The influence of human factors on 360∘ mulsemedia QoE

Quality of Experience (QoE) is indelibly linked to the human side of the multimedia experience. Surprisingly, however, there is a paucity of research which explores the impact that human factors has in determining QoE. Whilst this is true of multimedia, it is even more starkly so as far as mulsemedia - applications that involve media engaging three or more of human senses - is concerned. Hence, in the study reported in this paper, we focus on an exciting subset of mulsemedia applications - 360∘ mulsemedia - particularly important given that the upcoming 5G technology is foreseen to be a key enabler for the proliferation of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) applications. Accordingly, we study the impact that human factors such as gender, age, prior computing experience, and smell sensitivity have on 360∘ mulsemedia QoE. Results showed insight into the potential of 360∘ mulsemedia to inspire and to enrich experiences for Generation Z - a generation empowered by rapidly advancing technology. Patterns of prior media usage and smell sensitivity play also an important role in influencing the QoE evaluation - users who have a preference for dynamic videos enjoy and find realistic the 360∘ mulsemedia experiences

Mulsemedia Communication Research Challenges for Metaverse in 6G Wireless Systems

Although humans have five basic senses, sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste, most multimedia systems in current systems only capture two of them, namely, sight and hearing. With the development of the metaverse and related technologies, there is a growing need for a more immersive media format that leverages all human senses. Multisensory media(Mulsemedia) that can stimulate multiple senses will play a critical role in the near future. This paper provides an overview of the history, background, use cases, existing research, devices, and standards of mulsemedia. Emerging mulsemedia technologies such as Extended Reality (XR) and Holographic-Type Communication (HTC) are introduced. Additionally, the challenges in mulsemedia research from the perspective of wireless communication and networking are discussed. The potential of 6G wireless systems to address these challenges is highlighted, and several research directions that can advance mulsemedia communications are identified

MulseOnto: a Reference Ontology to Support the Design of Mulsemedia Systems

Designing a mulsemedia|multiple sensorial media|system entails first and foremost comprehending what it is beyond the ordinary understanding that it engages users in digital multisensory experiences that stimulate other senses in addition to sight and hearing, such as smell, touch, and taste. A myriad of programs that comprise a software system, several output devices to deliver sensory effects, computer media, among others, dwell deep in the realm of mulsemedia systems, making it a complex task for newcomers to get acquainted with their concepts and terms. Although there have been many technological advances in this field, especially for multisensory devices, there is a shortage of work that tries to establish common ground in terms of formal and explicit representation of what mulsemedia systems encompass. This might be useful to avoid the design of feeble mulsemedia systems that can be barely reused owing to misconception. In this paper, we extend our previous work by proposing to establish a common conceptualization about mulsemedia systems through a domain reference ontology named MulseOnto to aid the design of them. We applied ontology verification and validation techniques to evaluate it, including assessment by humans and a data-driven approach whereby the outcome is three successful instantiations of MulseOnto for distinct cases, making evident its ability to accommodate heterogeneous mulsemedia scenarios

Mulsemedia in Special Education: A Novel Teaching Approach for the Next Generation

Technology-enhanced learning settings are changing quickly and complexly in the contemporary digital era, making it possible for students with disabilities to learn more effectively than before. The words "multisensory" and "media" together, however, suggest that this strategy entails incorporating several sensory modalities in educational media to improve learning experiences for children with disabilities. It can entail integrating visual, aural, tactile, and kinesthetic elements to meet various learning requirements and styles. This article examines how Mulsemedia, one of these cutting-edge technologies, enhances learning methodologies, improving the teaching and learning of unique pedagogies and emphasizing teaching and learning-related modules for students with special needs. The researchers used a qualitative research design to understand and review the ten papers with secondary data based connected to mulsemedia in special education: A novel teaching approach for the next generation. The article also describes the extremely encouraging outcomes of case studies conducted with engineering students with disabilities in several schools in India. This critical article finds that multimedia-enhanced instruction significantly improves special students' learning experiences and ability to learn new information for future development

