An assessment of eye-gaze potential within immersive virtual environments

In collaborative situations, eye gaze is a critical element of behavior which supports and fulfills many activities and roles. In current computer-supported collaboration systems, eye gaze is poorly supported. Even in a state-of-the-art video conferencing system such as the access grid, although one can see the face of the user, much of the communicative power of eye gaze is lost. This article gives an overview of some preliminary work that looks towards integrating eye gaze into an immersive collaborative virtual environment and assessing the impact that this would have on interaction between the users of such a system. Three experiments were conducted to assess the efficacy of eye gaze within immersive virtual environments. In each experiment, subjects observed on a large screen the eye-gaze behavior of an avatar. The eye-gaze behavior of that avatar had previously been recorded from a user with the use of a head-mounted eye tracker. The first experiment was conducted to assess the difference between users' abilities to judge what objects an avatar is looking at with only head gaze being viewed and also with eye- and head-gaze data being displayed. The results from the experiment show that eye gaze is of vital importance to the subjects, correctly identifying what a person is looking at in an immersive virtual environment. The second experiment examined whether a monocular or binocular eye-tracker would be required. This was examined by testing subjects' ability to identify where an avatar was looking from their eye direction alone, or by eye direction combined with convergence. This experiment showed that convergence had a significant impact on the subjects' ability to identify where the avatar was looking. The final experiment looked at the effects of stereo and mono-viewing of the scene, with the subjects being asked to identify where the avatar was looking. This experiment showed that there was no difference in the subjects' ability to detect where the avatar was gazing. This is followed by a description of how the eye-tracking system has been integrated into an immersive collaborative virtual environment and some preliminary results from the use of such a system.

Eye gaze in virtual environments: evaluating the need and initial work on implementation

For efficient collaboration between participants, eye gaze is seen as being critical for interaction. Video conferencing either does not attempt to support eye gaze (e.g. AcessGrid) or only approximates it in round table conditions (e.g. life size telepresence). Immersive collaborative virtual environments represent remote participants through avatars that follow their tracked movements. By additionally tracking people's eyes and representing their movement on their avatars, the line of gaze can be faithfully reproduced, as opposed to approximated. This paper presents the results of initial work that tested if the focus of gaze could be more accurately gauged if tracked eye movement was added to that of the head of an avatar observed in an immersive VE. An experiment was conducted to assess the difference between user's abilities to judge what objects an avatar is looking at with only head movements being displayed, while the eyes remained static, and with eye gaze and head movement information being displayed. The results from the experiment show that eye gaze is of vital importance to the subjects correctly identifying what a person is looking at in an immersive virtual environment. This is followed by a description of the work that is now being undertaken following the positive results from the experiment. We discuss the integration of an eye tracker more suitable for immersive mobile use and the software and techniques that were developed to integrate the user's real-world eye movements into calibrated eye gaze in an immersive virtual world. This is to be used in the creation of an immersive collaborative virtual environment supporting eye gaze and its ongoing experiments. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ocean acoustic models for low frequency propagation in 2D and 3D environments

In this paper we are mainly concerned with the development of efficient computer models capable of accurately predicting the propagation of low-to-middle frequency sound in the sea, in axially symmetric (2D) and in fully 3D environments. The major physical features of the problem, i.e. a variable bottom topography, elastic properties of the subbottom structure, volume attenuation and other range inhomogeneities are efficiently treated. The computer models presented are based on normal mode solutions of the Helmholtz equation on the one hand, and on various types of numerical schemes for parabolic approximations of the Helmholtz equation on the other. A new coupled mode code is introduced to model sound propagation in range-dependent ocean environments with variable bottom topography, where the effects of an elastic bottom, of volume attenuation, surface and bottom roughness are taken into account. New computer models based on finite difference and finite element techniques for the numerical solution of parabolic approximations are also presented. They include an efficient modeling of the bottom influence via impedance boundary conditions, they cover wide angle propagation, elastic bottom effects, variable bottom topography and reverberation effects. All the models are validated on several benchmark problems and versus experimental data. Results thus obtained were compared with analogous results from standard codes in the literature.

