A visualisation framework for collaborative virtual environment usage information

Due to the popularity of modern Collaborative Virtual Environments, there has been a related increase in their size and complexity. Developers therefore need visualisations that expose usage patterns from logged data, to understand the structures and dynamics of these complex environments. This chapter presents a new framework for the process of visualising virtual environment usage data. Major components, such as an event model, designer task model and data acquisition infrastructure are described. Interface and implementation factors are also developed, along with example visualisation techniques that make use of the new task and event model. A case study is performed to illustrate a typical scenario for the framework, and its benefits to the environment development team.

Real Design of a Virtual Landscape : Designing and building a landscape in Second Life

3D Virtual Environments (VE) are real; they exist as digital worlds with the advantage of having none of the constraints of the real world. As such they are the perfect training ground for design students who can create, build and experiment with design solutions without the constraint of real world projects. This paper reports on an educational setting used to explore a model for using VE such as Second Life (SL) developed by Linden Labs in California, as a collaborative environment for design education. A postgraduate landscape architecture learning environment within a collaborative design unit was developed to integrate this model where the primary focus was the application of three-dimensional tools within design, not as a presentation tool, but rather as a design tool. The focus of the unit and its aims and objectives will be outlined before describing the use of SL in the unit. Attention is focused on the collaboration and learning experience before discussing the outcomes, student feedback, future projects using this model and potential for further research. The outcome of this study aims to contribute to current research on teaching and learning design in interactive VE’s. We present a case study of our first application of this model.

Communication of business process models via virtual environment simulations

Games and related virtual environments have been a much-hyped area of the entertainment industry. The classic quote is that games are now approaching the size of Hollywood box office sales [1]. Books are now appearing that talk up the influence of games on business [2], and it is one of the key drivers of present hardware development. Some of this 3D technology is now embedded right down at the operating system level via the Windows Presentation Foundations – hit Windows/Tab on your Vista box to find out... In addition to this continued growth in the area of games, there are a number of factors that impact its development in the business community. Firstly, the average age of gamers is approaching the mid thirties. Therefore, a number of people who are in management positions in large enterprises are experienced in using 3D entertainment environments. Secondly, due to the pressure of demand for more computational power in both CPU and Graphical Processing Units (GPUs), your average desktop, any decent laptop, can run a game or virtual environment. In fact, the demonstrations at the end of this paper were developed at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) on a standard Software Operating Environment, with an Intel Dual Core CPU and basic Intel graphics option. What this means is that the potential exists for the easy uptake of such technology due to 1. a broad range of workers being regularly exposed to 3D virtual environment software via games; 2. present desktop computing power now strong enough to potentially roll out a virtual environment solution across an entire enterprise. We believe such visual simulation environments can have a great impact in the area of business process modeling. Accordingly, in this article we will outline the communication capabilities of such environments, giving fantastic possibilities for business process modeling applications, where enterprises need to create, manage, and improve their business processes, and then communicate their processes to stakeholders, both process and non-process cognizant. The article then concludes with a demonstration of the work we are doing in this area at QUT.

Virtual Environment Visualisation of Executable Business Process Models

Business Process Modelling is a fast growing field in business and information technology, which uses visual grammars to model and execute the processes within an organisation. However, many analysts present such models in a 2D static and iconic manner that is difficult to understand by many stakeholders. Difficulties in understanding such grammars can impede the improvement of processes within an enterprise due to communication problems. In this chapter we present a novel framework for intuitively visualising animated business process models in interactive Virtual Environments. We also show that virtual environment visualisations can be performed with present 2D business process modelling technology, thus providing a low barrier to entry for business process practitioners. Two case studies are presented from film production and healthcare domains that illustrate the ease with which these visualisations can be created. This approach can be generalised to other executable workflow systems, for any application domain being modelled.

