Underwater robots with sonar and smart tether for underground cistern mapping and exploration

This paper describes the application of using a submersible remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to map and explore underground water cisterns during a series of expeditions to Malta and Gozo. The purpose of this project was to create maps of ancient cisterns located under private homes, churches, and fortresses where passageways leading to the cisterns are too narrow and dangerous for humans to enter. These cisterns were used as water storage systems for hundreds of years, and many still contained water. The small ROV that was lowered into these cisterns was equipped with a sonar module to enable the creation of maps, two cameras to record live video, a grabber-arm for interacting with objects in the environment, and a Smart Tether to record additional positioning data of the ROV. Each of these components are discussed in terms of functionality and appropriateness for use by archaeologists wishing to explore and extract mapping information from narrow water-filled caverns. Additionally, three different mapping and localization techniques are presented including 1) Sonar image mosaics using stationary sonar scans, 2) Sonar image mosaics using stationary sonar scans with Smart Tether position data, and 3) Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) using stationary sonar scans. Each of the algorithms used in this project have benefits in certain applications. During two expeditions in Malta and Gozo, 2-dimensional maps of 32 cisterns were successfully constructed.peer-reviewe

Ground Navigation in 3D Scenes using Simple Body Motions

ICAT－EGVE 2014 (the 24th International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence and the 19th Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments

Wind and warmth in virtual reality: implementation and evaluation

Hülsmann F, Fröhlich J, Mattar N, Wachsmuth I. Wind and warmth in virtual reality: implementation and evaluation. In: VRIC '14: Proceedings of the Virtual Reality International Conference: Laval Virtual. ACM; 2014.One possibility to make virtual worlds more immersive is to address as many human senses as possible. This paper presents the development of a system for creating wind and warmth simulations in Virtual Reality (VR). Therefore, suitable hardware and an implemented software model are described. Technical evaluations of the hardware and of the software components demonstrate the usability of the system in VR Applications. Furthermore, a user study underlines users’ acceptance and indicates a positive influence of wind and warmth stimuli on perceived presence

Enabling the Development and Implementation of Digital Twins : Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality

Welcome to the 20th International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality (CONVR 2020). This year we are meeting on-line due to the current Coronavirus pandemic. The overarching theme for CONVR2020 is "Enabling the development and implementation of Digital Twins". CONVR is one of the world-leading conferences in the areas of virtual reality, augmented reality and building information modelling. Each year, more than 100 participants from all around the globe meet to discuss and exchange the latest developments and applications of virtual technologies in the architectural, engineering, construction and operation industry (AECO). The conference is also known for having a unique blend of participants from both academia and industry. This year, with all the difficulties of replicating a real face to face meetings, we are carefully planning the conference to ensure that all participants have a perfect experience. We have a group of leading keynote speakers from industry and academia who are covering up to date hot topics and are enthusiastic and keen to share their knowledge with you. CONVR participants are very loyal to the conference and have attended most of the editions over the last eighteen editions. This year we are welcoming numerous first timers and we aim to help them make the most of the conference by introducing them to other participants

Creative Heritage - New Perspectives from Media Arts and Artificial Intelligence

This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 10th EAI International Conference on ArtsIT, Interactivity and Game Creation, ArtsIT 2021 which was held in December 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually. The 31 revised full papers presented were carefully selected from 57 submissions. The papers are thematically arranged in the following sections: Media Arts and Virtual Reality; Games; Fusions; Collaboration, Inclusion and Participation; Artificial Intelligence in Art and Culture; Approaches and Applications

Networking Large-Scale Virtual Environments

Proceedings of Computer Animation ‘96, 3- 4 June 1996, Geneva, Switzerland, IEEE Computer Society Press, pp. 1-4. (an earlier version of this paper also appeared in the Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Military Applications of Synthetic Environments and Virtual Reality, Stockholm, Sweden, 6-8 December 1995, pp. 119-125.

Multimodal interaction in virtual reality

Wachsmuth I. Multimodal interaction in virtual reality. In: Noldus LPJJ, ed. Proceedings 3rd International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Noldus Information Technology; 2000: 343.This contribution reports work carried out in Bielefeld in the context of interacting with virtual reality environments

Virtual academic conferences as learning spaces. Factors associated with the perceived value of purely virtual conferences

The COVID-19 outbreak came with an unprecedented opportunity to investigate how the new reality of social distancing and limited international travel will affect the organization of academic conferences. Drawing on conceptualization of academic conferences as professional learning spaces, in this study, we examine the factors associated with the perceived value of purely virtual academic conferences and how such perceptions differ between participants from different research fields. The aim was to gain knowledge about factors that should be considered when designing a virtual conference. Results show satisfaction with social interaction, the extent to which presentations met participants\u27 topics of interest and the perceived importance of learning and getting an overview on the research topic to be related to the value rating. Researchers from different research fields differ significantly in their opinion about the most appropriate conference format regarding getting an overview on the research topic. For some researchers, virtual participation might be a valuable alternative to attending a conference in person. The study serves as a first attempt to understand how and for which target groups virtual conferences serve as a valuable learning event. Further research on this conference format is needed. (DIPF/Orig.

