Haptically enabled interactive virtual reality prototype for general assembly

Desktop computers based virtual training systems are attracting paramount attention from manufacturing industries due to their potential advantages over the conventional training practices. Significant cost savings can be realized due to the shorter training-scenarios development times and reuse of existing engineering models. In addition, by using computer based virtual reality (VR) training systems, the time span from the product design to commercial production can be shortened due to non-reliance on hardware parts. Within the aforementioned conceptual framework, a haptically enabled interactive and immersive virtual reality (HIIVR) system is presented. Unlike existing VR systems, the presented idea tries to imitate real physical training scenarios by providing comprehensive user interaction, constrained within the physical limitations of the real world imposed by the haptics devices within the virtual environment. As a result, in contrast to the existing VR systems, capable of providing knowledge generally about assembly sequences only, the proposed system helps in procedural learning and procedural skill development as well, due to its high physically interactive nature.

Haptically enable interactive virtual assembly training system development and evaluation

Virtual training systems are attracting paramount attention from the manufacturing industries due to their potential advantages over the conventional training practices. Significant cost savings can be realized due to the shorter times for the development of different training-scenarios as well as reuse of existing designed engineering (math) models. In addition, use of computer based virtual reality (VR) training systems can shorten the time span from computer aided product design to commercial production due to non-reliance on the hardware parts for training. Within the aforementioned conceptual framework, a haptically enabled interactive and immersive virtual reality (HIVEx) system is presented. Unlike existing VR systems, the presented idea tries to imitate real physical training scenarios by providing comprehensive user interaction, constrained within the physical limitations of the real world. These physical constrains are imposed by the haptics devices in the virtual environment. As a result, in contrast to the existing VR systems that are capable of providing knowledge generally about assembly sequences only, the proposed system helps in cognitive learning and procedural skill development as well, due to its high physically interactive nature.

A virtual environment for cultural and linguistic inclusivity teaching in a global environment

The Deakin University (Melbourne, Australia) operational policy on 'International and Culturally Inclusive Curricula' states that Deakin will incorporate international/intercultural perspectives and inclusive pedagogies into its courses in order to prepare all students to perform capably, ethically and sensitively in international, multicultural, professional and social contexts.

This paper is about a specific project to internationalise the teacher education curriculum through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This project is scoped in the context of the UNESCO thrust of 'Education for All' in agreeing that inclusive societies begin with inclusive education practices. In our view current strategies have been insufficient to ensure that marginalized and excluded children receive access to their right to education.

The project aims to operationalise part of the UNESCO Dakar Framework for high quality learning environments by responding to ‘…the diverse needs and circumstances of learners and giving appropriate weight to the abilities, skills and knowledge they bring to the teaching and learning process’ by minimising language acquisition barriers that can otherwise impede effective communication and learning.

In addition, we need to be mindful of the marginalisation of people from non-English speaking backgrounds and therefore, in this initiative we use ICT to bridge the 'tyranny of distance' and offer a curriculum that values cultural and linguistic diversity.

In this paper we will discuss how we intend to develop these project principles. In particular we will indicate our plans to use relatively low cost, accessible software to develop a virtual environment where students can enter text in their native language, view foreign language text in their native language, hear text in their own language and automatically encode text into MP3 files and attach the files to messages.

A virtual environment for cultural and linguistic inclusivity : teaching in a global environment

This paper is about a project that uses Information and communication technologies in a virtual environment where students can communicate in their own language in text and audio.

User-centered evaluation of a virtual environment training system : utility of user perception measures

This study assessed the utility of measures of Self-efficacy (SelfEfficacy) and Perceived VE efficacy (PVEefficacy) for quantifying how effective VEs are in procedural task training. SelfEfficacy and PVEefficacy have been identified as affective construct potentially underlying VE efficacy that is not evident from user task performance. The motivation for this study is to establish subjective measures of VE efficacy and investigate the relationship between PVEefficacy, SelfEfficacy and User task performance. Results demonstrated different levels of prior experience in manipulating 3D objects in gaming or computer environment (LOE3D) effects on task performance and user perception of VE efficacy. Regression analysis revealed LOE3D, SelfEfficacy,
PVEefficacy explain significant portions of the variance in VE efficacy. Results of the study provide further evidence that task performance may share relationships with PVEefficacy and SelfEfficacy, and that affective constructs, such as PVEefficacy, and SelfEfficacy may serve as alternative, subjective measures of task performance that account for VE efficacy.