Constructing the hallucinations of psychosis in Virtual Reality

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder affecting 1-2% of the population and it is estimated 12-16% of hospital beds in Australia are occupied by patients with psychosis. The suicide rate for patients with this diagnosis is higher than that of the general population. Any technique which enhances training and treatment of this disorder will have a significant societal and economic impact. A significant research project using Virtual Reality (VR), in which both visual and auditory hallucinations are simulated, is currently being undertaken at the University of Queensland. The virtual environments created by the new software are expected to enhance the experiential learning outcomes of medical students by enabling them to experience the inner world of a patient with psychosis. In addition the Virtual Environment has the potential to provide a technologically advanced therapeutic setting where behavioral, exposure therapies can be conducted with exactly controlled exposure stimuli with an expected reduction in risk of harm. This paper reports on the current work of the project, previous stages of software development and future educational and clinical applications of the Virtual Environments. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of virtual prototyping for hazard identification in the early design stage

Purpose: The construction industry is well known for its high accident rate and many practitioners consider a preventative approach to be the most important means of bringing about improvements. This paper addresses previous research and the weaknesses of existing preventative approaches and a new application is described and illustrated involving the use of a multi-dimensional simulation tool - Construction Virtual Prototyping (CVP). Methodology: A literature review was conducted to investigate previous studies of hazard identification and safety management and to develop the new approach. Due to weaknesses in current practice, the research study explored the use of computer simulation techniques to create virtual environments where users can explore and identify construction hazards. Specifically, virtual prototyping technology was deployed to develop typical construction scenarios in which unsafe or hazardous incidents occur. In a case study, the users’ performance was evaluated their responses to incidents within the virtual environment and the effectiveness of the computer simulation system established though interviews with the safety project management team. Findings: The opinions and suggestions provided by the interviewees led to the initial conclusion that the simulation tool was useful in assisting the safety management team’s hazard identification process during the early design stage. Originality: The research introduces an innovative method to support the management teams’ reviews of construction site safety. The system utilises three-dimensional modelling and four-dimensional simulation of worker behaviour, a configuration that has previously not been employed in construction simulations. An illustration of the method’s use is also provided, together with a consideration of its strengths and weaknesses.

Neural network-based detection of virtual environment anomalies

The increasingly widespread use of large-scale 3D virtual environments has translated into an increasing effort required from designers, developers and testers. While considerable research has been conducted into assisting the design of virtual world content and mechanics, to date, only limited contributions have been made regarding the automatic testing of the underpinning graphics software and hardware. In the work presented in this paper, two novel neural network-based approaches are presented to predict the correct visualization of 3D content. Multilayer perceptrons and self-organizing maps are trained to learn the normal geometric and color appearance of objects from validated frames and then used to detect novel or anomalous renderings in new images. Our approach is general, for the appearance of the object is learned rather than explicitly represented. Experiments were conducted on a game engine to determine the applicability and effectiveness of our algorithms. The results show that the neural network technology can be effectively used to address the problem of automatic and reliable visual testing of 3D virtual environments.

The development of a virtual reality environment to model the experience of schizophrenia

Virtual Reality (VR) techniques are increasingly being used for education about and in the treatment of certain types of mental illness. Research indicates that VR is delivering on its promised potential to provide enhanced training and treatment outcomes through incorporation of this high-end technology. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder affecting 1-2% of the population, and it is estimated 12-16% of hospital beds in Australia are occupied by patients with psychosis. Tragically, there is also an increased risk of suicide associated with this diagnosis. A significant research project being undertaken across the University of Queensland faculties of Health Sciences and EPSA (Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture) has constructed a number of virtual environments that reproduce the phenomena experienced by patients who have psychosis. Symptoms of psychosis include delusions, hallucinations and thought disorder. The VR environment will allow behavioral, exposure therapies to be conducted with exactly controlled exposure stimuli and an expected reduction in risk of harm. This paper reports on the current work of the project, previous stages of software development and the final goal to introduce VR to medical consulting rooms.