360° Mulsemedia: A Way to Improve Subjective QoE in 360° Videos

Previous research has shown that adding multisensory media-mulsemedia-to traditional audiovisual content has a positive effect on user Quality of Experience (QoE). However, the QoE impact of employing mulsemedia in 360° videos has remained unexplored. Accordingly, in this paper, a QoE study for watching a 360° video-with and without multisensory effects-in a full free-viewpoint VR setting is presented. The parametric space we considered to influence the QoE consists of the encoding quality and the motion level of the transmitted media. To achieve our research aim, we propose a wearable VR system that provides multisensory enhancement of 360° videos. Then, we utilise its capabilities to systematically evaluate the effects of multisensory stimulation on perceived quality degradation for videos with different motion levels and encoding qualities. Our results make a strong case for the inclusion of multisensory effects in 360° videos, as they reveal that both user-perceived quality, as well as enjoyment, are significantly higher when mulsemedia (as opposed to traditional multimedia) is employed in this context. Moreover, these observations hold true independent of the underlying 360° video encoding quality-thus QoE can be significantly enhanced with a minimal impact on networking resources

Guidelines for evaluating wearables’ quality of experience in a mulsemedia context

Copyright © The Author(s) 2022. Quality of Experience (QoE) is inextricably linked to the user experience of multimedia computing and, although QoE has been explored in relation to other types of multimedia devices, thus far its applicability to wearables has remained largely ignored. Given the proliferation of wearable devices and their growing use to augment and complement the multimedia user experience, the need for a set of QoE guidelines becomes imperative. This study meets that need and puts forward a set of guidelines tailored exclusively towards wearables’ QoE. Accordingly, an extensive experimental investigation has been undertaken to see how wearables impact users’ QoE in multiple sensorial media (mulsemedia) context. Based on the exploratory study, the findings have shown that the haptic vest (KOR-FX) enhanced user QoE to a certain extent. In terms of adoption, participants reported they would generally incorporate the heart rate (HR) monitor wristband (Mio Go) into their daily lives as opposed to the haptic vest. Other findings revealed that human factors play a part in user’s attitudes towards wearables and predominantly age was the major influencing factor. Moreover, the participants’ HR varied throughout the experiments, suggesting an enhanced level of engagement whilst viewing the multimedia video clips. Furthermore, the results suggest that there is a potential future for wearables, if the QoE is a positive one and if the design of such devices are appealing as well as unobtrusive

QoE management of multimedia streaming services in future networks : a tutorial and survey

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Augmented Reality Trends to the Field of Business and Economics: A Review of 20 years of Research

Augmented Reality (AR) is emerging as a technology that is reshaping the current society, especially the fields of Business and Economics (B&E). Therefore, the scientific studies produced on AR call for an interdisciplinary systematic review of the knowledge generated to structure an organized framework. Three main questions are addressed: How has the production of AR scientific knowledge evolved? What user-related aspects does AR affect? Also, which set of subtopics is associated with each motivation to develop an AR solution? The content of 328 papers produced between 1997 and 2016 in the field of AR is analyzed, unveiling 58 coding categories. There are 13 digital media characteristics that assume instrumental roles in addressing four major motivations to develop AR solutions. Technological topics dominate the research focus over behavioral ones. The investigations on AR in mobile displays show the highest increase. This research identifies the main scientific topics that have led researchers' agenda. Consequently, they contributed to develop and to adopt AR solutions and to forecast its future application in the organizations' strategiesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Newsroom 3.0: Managing Technological and Media Convergence in Contemporary Newsrooms

News consumers are changing their way of accessing and interacting with news content, of which they are now prosumers (combined producers and consumers). Consequently, communication organizations are facing great challenges posed by the decrease of paying readers and the competition imposed by emergent technologies that allow new forms to produce and disseminate news. To understand the role of the journalists and their managers in this challenge, we investigate how top news organizations are tackling this crisis. The results of this research, of a qualitative and exploratory nature, led us to propose a framework - Newsroom 3.0 - of a collaborative environment to support the production of news in an integrated, convergent and cybernetic newsroom. Newsroom 3.0 will provide support to the work of interdisciplinary teams, in respect of the coordination of the activities developed, as well as the cooperative production of content and communication between newsroom professionals and news prosumers