VE-based training strategies for acquiring survey knowledge

Virtual environments (VEs) have been used successfully to train wayfinders to navigate through buildings and learn their layout. However, at the same time, for many, the VE deficiencies have reduced the effectiveness of VEs for training spatial tasks. In an effort to improve VE effectiveness, we conducted research to determine if certain unique capabilities of VEs could compensate for its deficiencies. Research participants were required to learn the layout or configuration of one floor of an office building as portrayed in a VE. To improve spatial learning, we developed three VE navigation training aids: local and global orientation cues, aerial views, and a themed environment enhanced with sights and sounds and divided into four distinct sectors. The navigation aids were provided during the training but were not available during testing of survey knowledge. Of the three training aids investigated, only the aerial views were effective in improving performance on the survey knowledge tests. The effectiveness of the navigation aids seemed to depend on how they were used during training. A retention test given one week after training indicated that spatial knowledge acquired in a VE diminished little over the one-week retention interval

VE-based training strategies for acquiring survey knowledge

Virtual environments (VEs) have been used successfully to train wayfinders to navigate through buildings and learn their layout. However, at the same time, for many, the VE deficiencies have reduced the effectiveness of VEs for training spatial tasks. In an effort to improve VE effectiveness, we conducted research to determine if certain unique capabilities of VEs could compensate for its deficiencies. Research participants were required to learn the layout or configuration of one floor of an office building as portrayed in a VE. To improve spatial learning, we developed three VE navigation training aids: local and global orientation cues, aerial views, and a themed environment enhanced with sights and sounds and divided into four distinct sectors. The navigation aids were provided during the training but were not available during testing of survey knowledge. Of the three training aids investigated, only the aerial views were effective in improving performance on the survey knowledge tests. The effectiveness of the navigation aids seemed to depend on how they were used during training. A retention test given one week after training indicated that spatial knowledge acquired in a VE diminished little over the one-week retention interval

Testing of a Catalytic Partial Oxidation Diesel Reformer with a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System

Rural Alaska currently uses diesel generator sets to produce much of its power. The high energy content of diesel (i.e. ~140,000 BTU per gallon) makes it the fuel of choice because this reduces the volume of fuel that must be transported, stored, and consumed in generating the power. There is an existing investment in infrastructure for the distribution and use of diesel fuel. Problems do exist, however, in that diesel generators are not very efficient in their use of diesel, maintenance levels can be rather high as systems age, and the environmental issues related to present diesel generators are of concern. The Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory at the University of Alaska -- Fairbanks is sponsoring a project to address the issues mentioned above. The project takes two successful systems, a diesel reformer and a tubular solid oxide fuel cell unit, and jointly tests those systems with the objective of producing a for-purpose diesel fueled solid oxide fuel cell system that can be deployed in rural Alaska. The reformer will convert the diesel to a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen that can be used as a fuel by the fuel cell. The high temperature nature of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC is capable of using this mixture to generate electricity and provide usable heat with higher efficiency and lower emissions. The high temperature nature of the SOFC is more compatible with the arctic climate than are low temperature technologies such as the proton exchange membrane fuel cells. This paper will look at the interaction of a SOFC system that is designed to internally reform methane and a catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX) diesel reformer. The diesel reformer produces a reformate that is approximately 140 BTU per scf (after removal of much of the reformate water) as compared to a methane based reformate that is over twice that value in BTU content. The project also considers the effect of altitude since the test location will be at 4800 feet with the consequential drop in oxygen content and necessary increases in flow rates

The Ursinus Weekly, June 3, 1940

Directors meet; make Hartzell associate prof. • Reifsnyder takes graduation honors • Week-end addresses consider American democracy\u27s needs • Ursinus crashes Life! • Rev. Dallus Krebs \u2702 elected alumni head • Meistersingers, choir have annual sacred music concert • Encore for Outward bound to be staged at Royersford • Initiations and banquet mark 15th anniversary of TKA • Eighteen from Ursinus will go to Eaglesmere • Women\u27s Club admits 72 at business meeting on Friday • Louise Joulia stars in The Firefly production • Lantern contains works of three seniors • Racqueteers lose three senior stars • Fred Swift chosen by baseball squad • \u27Ed\u27 Conine proves bear high scorer • Short season in women\u27s golf produces single win and loss • Jingmen\u27s record shows ratio of six wins in ten games • Batting averages of baseball sluggers • Jayvees finish poor season with one win, four defeats • Men\u27s tennis team hands in score of one win in four • Dr. W. H. Stoner discusses hormones and endocrinologyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1845/thumbnail.jp

relating conversational expressiveness to social presence and accpetance of an assistive social robot

Exploring the relationship between social presence, conversational expressiveness, and robot acceptance, we set up an experiment with a robot in an eldercare institution, comparing a more and less social condition. Participants showed more expressiveness with a more social agent and a higher score on expressiveness correlated with higher scores on social presence. Furthermore, scores on social presence correlated with the scores on the intention to use the system in the near future. However, we found no correlation between conversational expressiveness and robot acceptance

Design and prototyping of an interactive virtual environment to foster citizen participation and creativity in urban design

Public Participation encounters great challenges in the domain of urban design concerning decision making and citizens’ appropriation of a future place. Many tools and methods have been proposed to ease the participation process. In this paper we are targeting artefacts used in face-to-face workshops, in which citizens are asked to make design proposals for a public space. We claim that current state of the art can be improved (i) by better articulating digital artefacts with participatory processes and (ii) by providing interfaces that enhance citizen’s spatial awareness and comprehension as well as collective creativity in urban design projects. We present the design and prototyping of an interactive virtual environment that follow the design-science research guidelines.U_CODE project (H2020 No 688873

Nonvisually guided locomotion to a previously viewed target in real and virtual environments

Comparing human performance in a virtual environment (VE) with performance in the real world can provide clues about which aspects of VE technology require improvement. Using a technique previously shown to measure real-world distance judgments accurately, we compared performance in a real- world environment with performance in a virtual model of that environment. The technique required participants to walk without vision to a target after viewing it for 10 s. VE distance judgments averaged 85% of the target distance, whereas real-world judgments averaged 92%. The magnitude of the relative errors in the VE was twice that in the real world, indicating that the VE degraded distance judgments. Our analysis suggests that VE performance deficits result either from poor binocular disparity cues or from distortion of pictorial depth cues. Actual or potential applications of this research include the development of virtual environments for training and the design of visual displays for virtual simulations

Attention Orienting in Augmented Reality Environments: Effects of Multimodal Cues

The accuracy and efficiency of visual, auditory, and tactile cues to orient attention were tested under different levels of workload. Nineteen participants took part in an experiment in which they performed a visual, auditory, or tactile cueing task under both low and high workload conditions. Results showed that under high workload, both visual cues alone and tactile cues alone improved target detection accuracy. In the low workload condition, perceived workload estimates were lower when tactile cues were present than when absent. These results indicate the benefits of both visual and tactile cues in target detection tasks. These findings have implications for training, systems design, and human performance assessment

Attention Orienting In Augmented Reality Environments: Effects Of Multimodal Cues

The accuracy and efficiency of visual, auditory, and tactile cues to orient attention were tested under different levels of workload. Nineteen participants took part in an experiment in which they performed a visual, auditory, or tactile cueing task under both low and high workload conditions. Results showed that under high workload, both visual cues alone and tactile cues alone improved target detection accuracy. In the low workload condition, perceived workload estimates were lower when tactile cues were present than when absent. These results indicate the benefits of both visual and tactile cues in target detection tasks. These findings have implications for training, systems design, and human performance assessment