Systematic evaluation of a virtual environment-based training systems

This paper explores the application of three constructs that deemed to be essential to quantify virtual environments (VE) efficacy: cognitive, skill-based, and affective learning outcomes. The authors discuss the implementation of these constructs in a user-centered evaluation of a VE training system. By transforming both the conceptual and operational cohorts for training evaluation the authors illustrate the benefits of the development of a Multi-dimensional User-centered Systematic Training Evaluation (MUSTe) method for quantifying VEs efficacy. Importantly, MUSTe acknowledges the importance of combining holistic and analytical approaches in conducting systematic user-based evaluation. Furthermore, it also emphasizes that quantifying VEs efficacy must reflect the perception and preferences of the users rather than the imposition of efficacy on single measures of task outcome. An empirical study that applied MUSTe evaluation method in quantifying a VE training system efficacy provided valuable evidence of the theoretical construct and content validity of the method.

MUSTe method for quantifying virtual environment training system efficacy

In the current era increased attention and interest of utilizing advanced computer technologies for training and education at all managerial levels and functional areas is apparent. One of such technologies, virtual environment (VE), is perceived to be effective in enhancing human abilities to learn abstract concept and complex procedural tasks. Despite its adaptation for training and fast-paced technological advancements, ways in which to evaluate efficacy of such technology are unclear. We have approached this problem by developed a new evaluation method focus on cognitive, affective and skillbased learning dimensions, based on traditional usability evaluation methods but tailored to specifically suit for the quantification of 3D VE system. We first describe the construct of the new method and then report a study utilizing the method in the context of quantifying a VE efficacy in an object assembly task. At last, we discuss the implications of such a method.

Multidimensional evaluation framework for virtual environment efficacy assessment

This research is related to the user-centred design and use of Virtual Environment (VE) training systems. A multidimensional user-centred systematic training evaluation framework that combines ideas from human-computer interaction, training, education and psychology was proposed, which contributes to better design and evaluation of VE user interfaces.

Archipelago design : virtualopolis and the interactive virtual team scenario

Increasingly employers use virtual teams to leverage business knowledge that can solve day to day business problems and create new business opportunities. Consequently, according to Bridgstock, graduates increasingly require virtual teamwork skills such as communication, negotiation and collaboration. The project presented here has researched and trialled the role of a well-designed interactive scenario in developing graduate attributes related to working with others, using virtual business entities across four faculties. One innovative outcome from this has been the scoping and linking of cross-faculty virtual developments into an overarching structure which is easily navigable and engaging for the net generation learner, and capacity building for the university. For clarity, that scaffolding or framework ‘city’ has been called Virtualopolis. This has the potential to link pockets of innovation across the university in the area of experiential learning and virtual work-integrated learning (WIL), the term expolred by Walsh within the context of Briggs' constructive alignment. The prototype workteam scenario has multiple applications, with capacity to be a hurdle requirement, assessment item or training activity depending on the needs of the faculty’s WIL. By developing the online framework or model Virtualopolis, work-integrated teams assessment can be linked across different business entities, and used as skills preparation for experiential learning units such as internships, professional experience and workplace-based projects university-wide. This model has exciting possibilities of transferability across the higher education sector in the linkage of innovative virtual scenarios to reduce developmental costs, assessment tools/resources targeted specifically to graduate attributes, and virtual teamwork capacity building.

Prospective memory in a virtual environment: beneficial effects of cue saliency

Prospective Memory (PM) research focuses on how the cognitive system successfully encodes and retains an intention, before retrieving it at a particular future time or in response to a particular future event. Previous work using 2D text stimuli has shown that increasing the saliency of the retrieval cue can improve performance. In this work, we investigated the effect of increased cue saliency in a more ecologically valid 3D virtual environment. The findings indicate that increased perceptual saliency of the cue does benefit PM in a dynamic and visually rich environment but that the impact of cue saliency does not interact with attentional load.