The application of virtual reality to the understanding and treatment of schizophrenia

Virtual Reality (VR) techniques are increasingly being used in education about and in the treatment of certain types of mental illness. Research indicates VR is delivering on it's promised potential to provide enhanced training and treatment outcomes through incorporation of this high-end technology. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder affecting 1−2% of the population. A significant research project being undertaken at the University of Queensland has constructed virtual environments that reproduce the phenomena experienced by patients who have psychosis. The VR environment will allow behavioral exposure therapies to be conducted with exactly controlled exposure stimuli and an expected reduction in risk of harm. This paper reports on the work of the project, previous stages of software development and current and future educational and clinical applications of the Virtual Environments.

Hanging out is hard to do : Methodology in non-avatar environments

Ethnography is now a well-established research methodology for virtual environments, and the vast majority of accounts have one aspect in common, whether textual or graphic environments – that of the embodied avatar. In this article, I first discuss the applicability of such a methodology to non-avatar environments such as Eve Online, considering where the methodology works and the issues that arise in its implementation – particularly for the consideration of sub-communities within the virtual environment. Second, I consider what alternative means exist for getting at the information that is obtained through an ethnographic study of the virtual environment. To that end, I consider the practical and ethical implications of utilizing existing accounts, the importance of the meta-game discourse, including those sources outside of the control of the environment developer, and finally the utility in combining personal observations with accounts of other ethnographers, both within and between environments.

Virtual worlds in Australian and New Zealand higher education : remembering the past, understanding the present and imagining the future

3D virtual reality, including the current generation of multi-user virtual worlds, has had a long history of use in education and training, and it experienced a surge of renewed interest with the advent of Second Life in 2003. What followed shortly after were several years marked by considerable hype around the use of virtual worlds for teaching, learning and research in higher education. For the moment, uptake of the technology seems to have plateaued, with academics either maintaining the status quo and continuing to use virtual worlds as they have previously done or choosing to opt out altogether. This paper presents a brief review of the use of virtual worlds in the Australian and New Zealand higher education sector in the past and reports on its use in the sector at the present time, based on input from members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group. It then adopts a forward-looking perspective amid the current climate of uncertainty, musing on future directions and offering suggestions for potential new applications in light of recent technological developments and innovations in the area.

A Terapia de Exposição com Realidade Virtual para pacientes com TEPT controlada por um Sistema de Lógica Fuzzy

Nos últimos anos, a área da saúde vem explorando o potencial das novas tecnologias para diagnóstico e tratamentos de muitos distúrbios. Em especial, a tecnologia de Realidade Virtual se destaca por oferecer novas perspectivas de tratamento para diferentes distúrbios neuropsiquiátricos. Por outro lado, a ocorrência de problemas causados por situações traumáticas vem crescendo em todo o mundo. Nesse contexto, o Transtorno de Estresse Pós-Traumático (TEPT) é classificado como um transtorno de ansiedade que se caracteriza por gerar uma classe de comportamentos inadequados a situações que não representam perigo real. Em geral, este transtorno está relacionado à ocorrência de algum evento traumático de grande magnitude no passado. Vários trabalhos foram desenvolvidos utilizando ambientes virtuais tridimensionais (3D) para tratar e diagnosticar este distúrbio. Entretanto, percebe-se uma carência de sistemas que consigam controlar o nível de dificuldade das atividades desenvolvidas nesses ambientes. Nesse caso, esta dissertação tem por objetivo descrever o desenvolvimento e avaliar o potencial de utilização de dois sistemas: um que explora a Realidade Virtual (ARVET) para oferecer cenas virtuais que simulem os estímulos geradores de ansiedade similares aqueles da vida real; e outro que explora a Lógica Fuzzy (SAPTEPT) para classificar os níveis de ansiedade do paciente, possibilitando a análise quali-quantitativa de dados psicofisiológicos e psicométricos. As avaliações realizadas com especialistas na área mostraram que o ARVET pode proporcionar um alto grau de estímulos ansiogênicos e a integração com o SAPTEPT ocorreu de forma satisfatória mostrando o potencial que os sistemas têm de serem utilizados em pacientes reais.

