, namely the day and night study to compare the best light settings and also to reduce the distance between the devices and the AR application to compensate for the communication speed issues. The scientific contribution of this study is the recognition of components by means of vision identification within such a process within an indoor manufacturing set-up. By means of identification, the user will have the capability to view and adjust the parameters of the process in a scaled plant. This contribution makes use of a modelled JPEG image. An AR image that the user can identify the devices apart from, relying on the SCADA system alone, was physically modelled on Blender3D for utilisation in Unity3D, as opposed to utilisation of any image and referencing it which would make the process tedious and reduce the processing speed. Subsequently, it has been depicted as part of a new knowledge contribution, that the identification of the devices can be achieved by placing the smartphone at any angle of the device (robotic arm or motor), and the detection and augmentation will be achieved without any change in the settings. As part of result validation, a video was taken and uploaded on YouTube to receive a user perspective on the developed AR application. After the video upload, a survey was shared with 20 individuals, together with the YouTube link to indicate a broader base evaluation. However, the results came back positive with the majority of the sample individuals recommending the adoption of the application and its utilisation in the scaled manufacturing plant. In addition to the results verification, a SCADA model was developed in National InstrumentsTM LabviewTM and was integrated with the AR application for evaluation purposes. The results showed that the AR application doesn’t require any alteration, despite utilising a different SCADA model in different software applications, provided that the array index is the same. Only when the array index differs, is it that alterations are necessary utilising the AR application in order to have the same array elements and avoid having a null index that might cause the application to crash or not to debug. It is therefore noted that the AR application is compatible and reliable for integration with other SCADA models without alteration requirements. The entire work outlined in this thesis was validated by two sets of physical experiments, namely GPS-based detection, and the ORB-SLAM, integrated with the Bundle Adjustment algorithm for feature and position detection. However, despite the prior knowledge of the GPS's inconsistent operation within a scaled indoor environment, it was necessary to perform the test to obtain more insight into this inconsistency and inaccurate data results

The diet of black-backed jackal (Canis Mesomelas) on two contrasting land-use types in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa and the validation of a new analytical method of mammalian hair identification

Diet assessments are critical for understanding the foraging behaviour, habitat use and trophic separation of mammalian predators and are vital for gaining insight into how predators influence prey populations. The aim of this research was to qualitatively describe the diet of black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas, Schreber 1775) using scat analysis on two contrasting land-use types in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Scats were collected on a monthly basis from November 2009 to October 2010 from two game reserves (Great Fish River Reserve and Shamwari Private Game Reserve) and two neighbouring livestock farms. The relative frequency of occurrence of mammal hair (33 – 47 %) and vegetation (32 – 45%)dominated jackal diet throughout the year across the four study sites. Other important prey items included invertebrates (8 – 21 %) and fruit and seeds (3 – 11 %). Birds and reptiles constituted ≤ 2 % of the diet and were only recorded on the game reserves. Significant seasonal dietary shifts were observed on the game reserves but not on the farms. Fruit and seeds were significantly more frequent in the diet during autumn at Great Fish River Reserve and invertebrates were significantly less common in the diet during winter on both reserves. In addition, vegetation was significantly more common in the diet during winter at Shamwari Private Game Reserve. The significant temporal variation of certain prey items is testament to black-backed jackals being opportunistic generalists, foraging on those food items which are most abundant, accessible and energetically beneficial. Land-use type also influenced the diet of black-backed jackals with significantly more invertebrates and, fruit and seeds being recorded on the game reserves than on the farms. By contrast, significantly more mammal hair and vegetation were present in the diet on the farms compared with the game reserves. The mammalian component of the diet was dominated by ruminants and rodents on the game reserves and by ruminants and livestock on the farms. The presence of livestock in the diet of black-backed jackals on the farms highlights their potential impact on the livestock industry in the region and may assist farmers in determining which predators are responsible for stock loss. Previous approaches for identifying mammalian hairs from predator scats have utilised dichotomous keys and reference collections but these are often time-consuming and require a trained individual to carry out the identification. Thus, I also tested the efficacy of an automated pattern recognition programme (HairSnap) for identifying mammalian hairs from black-backed jackal scats. The overall accuracy of the programme was 38 % with black-backed jackal, Greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) and striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus) hairs being accurately identified more often (70 – 80 %) than any other species tested. It is likely that both the size and species composition of the sample resulted in the poor accuracy of the programme. However, with the implementation of several improvement measures (e.g. adjustment of the algorithm) the programme may offer a superior, bias-free method of mammalian hair identification. The dietary information gathered here furthers our knowledge of the biology of the blackbacked jackals, especially in the locally important thicket biome. Moreover, understanding their foraging habits allows for more effective management of the species on both game reserves and farmlands. I recommend that future research should focus on quantitatively assessing the diet of black-backed jackals in the Eastern Cape Province and elsewhere. This will compliment the dietary description provided in this study and may offer a biologically more meaningful indication of the relative importance of the prey items

VRBridge: a Constructivist Approach to Supporting Interaction Design and End-User Authoring in Virtual Reality

