Exploring the Impact of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Technologies on Business Model Innovation in Technology Companies in Germany

Newly-emerging, digitally-based technological innovations, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), are new drivers for business model innovation. This study aims to develop a better understanding of the impact of AR/VR technologies on business model innovation in technology companies. The objective of the study is “to explore the impact of augmented reality and virtual reality technologies on business model innovation in technology companies in Germany”. This paper investigates the body of knowledge regarding contemporary business model innovation and presents a conceptual framework to guide the research. The philosophical underpinnings of the study are discussed, and the chosen research methodology is justified. A holistic multiple-case study design targets German business-to-business technology companies employing AR/VR technologies to innovate their business models. The paper concludes with a discussion of initial learnings garnered from the implementation of a pre-pilot case study test run, and a full pilot case study

Feedback Design Considerations for Intelligent Team Tutoring Systems

Challenges arise when developing a computer-based Intelligent Team Tutoring System (ITTS) that attempts to deliver feedback to teams as effectively as a human tutor. The purpose of this current work is to outline elements of feedback that should be considered when designing feedback for an ITTS. The authors present the results of a study that consisted of 32 participants grouped into 16 teams of two. Each team conducted a surveillance task where they received individual or team feedback. Feedback content was written using either the bald (direct feedback; no need for interpretation) or off-record (general feedback; interpretation needed) etiquette strategy. The results showed that feedback delivered using the bald etiquette strategy positively correlated with improved performance. The results also showed that team level feedback positively correlated with more accurate self-assessment among participants. This suggests that in an ITTS, direct feedback can lead to better performance, and that feedback provided at the team level can help to align self-interpretation of performance with actual task performance

Emerging technologies with disruptive effects: a review

Since the last decade, several technologies have been abruptly influencing our lives. Among the notable major changes in the human society is the way humans interact with each other, which now involves the social media heavily where this is previously unknown to the masses. This type of technology is called Disruptive Innovation, a type of technology which has the potential to alter how human lives, market trends as well as other aspects including transportation and communications. Studies show that in the next few years, there are plenty of technology with the disruptive features. The new technologies, part of the domino effect of previous emerging technologies, include autonomous vehicle, the blockchain as well as Internet-of-Things. Despite the rapid advent, little discussion has been done to discuss and summarizes the emerging technologies in a single work in Malaysia. This brief survey is written as an effort to initiate the discussion, particularly in Malaysia about the disruptive innovation. It gives an introductory idea to the general audience, as well as academician and practitioners about the examples of the innovation, as well as brief discussion about the future studies which need to be commended in relation to the current development. This work is hoped to speed up the implementation of the emerging technologies in Malaysia as well helping and guiding policymakers, practitioners as well as academicians in understanding the phenomenon

The Effects of Social and Spatial Presence on Engagement in a 3D Virtual Reality Environment: An Empirical Investigation

Virtual reality (VR) provides opportunities for businesses to innovatively engage customers. Based on presence theory, a research model was developed to test the influence of two major components of presence, social presence and spatial presence, on users’ perceptions of hedonic value, utilitarian value, and engagement. An experiment was conducted on two conditions of a VR application (low vs. high social presence) to test the hypotheses in the research model. The results reveal that social presence and spatial presence can improve hedonic value of VR. However, inconsistent with previous studies, our findings reveal a negative relationship between spatial presence and engagement. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research directions are subsequently discussed

PRACTICA. A Virtual Reality Platform for Specialized Training Oriented to Improve the Productivity

With the proliferation of Virtual reality headset that are emerging into a consumer-oriented market for video games, it will open new possibilities for exploiting the virtual reality (VR). Therefore, the PRACTICA project is defined as a new service aimed to offering a system for creating courses based on a VR simulator for specialized training companies that allows offering to the students an experience close to reality. The general problem of creating these virtual courses derives from the need to have programmers that can generate them. Therefore, the PRACTICA project allows the creation of courses without the need to program source code. In addition, elements of virtual interaction have been incorporated that cannot be used in a real environment due to risks for the staff, such as the introduction of fictional characters or obstacles that interact with the environment. So to do this, artificial intelligence techniques have been incorporated so these elements can interact with the user, as it may be, the movement of these fictional characters on stage with a certain behavior. This feature offers the opportunity to create situations and scenarios that are even more complex and realistic.This project aims to create a service to bring virtual reality technologies closer and artificial intelligence for non-technological companies, so that they can generate (or acquire) their own content and give it the desired shape for their purposes