Multitasking: multiple, domain-specific cognitive functions in a virtual environment

Multitasking among three or more different tasks is a ubiquitous requirement of everyday cognition, yet rarely is it addressed in research on healthy adults who have had no specific training in multitasking skills. Participants completed a set of diverse subtasks within a simulated shopping mall and office environment, the Edinburgh Virtual Errands Test (EVET). The aim was to investigate how different cognitive functions, such as planning, retrospective and prospective memory, and visuospatial and verbal working memory, contribute to everyday multitasking. Subtasks were chosen to be diverse, and predictions were derived from a statistical model of everyday multitasking impairments associated with frontal-lobe lesions (Burgess, Veitch, de Lacy Costello, & Shallice, 2000b). Multiple regression indicated significant independent contributions from measures of retrospective memory, visuospatial working memory, and online planning, but not from independent measures of prospective memory or verbal working memory. Structural equation modelling showed that the best fit to the data arose from three underlying constructs, with Memory and Planning having a weak link, but with both having a strong directional pathway to an Intent construct that reflected implementation of intentions. Participants who followed their preprepared plan achieved higher scores than those who altered their plan during multitask performance. This was true regardless of whether the plan was efficient or poor. These results substantially develop and extend the Burgess et al. (2000b) model to healthy adults and yield new insight into the poorly understood area of everyday multitasking. The findings also point to the utility of using virtual environments for investigating this form of complex human cognition.

The impact of working memory load on task execution and online plan adjustment during multitasking in a virtual environment

Three experiments investigated the impact of working memory load on online plan adjustment during a test of multitasking in young, nonexpert, adult participants. Multitasking was assessed using the Edinburgh Virtual Errands Test (EVET). Participants were asked to memorize either good or poor plans for performing multiple errands and were assessed both on task completion and on the extent to which they modified their plans during EVET performance. EVET was performed twice, with and without a secondary task loading a component of working memory. In Experiment 1, articulatory suppression was used to load the phonological loop. In Experiment 2, oral random generation was used to load executive functions. In Experiment 3, spatial working memory was loaded with an auditory spatial localization task. EVET performance for both good- and poor-planning groups was disrupted by random generation and sound localization, but not by articulatory suppression. Additionally, people given a poor plan were able to overcome this initial disadvantage by modifying their plans online. It was concluded that, in addition to executive functions, multiple errands performance draws heavily on spatial, but not verbal, working memory resources but can be successfully completed on the basis of modifying plans online, despite a secondary task load.

Reproduction

"Reproduction" is a mixed reality installation that investigates the flow of data between the material world and synthetic worlds, in particular realtime 3D environments, through the creation of a persistent realtime 3D environment populated with agent entities that evolve over the duration of the exhibition in response to the actions of the human visitors to the 10 metre dome.

Virtual ampang Jaya

Virtual Ampang Jaya is an interactive visualization environment for modeling urban growth and spatio-temporal transformation to expose and evaluate the different layers of Ampang Jaya, consisting of social, economic, built and natural environments. The research will investigate the techniques of data acquisition, data reconstruction from physical to digital, urban analysis and visualization in constructing a digital model which may include low geometric content such as 2D digital maps and digital orthographics to high geometric content such as full volumetric parametric modeling. The process will integrate the state of the art GIS system to explore GIS powerful analytical and querying capabilities with interactive visualization environment as well as test the model as a predictive tool. The model will set as an experimental test pad in providing a new platform to support decision making about the spatial growth of Ampang Jaya by the various stakeholders in the planning processes. Such an environment will improve the subsequent digital models and research in the area of urban design and planning where visual communication is central.

Haptically enabled interactivity and immersive virtual assembly

Virtual training systems are attracting paramount attention from the manufacturing industries due to their potential advantages over the conventional training practices such as general assembly. Within this virtual training realm for general assembly, a haptically enabled interactive and immersive virtual reality (HIVEx) system is presented. The idea is to imitate real assembly training scenarios by providing comprehensive user interaction as well as by enforcing physical constraints within the virtual environment through the use of haptics technology. The developed system employs a modular system approach providing flexibility of reconfiguration and scalability as well as better utilization of the current multi-core computer architecture. The user interacts with the system using haptics device and data glove while fully immersed into the virtual environment with depth perception. An evaluation module, incorporated into the system, automatically logs and evaluates the information through the simulation providing user performance and improvements over time. A ruggedized portable version of the system is also developed and presented with full system capabilities allowing easy relocation with different factory environments. A number of training scenarios has been developed with varying degree of complexity to exploit the potential of the presented system. The presented system can be employed for teaching and training of existing assembly processes as well as the design of new optimised assembly operations. Furthermore, the presented system can assist in optimizing existing practices by evaluating the effectiveness and the level of knowledge transfer involved in the process. Within the aforementioned conceptual. framework, a working prototype is developed.