For any technology to become widely-used and accepted, it must support end-user authoring and customisation. This means making the technology accessible by enabling understanding of its design issues and reducing its technical barriers. Our interest is in enabling end-users to author dynamic virtual environments (VEs), specifically their interactions: player interactions with objects and the environment; and object interactions with each other and the environment. This thesis describes a method to create tools and design aids which enable end-users to design and implement interactions in a VE and assist them in building the requisite domain knowledge, while reducing the costs of learning a new set of skills. Our design method is based in constructivism, which is a theory that examines the acquisition and use of knowledge. It provides principles for managing complexity in knowledge acquisition: multiplicity of representations and perspectives; simplicity of basic components; encouragement of exploration; support for deep reflection; and providing users with control of their process as much as possible. We derived two main design aids from these principles: multiple, interactive and synchronised domain-specific representations of the design; and multiple forms of non-invasive and user-adaptable scaffolding. The method began with extensive research into representations and scaffolding, followed by investigation of the design strategies of experts, the needs of novices and how best to support them with software, and the requirements of the VR domain. We also conducted a classroom observation of the practices of non-programmers in VR design, to discover their specific problems with effectively conceptualising and communicating interactions in VR. Based on our findings in this research and our constructivist guidelines, we developed VRBridge, an interaction authoring tool. This contained a simple event-action interface for creating interactions using trigger-condition-action triads or Triggersets. We conducted two experimental evaluations during the design of VRBridge, to test the effectiveness of our design aids and the basic tool. The first tested the effectiveness of the Triggersets and additional representations: a Floorplan, a Sequence Diagram and Timelines. We used observation, interviews and task success to evaluate how effectively end-users could analyse and debug interactions created with VRBridge. We found that the Triggersets were effective and usable by novices to analyse an interaction design, and that the representations significantly improved end-user work and experience. The second experiment was large-scale (124 participants) and conducted over two weeks. Participants worked on authoring tasks which embodied typical interactions and complexities in the domain. We used a task exploration metric, questionnaires and computer logging to evaluate aspects of task performance: how effectively end-users could create interactions with VRBridge; how effectively they worked in the domain of VR authoring; how much enjoyment or satisfaction they experienced during the process; and how well they learned over time. This experiment tested the entire system and the effects of the scaffolding and representations. We found that all users were able to complete authoring tasks using VRBridge after very little experience with the system and domain; all users improved and felt more satisfaction over time; users with representations or scaffolding as a design aid completed the task more expertly, explored more effectively, felt more satisfaction and learned better than those without design aids; users with representations explored more effectively and felt more satisfaction than those with scaffolding; and users with both design aids learned better but did not improve in any other way over users with a single design aid. We also gained evidence about how the scaffolding, representations and basic tool were used during the evaluation. The contributions of this thesis are: an effective and efficient theory-based design method; a case study in the use of constructivism to structure a design process and deliver effective tools; a proof-of-concept prototype with which novices can create interactions in VR without traditional programming; evidence about the problems that novices face when designing interactions and dealing with unfamiliar programming concepts; empirical evidence about the relative effectiveness of additional representations and scaffolding as support for designing interactions; guidelines for supporting end-user authoring in general; and guidelines for the design of effective interaction authoring systems in general

Scaffolding Java Programming on a Mobile Phone for Novice Learners

The ubiquity of mobile phones provides an opportunity to use them for learning programming beyond the classroom. This would be particularly useful for novice learners of programming in resource-constrained environments. However, limitations of mobile phones, such as small screens and small keypads, impede their use as typical programming environments. This study proposed that mobile programming environments could include scaffolding techniques specifically designed for mobile phones, and designed based on learners’ needs. A six-level theoretic framework was used to design scaffolding techniques to support construction of Java programs on a mobile phone. The scaffolding techniques were implemented on an Android platform. Using the prototype, three experiments were conducted with 182 learners of programming from four universities in South Africa and Kenya. Evaluation was conducted to investigate: (i) which scaffolding techniques could support the construction of Java programs on a mobile phone; and (ii) the effect on learners of using these scaffolding techniques to construct Java programs on a mobile phone. Data was collected using computer logs, questionnaires, and image and video recordings. It was found that static scaffolding, such as a program overview and constructing a program one part at a time, supported the construction of programs on a mobile phone. It was also found that automatic scaffolding, such as error prompts and statement dialogs, and user-initiated scaffolding, such as viewing of the full program while creating parts of a program, supported learners to construct programs on the mobile phone. The study also found that the scaffolding techniques enabled learners to attempt and complete more tasks than a non-scaffolded environment. Further, the scaffolding techniques enabled learners to complete programs efficiently, and captured syntactical errors early during program creation. The results also indicated that after the initial familiarization with the scaffolded environment, the scaffolding techniques could enable faster completion of programs. Learners’ feedback indicated that they found the scaffolding techniques useful in supporting programming on a mobile phone and in meeting learners’ needs. This study provides empirical evidence that scaffolding techniques specifically designed for mobile phones and designed based on learners’ needs could support the construction of programs on a mobile phone