Design Attributes Influencing the Success of Urban 3D Visualizations: Differences in Assessments According to Training and Intention

[EN] The graphic tools most widely used for communicating the design of future urban spaces are 3D visualizations. These virtual images allow graphic designers to manipulate conditions to embellish the final image they present. But, what design attributes are associated with positive assessments? This paper attempts to identify the key design attributes for a successful proposal and observes whether intention (assess the image versus assess the project) and observer training (architect versus non-architect) influence that relationship. A field study was carried out using assessments from 225 individuals. Results show that color, nature, and architecture are fundamental elements in successful proposals. Significant differences in assessments have also been observed according to the training and intentions of the assessorsThis work was supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) [grant no. TIN2013-45736-R].Llinares Millán, MDC.; Iñarra Abad, S.; Guixeres Provinciale, J. (2018). Design Attributes Influencing the Success of Urban 3D Visualizations: Differences in Assessments According to Training and Intention. Journal of Urban Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2018.1444873

Reliability and Validity of TIPS Wireless ECG Prototypes

[EN] The aims of the present study are to examine the reliability and validity of the Heart Rate signal registered using two self-made wireless ECG systems, R-Tips and TipsShirt, and to compare them with another commercial ECG device typically used in psychophysiology studies. An ECG simulator was used to artificially generate signals corresponding to different cardiac frequencies. Results of the reliability study showed that the signal acquisition, signal processing and signal transmission were reliable and valid for R-Tips and TipsShirt. Consequently, these wireless ECG prototypes could be used for studies where the freedom of movements of the participants is fundamental without any loss of quality in the registered signals.This study was funded by Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia Spain, Project Game Teen (TIN2010-20187) and partially by projects Consolider-C (SEJ2006-14301/PSIC), “CIBER of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, an initiative of ISCIII” and Excellence Research Program PROMETEO (Generalitat Valenciana. Consellería de Educación, 2008-157). The work of A. Rodríguez was supported by the Spanish MEC under an FPI Grant BES-2011-043316.Rodríguez Ortega, A.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Rey, B.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2012). Reliability and Validity of TIPS Wireless ECG Prototypes. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics. 181:83-87. https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-121-2-83S838718

Development and Calibration of an Eye-Tracking Fixation Identification Algorithm for Immersive Virtual Reality