Animated virtual agents to cue user attention: comparison of static and dynamic deictic cues on gaze and touch responses

This paper describes an experiment developed to study the performance of virtual agent animated cues within digital interfaces. Increasingly, agents are used in virtual environments as part of the branding process and to guide user interaction. However, the level of agent detail required to establish and enhance efficient allocation of attention remains unclear. Although complex agent motion is now possible, it is costly to implement and so should only be routinely implemented if a clear benefit can be shown. Pevious methods of assessing the effect of gaze-cueing as a solution to scene complexity have relied principally on two-dimensional static scenes and manual peripheral inputs. Two experiments were run to address the question of agent cues on human-computer interfaces. Both experiments measured the efficiency of agent cues analyzing participant responses either by gaze or by touch respectively. In the first experiment, an eye-movement recorder was used to directly assess the immediate overt allocation of attention by capturing the participant’s eyefixations following presentation of a cueing stimulus. We found that a fully animated agent could speed up user interaction with the interface. When user attention was directed using a fully animated agent cue, users responded 35% faster when compared with stepped 2-image agent cues, and 42% faster when compared with a static 1-image cue. The second experiment recorded participant responses on a touch screen using same agent cues. Analysis of touch inputs confirmed the results of gaze-experiment, where fully animated agent made shortest time response with a slight decrease on the time difference comparisons. Responses to fully animated agent were 17% and 20% faster when compared with 2-image and 1-image cue severally. These results inform techniques aimed at engaging users’ attention in complex scenes such as computer games and digital transactions within public or social interaction contexts by demonstrating the benefits of dynamic gaze and head cueing directly on the users’ eye movements and touch responses.

Influence of the Graphical Levels of Detail of a Virtual Thrower on the Perception of the Movement

Virtual reality has a number of advantages for analyzing sports interactions such as the standardization of experimental conditions, stereoscopic vision, and complete control of animated humanoid movement. Nevertheless, in order to be useful for sports applications, accurate perception of simulated movement in the virtual sports environment is essential. This perception depends on parameters of the synthetic character such as the number of degrees of freedom of its skeleton or the levels of detail (LOD) of its graphical representation. This study focuses on the influence of this latter parameter on the perception of the movement. In order to evaluate it, this study analyzes the judgments of immersed handball goalkeepers that play against a graphically modified virtual thrower. Five graphical representations of the throwing action were defined: a textured reference level (L0), a nontextured level (L1), a wire-frame level (L2), a moving point light display (MLD) level with a normal-sized ball (L3), and a MLD level where the ball is represented by a point of light (L4). The results show that judgments made by goalkeepers in the L4 condition are significantly less accurate than in all the other conditions (p

Virtual Thrower Versus Real Goalkeeper: The Influence of Different Visual Conditions on Performance

In order to use virtual reality as a sport analysis tool, we need to be sure that an immersed athlete reacts realistically in a virtual environment. This has been validated for a real handball goalkeeper facing a virtual thrower. However, we currently ignore which visual variables induce a realistic motor behavior of the immersed handball goalkeeper. In this study, we used virtual reality to dissociate the visual information related to the movements of the player from the visual information related to the trajectory of the ball. Thus, the aim is to evaluate the relative influence of these different visual information sources on the goalkeeper's motor behavior. We tested 10 handball goalkeepers who had to predict the final position of the virtual ball in the goal when facing the following: only the throwing action of the attacking player (TA condition), only the resulting ball trajectory (BA condition), and both the throwing action of the attacking player and the resulting ball trajectory (TB condition). Here we show that performance was better in the BA and TB conditions, but contrary to expectations, performance was substantially worse in the TA condition. A significant effect of ball landing zone does, however, suggest that the relative importance between visual information from the player and the ball depends on the targeted zone in the goal. In some cases, body-based cues embedded in the throwing actions may have a minor influence on the ball trajectory and vice versa. Kinematics analysis was then combined with these results to determine why such differences occur depending on the ball landing zone and consequently how it can clarify the role of different sources of visual information on the motor behavior of an athlete immersed in a virtual environment.