An Augmented Reality system for the treatment of phobia to small animals viewed via an optical see-through HMD. Comparison with a similar system viewed via a video see-through

This article presents an optical see-through (OST) Augmented Reality system for the treatment of phobia to small animals. The technical characteristics of the OST system are described, and a comparative study of the sense of presence and anxiety in a nonphobic population (24 participants) using the OST and an equivalent video see-though (VST) system is presented. The results indicate that if all participants are analyzed, the VST system induces greater sense of presence than the OST system. If the participants who had more fear are analyzed, the two systems induce a similar sense of presence. For the anxiety level, the two systems provoke similar and significant anxiety during the experiment. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Juan, M.; Calatrava, J. (2011). An Augmented Reality system for the treatment of phobia to small animals viewed via an optical see-through HMD. Comparison with a similar system viewed via a video see-through. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. 27(5):436-449. doi:10.1080/10447318.2011.552059S436449275Azuma, R. and Bishop, G. Improving static and dynamic registration in an optical see-through HMD. Proceedings of 21st Annual Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive techniques (SIGGRAPH'94). pp.197–204.Bimber, O., & Raskar, R. (2005). Spatial Augmented Reality. doi:10.1201/b10624Botella, C., Quero, S., Banos, R. M., Garcia-Palacios, A., Breton-Lopez, J., Alcaniz, M., & Fabregat, S. (2008). Telepsychology and Self-Help: The Treatment of Phobias Using the Internet. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(6), 659-664. doi:10.1089/cpb.2008.0012Botella, C. M., Juan, M. C., Baños, R. M., Alcañiz, M., Guillén, V., & Rey, B. (2005). Mixing Realities? An Application of Augmented Reality for the Treatment of Cockroach Phobia. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(2), 162-171. doi:10.1089/cpb.2005.8.162Carlin, A. S., Hoffman, H. G., & Weghorst, S. (1997). Virtual reality and tactile augmentation in the treatment of spider phobia: a case report. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35(2), 153-158. doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(96)00085-xGarcia-Palacios, A., Hoffman, H., Carlin, A., Furness, T. ., & Botella, C. (2002). Virtual reality in the treatment of spider phobia: a controlled study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40(9), 983-993. doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(01)00068-7Genc, Y., Tuceryan, M., & Navab, N. (s. f.). Practical solutions for calibration of optical see-through devices. Proceedings. International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality. doi:10.1109/ismar.2002.1115086Hoffman, H. G., Garcia-Palacios, A., Carlin, A., Furness III, T. A., & Botella-Arbona, C. (2003). Interfaces That Heal: Coupling Real and Virtual Objects to Treat Spider Phobia. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 16(2), 283-300. doi:10.1207/s15327590ijhc1602_08Juan, M. C., Alcaniz, M., Monserrat, C., Botella, C., Banos, R. M., & Guerrero, B. (2005). Using Augmented Reality to Treat Phobias. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 25(6), 31-37. doi:10.1109/mcg.2005.143Juan, M. C., Baños, R., Botella, C., Pérez, D., Alcaníiz, M., & Monserrat, C. (2006). An Augmented Reality System for the Treatment of Acrophobia: The Sense of Presence Using Immersive Photography. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 15(4), 393-402. doi:10.1162/pres.15.4.393Kato, H., & Billinghurst, M. (s. f.). Marker tracking and HMD calibration for a video-based augmented reality conferencing system. Proceedings 2nd IEEE and ACM International Workshop on Augmented Reality (IWAR’99). doi:10.1109/iwar.1999.803809Nash, E. B., Edwards, G. W., Thompson, J. A., & Barfield, W. (2000). A Review of Presence and Performance in Virtual Environments. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 12(1), 1-41. doi:10.1207/s15327590ijhc1201_1Owen, C. B., Ji Zhou, Tang, A., & Fan Xiao. (s. f.). Display-Relative Calibration for Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Displays. Third IEEE and ACM International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality. doi:10.1109/ismar.2004.28Özbek, C., Giesler, B. and Dillmann, R. Jedi training: Playful evaluation of head-mounted augmented reality display systems. SPIE Conference Medical Imaging. Vol. 5291, pp.454–463.Renaud, P., Bouchard, S., & Proulx, R. (2002). Behavioral avoidance dynamics in the presence of a virtual spider. IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, 6(3), 235-243. doi:10.1109/titb.2002.802381Schwald, B. and Laval, B. An Augmented Reality system for training and assistance to maintenance in the industrial context. International Conference in Central Europe on Computer Graphics, Visualization and Computer Vision. pp.425–432.Slater, M., Usoh, M., & Steed, A. (1994). Depth of Presence in Virtual Environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 3(2), 130-144. doi:10.1162/pres.1994.3.2.130Szymanski, J., & O’Donohue, W. (1995). Fear of Spiders Questionnaire. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 26(1), 31-34. doi:10.1016/0005-7916(94)00072-