[EN] Fixation identification is an essential task in the extraction of relevant information from gaze patterns; various algorithms are used in the identification process. However, the thresholds used in the algorithms greatly affect their sensitivity. Moreover, the application of these algorithm to eye-tracking technologies integrated into head-mounted displays, where the subject's head position is unrestricted, is still an open issue. Therefore, the adaptation of eye-tracking algorithms and their thresholds to immersive virtual reality frameworks needs to be validated. This study presents the development of a dispersion-threshold identification algorithm applied to data obtained from an eye-tracking system integrated into a head-mounted display. Rules-based criteria are proposed to calibrate the thresholds of the algorithm through different features, such as number of fixations and the percentage of points which belong to a fixation. The results show that distance-dispersion thresholds between 1-1.6 degrees and time windows between0.25-0.4s are the acceptable range parameters, with 1 degrees and0.25s being the optimum. The work presents a calibrated algorithm to be applied in future experiments with eye-tracking integrated into head-mounted displays and guidelines for calibrating fixation identification algorithmsWe thank Pepe Roda Belles for the development of the virtual reality environment and the integration of the HMD with Unity platform. We also thank Masoud Moghaddasi for useful discussions and recommendations.Llanes-Jurado, J.; Marín-Morales, J.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2020). Development and Calibration of an Eye-Tracking Fixation Identification Algorithm for Immersive Virtual Reality. Sensors. 20(17):1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20174956S1152017Cipresso, P., Giglioli, I. A. C., Raya, M. A., & Riva, G. (2018). The Past, Present, and Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality Research: A Network and Cluster Analysis of the Literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02086Chicchi Giglioli, I. A., Pravettoni, G., Sutil Martín, D. L., Parra, E., & Raya, M. A. (2017). A Novel Integrating Virtual Reality Approach for the Assessment of the Attachment Behavioral System. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00959Marín-Morales, J., Higuera-Trujillo, J. L., De-Juan-Ripoll, C., Llinares, C., Guixeres, J., Iñarra, S., & Alcañiz, M. (2019). Navigation Comparison between a Real and a Virtual Museum: Time-dependent Differences using a Head Mounted Display. Interacting with Computers, 31(2), 208-220. doi:10.1093/iwc/iwz018Kober, S. E., Kurzmann, J., & Neuper, C. (2012). Cortical correlate of spatial presence in 2D and 3D interactive virtual reality: An EEG study. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 83(3), 365-374. doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.12.003Borrego, A., Latorre, J., Llorens, R., Alcañiz, M., & Noé, E. (2016). Feasibility of a walking virtual reality system for rehabilitation: objective and subjective parameters. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 13(1). doi:10.1186/s12984-016-0174-1Clemente, M., Rodríguez, A., Rey, B., & Alcañiz, M. (2014). Assessment of the influence of navigation control and screen size on the sense of presence in virtual reality using EEG. Expert Systems with Applications, 41(4), 1584-1592. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2013.08.055Borrego, A., Latorre, J., Alcañiz, M., & Llorens, R. (2018). Comparison of Oculus Rift and HTC Vive: Feasibility for Virtual Reality-Based Exploration, Navigation, Exergaming, and Rehabilitation. Games for Health Journal, 7(3), 151-156. doi:10.1089/g4h.2017.0114Jensen, L., & Konradsen, F. (2017). A review of the use of virtual reality head-mounted displays in education and training. Education and Information Technologies, 23(4), 1515-1529. doi:10.1007/s10639-017-9676-0Jost, T. A., Drewelow, G., Koziol, S., & Rylander, J. (2019). A quantitative method for evaluation of 6 degree of freedom virtual reality systems. Journal of Biomechanics, 97, 109379. doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2019.109379Chandrasekera, T., Fernando, K., & Puig, L. (2019). Effect of Degrees of Freedom on the Sense of Presence Generated by Virtual Reality (VR) Head-Mounted Display Systems: A Case Study on the Use of VR in Early Design Studios. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 47(4), 513-522. doi:10.1177/0047239518824862Bălan, O., Moise, G., Moldoveanu, A., Leordeanu, M., & Moldoveanu, F. (2020). An Investigation of Various Machine and Deep Learning Techniques Applied in Automatic Fear Level Detection and Acrophobia Virtual Therapy. Sensors, 20(2), 496. doi:10.3390/s20020496Armstrong, T., & Olatunji, B. O. (2012). Eye tracking of attention in the affective disorders: A meta-analytic review and synthesis. Clinical Psychology Review, 32(8), 704-723. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2012.09.004Rayner, K. (1998). Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research. Psychological Bulletin, 124(3), 372-422. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.124.3.372Irwin, D. E. (1992). Memory for position and identity across eye movements. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 18(2), 307-317. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.18.2.307Tanriverdi, V., & Jacob, R. J. K. (2000). Interacting with eye movements in virtual environments. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI ’00. doi:10.1145/332040.332443Skulmowski, A., Bunge, A., Kaspar, K., & Pipa, G. (2014). Forced-choice decision-making in modified trolley dilemma situations: a virtual reality and eye tracking study. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00426Juvrud, J., Gredebäck, G., Åhs, F., Lerin, N., Nyström, P., Kastrati, G., & Rosén, J. (2018). The Immersive Virtual Reality Lab: Possibilities for Remote Experimental Manipulations of Autonomic Activity on a Large Scale. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00305Hessels, R. S., Niehorster, D. C., Nyström, M., Andersson, R., & Hooge, I. T. C. (2018). Is the eye-movement field confused about fixations and saccades? A survey among 124 researchers. Royal Society Open Science, 5(8), 180502. doi:10.1098/rsos.180502Diaz, G., Cooper, J., Kit, D., & Hayhoe, M. (2013). Real-time recording and classification of eye movements in an immersive virtual environment. Journal of Vision, 13(12), 5-5. doi:10.1167/13.12.5Duchowski, A. T., Medlin, E., Gramopadhye, A., Melloy, B., & Nair, S. (2001). Binocular eye tracking in VR for visual inspection training. Proceedings of the ACM symposium on Virtual reality software and technology - VRST ’01. doi:10.1145/505008.505010Lim, J. Z., Mountstephens, J., & Teo, J. (2020). Emotion Recognition Using Eye-Tracking: Taxonomy, Review and Current Challenges. Sensors, 20(8), 2384. doi:10.3390/s20082384Manor, B. R., & Gordon, E. (2003). Defining the temporal threshold for ocular fixation in free-viewing visuocognitive tasks. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 128(1-2), 85-93. doi:10.1016/s0165-0270(03)00151-1Salvucci, D. D., & Goldberg, J. H. (2000). Identifying fixations and saccades in eye-tracking protocols. Proceedings of the symposium on Eye tracking research & applications - ETRA ’00. doi:10.1145/355017.355028Duchowski, A., Medlin, E., Cournia, N., Murphy, H., Gramopadhye, A., Nair, S., … Melloy, B. (2002). 3-D eye movement analysis. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 34(4), 573-591. doi:10.3758/bf03195486Bobic, V., & Graovac, S. (2016). Development, implementation and evaluation of new eye tracking methodology. 2016 24th Telecommunications Forum (TELFOR). doi:10.1109/telfor.2016.7818800Sidenmark, L., & Lundström, A. (2019). Gaze behaviour on interacted objects during hand interaction in virtual reality for eye tracking calibration. Proceedings of the 11th ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications. doi:10.1145/3314111.3319815Alghamdi, N., & Alhalabi, W. (2019). Fixation Detection with Ray-casting in Immersive Virtual Reality. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 10(7). doi:10.14569/ijacsa.2019.0100710Blignaut, P. (2009). Fixation identification: The optimum threshold for a dispersion algorithm. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 71(4), 881-895. doi:10.3758/app.71.4.881Shic, F., Scassellati, B., & Chawarska, K. (2008). The incomplete fixation measure. Proceedings of the 2008 symposium on Eye tracking research & applications - ETRA ’08. doi:10.1145/1344471.1344500Vive Pro Eyehttps://www.vive.com/us

