A study on virtual reality and developing the experience in a gaming simulation

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters by ResearchVirtual Reality (VR) is an experience where a person is provided with the freedom of viewing and moving in a virtual world [1]. The experience is not constrained to a limited control. Here, it was triggered interactively according to the user’s physical movement [1] [2]. So the user feels as if they are seeing the real world; also, 3D technologies allow the viewer to experience the volume of the object and its prospection in the virtual world [1]. The human brain generates the depth when each eye receives the images in its point of view. For learning for and developing the project using the university’s facilities, some of the core parts of the research have been accomplished, such as designing the VR motion controller and VR HMD (Head Mount Display), using an open source microcontroller. The VR HMD with the VR controller gives an immersive feel and a complete VR system [2]. The motive was to demonstrate a working model to create a VR experience on a mobile platform. Particularly, the VR system uses a micro electro-mechanical system to track motion without a tracking camera. The VR experience has also been developed in a gaming simulation. To produce this, Maya, Unity, Motion Analysis System, MotionBuilder, Arduino and programming have been used. The lessons and codes taken or improvised from [33] [44] [25] and [45] have been studied and implemented

Engineering a mobile VR experience with MEMS 9DOF motion controller

It has been argued that the Virtual Reality (VR) experience is only complete when it includes appropriate motion controls. To enhance immersion, the player's field of vision, movement and any actions they perform should be constrained as little as possible. In this paper, we discuss the engineering and user experience testing of a novel mobile VR compatible controller which seeks to address limitations of typical VR controllers and joysticks in terms of the freedom of interactivity offered. The resulting artefact is a 9 DOF (Degrees of freedom) motion controller which uses Bluetooth to achieve connectivity to a mobile device. Sensor-based tracking is achieved by reengineering the existing MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) available in some smart phone models to track motion. A framework and heuristics to measure immersion is developed and user experience tested comparatively during gameplay in a mobile VR sports simulation. Sensor efficiency is also tested via a graphing-simulator

Improving the immersion in virtual reality with real-time avatar and haptic feedback in a cricket simulation

The basis of this research is concerned with designing and implementing a system that allows a player to engage in a virtual reality (VR) game with better immersion. The research was based on the idea that an avatar generated using real-time motion capture would improve the player's immersion by increasing the perception of presence. When playing the VR games a common problem was observed. The user's avatar (Virtual agent) was not improved as most of the games were played using limited controllers. The inputs from these controllers were noted as insufficient to generate the entire body's animation. This research attempts to solve this problem by proposing/implementing full body motion capture and the establishment of the self-avatar in real time in a VR game. This involved designing a system that utilizes the effective technologies for 3D imaging, transmission and haptic feedback. The research attempts to measure the immersion by enhancing measuring instruments (Norman, 2010). It is complimented by a user-based study that involves/involved collecting both qualitative and quantitative data through questionnaire and observation