Nutritional status and clinical outcome in elderly female surgical orthopaedic patients

The possible relationship between nutritional status and clinical outcome following orthopaedic hip surgery was investigated. The nutritional status of 60 elderly female patients admitted for elective total hip replacement (THR) and emergency fractured neck of femur surgery (FNF) was measured over time. Specific measures of clinical outcome, including well-being and functional status, were monitored during hospital stay and at 4, 8 and 26 weeks following discharge. Patients were allocated to a high nutritional risk group where any three of the following were less than the 5th percentile value: serum albumin, haemoglobin, triceps skinfold thickness, mid-upper arm muscle circumference and body weight. Using this definition, malnutrition was present in 4% of THR patients and 41% of FNF patients. It was found that the high risk patients had significantly longer convalescence periods, (median stay27.5 days compared with 0 days, P < 0.0009), and a greater proportion were dependent upon walking frames at 6 months (46% compared with 11%, P < 0.01). Fifty percent of the high risk patients had been living independently prior to admission, in contrast only 29% had returned to their homes at 6 months after discharge. The results indicate an apparent link between clinical outcome and nutritional status based upon the allocation procedure employed, which has the potential for ensuring cost-effective nutritional intervention.

Interaction of visual and haptic information in simulated environments: texture perception

This paper describes experiments relating to the perception of the roughness of simulated surfaces via the haptic and visual senses. Subjects used a magnitude estimation technique to judge the roughness of “virtual gratings” presented via a PHANToM haptic interface device, and a standard visual display unit. It was shown that under haptic perception, subjects tended to perceive roughness as decreasing with increased grating period, though this relationship was not always statistically significant. Under visual exploration, the exact relationship between spatial period and perceived roughness was less well defined, though linear regressions provided a reliable approximation to individual subjects’ estimates.

Distortion in distributed virtual environments

This paper proposes a solution to the problems associated with network latency within distributed virtual environments. It begins by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of synchronous and asynchronous distributed models, in the areas of user and object representation and user-to-user interaction. By introducing a hybrid solution, which utilises the concept of a causal surface, the advantages of both synchronous and asynchronous models are combined. Object distortion is a characteristic feature of the hybrid system, and this is proposed as a solution which facilitates dynamic real-time user collaboration. The final section covers implementation details, with reference to a prototype system available from the Internet.

Assessment of projected changes in upland environments using simple climatic indices

Climate controls upland habitats, soils and their associated ecosystem services; therefore, understanding possible changes in upland climatic conditions can provide a rapid assessment of climatic vulnerability over the next century. We used 3 different climatic indices that were optimised to fit the upland area classified by the EU as a Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA) 1961–1990. Upland areas within the SDA covered all altitudinal ranges, whereas the maximum altitude of lowland areas outside of the SDA was ca. 300 m. In general, the climatic index based on the ratio between annual accumulated temperature (as a measure of growing season length) and annual precipitation predicted 96% of the SDA mapped area, which was slightly better than those indices based on annual or seasonal water deficit. Overall, all climatic indices showed that upland environments were exposed to some degree of change by 2071–2100 under UKCIP02 climate projections for high and low emissions scenarios. The projected area declined by 13 to 51% across 3 indices for the low emissions scenario and by 24 to 84% for the high emissions scenario. Mean altitude of the upland area increased by +11 to +86 m for the low scenario and +21 to +178 m for the high scenario. Low altitude areas in eastern and southern Great Britain were most vulnerable to change. These projected climatic changes are likely to affect upland habitat composition, long-term soil carbon storage and wider ecosystem service provision, although it is not yet possible to determine the rate at which this might occur.

Generating virtual environments to allow increased access to the built environment

The problems encountered by individuals with disabilities when accessing large public buildings is described and a solution based on the generation of virtual models of the built environment is proposed. These models are superimposed on a control network infrastructure, currently utilised in intelligent building applications such as lighting, heating and access control. The use of control network architectures facilitates the creation of distributed models that closely mirror both the physical and control properties of the environment. The model of the environment is kept local to the installation which allows the virtual representation of a large building to be decomposed into an interconnecting series of smaller models. This paper describes two methods of interacting with the virtual model, firstly a two dimensional aural representation that can be used as the basis of a portable navigational device. Secondly an augmented reality called DAMOCLES that overlays additional information on a user’s normal field of view. The provision of virtual environments offers new possibilities in the man-machine interface so that intuitive access to network based services and control functions can be given to a user.