Bases metodológicas para una nueva plataforma de medida del comportamiento humano en entornos virtuales

[ES] Para evaluar la funcionalidad y el rendimiento de un espacio se analiza el comportamiento de sus usuarios. Este se ha medido tradicionalmente a partir de encuestas y observación, con las limitaciones de tratarse de valoraciones subjetivas, influenciadas por el entrevistador y/o observador, y, en el caso de la observación, evaluar el espacio a posteriori, una vez ejecutado el proyecto. Hoy en día, la realidad virtual solventa estos problemas, al ser capaz de representar escenarios de forma realista, inmersiva e interactiva, permitiendo analizar con un bajo coste el comportamiento de los usuarios antes de que se ejecuten los proyectos, en un entorno controlado. El presente artículo presenta las bases metodológicas para una nueva plataforma de medida del comportamiento humano en entornos virtuales, que ayudará en la toma de decisiones a través de la pre-evaluación de los espacios antes de ser ejecutados. Se define una metodología aplicable con la tecnología actual, a partir de la cual se obtendrán métricas con las que optimizar la funcionalidad y el rendimiento de espacios de futura construcción o remodelación de los ya existentes. La herramienta es transversal ya que puede aplicarse a cualquier proyecto que tenga como elemento fundamental el tránsito de personas, ya sean espacios comerciales, culturales, dotacionales o de ocio, y se presentan diferentes ejemplos de aplicación práctica.[EN] Human behavior is analyzed to evaluate the functionality and efficiency of a public space. It was classically measured from surveys and observation, however, those measurements have some limitations. Firstly, they are subjective valuations and are influenced by the interviewer and/or the observer. In addition, the observation oblige us to make that evaluation subsequently, when the project has been executed. Nowadays, virtual reality resolves those problems as a result of its capacity to represent scenarios on a realistic, immersive and interactive way. It allows to analyze human behaviour before the execution of projects at a low cost and controlled way. This article presents the methodological bases for a new platform for measuring human behaviour in virtual environments. It will assist in the decision-making process through the pre-evaluation of different spaces before being executed. An applicable methodology were explained from which metrics are created and it allows to optimize functionality and efficiency of a new construction or remodeling. This is a cross-wise platform and can be applied to any project where the human transit is a central element: commercial, cultural, dotacional or leisure spaces. Different applied examples in study were presented.The present research has been financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Spain (project TIN2013-45736-R).Marín-Morales, J.; Torrecilla-Moreno, C.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Llinares Millán, MDC. (2017). Methodological bases for a new platform for the measurement of human behaviour in virtual environments. DYNA: Ingeniería e Industria. 92(1):34-38. https://doi.org/10.6036/7963S343892