A virtual reality classroom to teach and explore crystal solid state structures

We present an educational application of virtual reality that we created to help students gain an in-depth understanding of the internal structure of crystals and related key concepts. Teachers can use it to give lectures to small groups (10-15) of students in a shared virtual environment, both remotely (with teacher and students in different locations) and locally (while sharing the same physical space). Lectures can be recorded, stored in an online repository, and shared with students who can either review a recorded lecture in the same virtual environment or can use the application for self-studying by exploring a large collection of available crystal structures. We validated our application with human subjects receiving positive feedback

The Potential of Virtual Reality in Social Skills Training for Autism: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Adoption of Virtual Reality in Occupational Therapy Practice

Impairments in social functioning greatly hinder children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from responding appropriately and adapting to various social situations. As a result, individuals with ASD get fewer opportunities for social inclusion, physical well-being, and forming interpersonal relationships. Virtual reality (VR) has been studied extensively in this area, where a large body of evidence shows that VR is a promising tool for social skills training (SST) in individuals with ASD. With the flexibility and projected effectiveness that VR offers, it can provide more opportunities to learn and practice strategies for recognizing daily challenges that involve forming social relationships and associated reasoning. This paper discusses the gap between the effectiveness of VR-based SST and its adoption in occupational therapy (OT) practice. There is a significant dearth of resources for the development of occupational therapists to effectively administer these interventions. Such resources that summarize empirically supported VR interventions to teach social skills to people with autism would be very valuable in training therapists who wish to employ them. Using theory-driven approaches, this paper intends to empower occupational therapists in becoming efficient and confident in using this technology for addressing social skills deficits in people with ASD

Promoting dialogue in Technology Enhanced Learning

There has been a plethora of information written about Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) and the opportunities it creates for learners, teachers and educators across all phases of education. (Picton 2019; Bodsworth 2017 and Greenwald 2017). This chapter seeks to highlight the positive aspects of TEL for all newly qualified practitioners embarking on a career in education. It aims to simplify some of the most popular and provide a platform for their use in everyday teaching, learning and assessment and to realise the potential of this ever-developing phenomenon. It will clarify the ways in which learners, across all phases of education, experience, conceptualise and understand the numerous TEL opportunities available and the intentions of the educator in providing them. Whilst acknowledging that there are some constraints, it will urge educators to consider using TEL for teaching, learning and assessment, inside and outside of the classroom, with their learners who are already actively engaged in a rapidly changing digital world

Mikrotransakcje i DLC jako forma monetyzacji gier wideo

The article presents the research results related to an additional form of obtaining revenues from computer games, which are microtransactions and DLC. Polish players were surveyed to determine their propensity to bear the costs of buying game add-ons. Based on preliminary observations of online forums, it was hypothesized that this relationship is negative and depends on the gender, age, and education of the players. This hypothesis has only been partially confirmed. Players are not willing to spend money only on game add-ons for the mobile platform. A statistically significant dependence of this tendency on sex was also found.W artykule zaprezentowano badania związane z dodatkową formą uzyskiwania przychodów z gier komputerowych, jakimi są mikrotransakcje oraz DLC. Ankietowano polskich graczy w celu określenia ich skłonności do ponoszenia kosztów zakupu dodatków do gier. Na podstawie wstępnych obserwacji forów internetowych postawiono hipotezę, że stosunek ten jest negatywny oraz uzależniony od płci, wieku i wykształcenia graczy. Hipoteza ta została tylko częściowo potwierdzona. Gracze nie są skłonni wydawać pieniędzy jedynie na dodatki do gier na platformę mobilną. Stwierdzono też statystycznie istotną zależność wspomnianej skłonności od płci