Emotion Recognition in Immersive Virtual Reality: From Statistics to Affective Computing

[EN] Emotions play a critical role in our daily lives, so the understanding and recognition of emotional responses is crucial for human research. Affective computing research has mostly used non-immersive two-dimensional (2D) images or videos to elicit emotional states. However, immersive virtual reality, which allows researchers to simulate environments in controlled laboratory conditions with high levels of sense of presence and interactivity, is becoming more popular in emotion research. Moreover, its synergy with implicit measurements and machine-learning techniques has the potential to impact transversely in many research areas, opening new opportunities for the scientific community. This paper presents a systematic review of the emotion recognition research undertaken with physiological and behavioural measures using head-mounted displays as elicitation devices. The results highlight the evolution of the field, give a clear perspective using aggregated analysis, reveal the current open issues and provide guidelines for future research.This research was funded by European Commission, grant number H2020-825585 HELIOS.Marín-Morales, J.; Llinares Millán, MDC.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2020). Emotion Recognition in Immersive Virtual Reality: From Statistics to Affective Computing. Sensors. 20(18):1-26. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20185163S126201

The background music-content congruence of TV advertisements: A neurophysiological study

[EN] Music affects viewers¿ responses to advertisements. In this study we present the findings of an experiment that investigates the emotional and cognitive reactions of subjects¿ brains during exposure to television advertisements with music congruent, and incongruent, with the advertisement content. We analyze the electroencephalography signals and eye-tracking behaviors of a group of 90 women watching six TV advertisements. The study's findings suggested that incongruent music generates higher levels of attention and advertisement recall. On the other hand, frontal asymmetry measured through electroencephalography was shown to be higher with congruent music. Similarly, cognitive workload was higher when the music was incongruent with the advertisement content. No significant differences were found in terms of advertisement likeability based on incongruent versus congruent music. The results demonstrated the validity of neurophysiological techniques for assessing the effects of levels of music congruence in advertisements.Ausin, JM.; Bigné, E.; Marín-Morales, J.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2021). The background music-content congruence of TV advertisements: A neurophysiological study. European Research on Management and Business Economics. 27(2):1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2021.100154S11427

Visual attention in the evaluation of architectural spaces

[EN] Analysis of visual behaviour before a given stimulus is a tool for studying an observer’s most immediate, instinctive response. Recent access to technology able to locate and record the path the eye takes when observing a stimulus has led to growing interest in how we observe our environment. Studies which have simultaneously measured an observer’s subjective response and visual journey make it possible to establish a relationship between the way the image is observed and the observer’s visual attention to the image. This present paper describes an experimental study which applies this new technique for visual analysis to the observation of images used in recent architecture competitions. These measurement tools for measuring physiological responses can make a significant contribution to observer analysis.[ES] El análisis del comportamiento visual ante un determinado estímulo supone una herramienta de estudio de la respuesta más inmediata e instintiva del observador. La reciente accesibilidad a la tecnología capaz de rastrear y registrar el recorrido de la mirada ante la observación de un estímulo, ha puesto un interés creciente en cómo las personas observamos nuestro entorno.Aquellos estudios en los que se ha medido simultáneamente la respuesta subjetiva del observador y su recorrido visual, permiten establecer que existe una relación entre el modo de observar la imagen y la atención visual del observador ante la imagen.El presente artículo describe un estudio experimental en el que hemos aplicado esta nueva técnica de análisis visual a la observación de imágenes empleadas en recientes concursos de arquitectura. La contribución de estas herramientas de medida de la respuesta fisiológica puede suponer un gran avance en el análisis de la percepción del observador.Este trabajo de investigación ha sido financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (proyecto TIN2013-45736-R)Iñarra Abad, S.; Juan Vidal, F.; Llinares Millán, C.; Guixeres Provinciale, J. (2015). Atención visual en la evaluación de espacios arquitectónicos. EGA. Revista de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 20(25):228-237. https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2015.3585SWORD228237202

The influence of virtual reality in e-commerce

[EN] The development of virtual reality (VR), together with other technological innovations will shape the future of e-retailing. This research studies the effectiveness of different VR formats and devices in a virtual store environment, namely V-commerce. This study proposes and test a conceptual model that analyses the relations between sense of presence, brand recall and purchase intention, while also going deeper into their antecedents. Our findings suggest differences in purchase intention depending on VR format and device used. No differences are shown in sense of presence and affect by VR format and device. Our tested model suggests a dual route of influence of VR on consumers' purchase intention in virtual stores: one through emotions and sense of presence and the other through the affect evoked by the virtual environment and brand recall. Lastly, some managerial implications and methodological issues are considered.This work has been developed by Instituto de Investigacion e Innovacion en Bioingenieria (I3B), Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness funded project "Advanced Therapeutically Tools for Mental Health" (DPI2016-77396-R) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, ECO2014-53837R.Martínez-Navarro, J.; Bigné-Alcañiz, E.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Alcañiz Raya, ML.; Torrecilla-Moreno, C. (2019). The influence of virtual reality in e-commerce. Journal of Business Research. 100:475-482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.054S47548210

Ecological momentary assessment for chronic pain in fibromyalgia using a smartphone: A randomized crossover study

Background Daily diaries are a useful way of measuring fluctuations in pain-related symptoms. However, traditional diaries do not assure the gathering of data in real time, not solving the problem of retrospective assessment. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) by means of electronic diaries helps to improve repeated assessment. However, it is important to test its feasibility in specific populations in order to reach a wider number of people who could benefit from these procedures. Methods The present study compares the compliance and acceptability of an electronic diary running on a smartphone using a crossover design for a sample with a specific pain condition, fibromyalgia and low familiarity with technology. Forty-seven participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) paper diary smartphone diary and (2) smartphone diary paper diary, using each assessment method for 1 week. Results The findings of this study showed that the smartphone diary made it possible to gather more accurate and complete ratings. Besides, this method was well accepted by a sample of patients with fibromyalgia referred by a public hospital, with an important proportion of participants with low level of education and low familiarity with technology. Conclusions The findings of this study support the use of smartphones for EMA even in specific populations with a specific pain condition, fibromyalgia and with low familiarity with technology. These methods could help clinicians and researchers to gather more accurate ratings of relevant pain-related variables even in populations with low familiarity with technology.The research presented in this paper was funded in part by Fundacio La Marato de TV3 (Ajuts de la Marato de TV3 2006), Plan de Promocion de la investigacion Universitat Jaume I, (Fundacio Caixa Castello-Bancaixa, P11B2009-30) and by Generalitat Valenciana, Redes de Excelencia ISIC (ISIC/2012/012).Garcia-Palacios, A.; Herrero, R.; Belmonte, M.; Castilla, D.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Molinari, G.; Baños, R.... (2014). Ecological momentary assessment for chronic pain in fibromyalgia using a smartphone: A randomized crossover study. European Journal of Pain. 18(6):862-872. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1532-2149.2013.00425.xS86287218

Do You See What I See? Effectiveness of 360-Degree vs. 2D Video Ads Using a Neuroscience Approach

[EN] This study compares cognitive and emotional responses to 360-degree vs. static (2D) videos in terms of visual attention, brand recognition, engagement of the prefrontal cortex, and emotions. Hypotheses are proposed based on the interactivity literature, cognitive overload, advertising response model and motivation, opportunity, and ability theoretical frameworks, and tested using neurophysiological tools: electroencephalography, eye-tracking, electrodermal activity, and facial coding. The results revealed that gaze view depends on ad content, visual attention paid being lower in 360-degree FMCG ads than in 2D ads. Brand logo recognition is lower in 360-degree ads than in 2D video ads. Overall, 360-degree ads for durable products increase positive emotions, which carries the risk of non-exposure to some of the ad content. In testing four ads for durable goods and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) this research explains the mechanism through which 360-degree video ads outperform standard versionsThis work was supported by the Generalitat Valenciana funded project "Rebrand", grant number PROMETEU/2019/105, and by the European Regional Development Fund program of the Valencian Community 2014-2020 project "Interfaces de realidad mixta aplicada a salud y toma de decisiones", grant number IDIFEDER/2018/029.Ausin-Azofra, JM.; Bigné, E.; Ruiz, C.; Marín-Morales, J.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2021). Do You See What I See? Effectiveness of 360-Degree vs. 2D Video Ads Using a Neuroscience Approach. Frontiers in Psychology. 12:1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.612717S1141