Virtual Reality har existerat i olika former runt 80 år tillbaka, men i dess nuvarande form har den en mer signifikant plats på marknaden. Med detta behövs mer forskning på hur VR fungerar och hur människor påverkas av VR för att kunna utveckla produkter till detta växande medium. Forskningen är idag bristande, så för att bredda förståelsen om VR och framförallt VR som konsol för spel har den här kvalitativa studien undersökt hur skräckelement upplevs i en VR-miljö. Studien undersökte även vad som kan påverka “immersion”, fördjupning i miljön, samt om tidigare erfarenheter kan påverka upplevelser i en VR-miljö. Dessa frågor analyserades utifrån två speltest som gjordes på VR-konsolen HTC Vive. Första speltestet fokuserade på kontroller och “immersion” för att se hur pass lättförstådd och intuitiv konsolen är. Det andra testet undersökte skräckelement i VR och vad för slags element kunde bidra till en mer effektiv och intensiv skräckupplevelse. Totalt deltog 16 personer mellan 19-26 år i speltesterna. Deltagarna var studenter vid Karlstad Universitet eller hade tidigare varit det. Deltagarna blev indelade i olika grupper baserade på tidigare erfarenhet inom spel (första testet) och skräck (andra testet). Med hjälp av observation av videoinspelningar och intervjuer kunde den insamlade datan delas in i teman. De teman som användes för att analysera datan var kontroller, obehag/desorientering, “immersion” och skräckelement. Resultaten visade att HTC Vive har goda förutsättningar för “immersion”. Dock med några problematiska faktorer, utrustning exempelvis, som störde upplevelsen. Trots detta skapade konsolen en stark känsla av “immersion” då deltagarna upplevde sig närvarande i VR-miljön på grund av sådant som bakgrundsljud och naturligt perspektiv på VR-miljön i headsetet. Det som spelade störst roll för “immersion” var att miljön behövde agera verklighetstroget, alltså som spelaren förväntar sig. Den sortens närvaro bidrog positivt till skräckupplevelsen då spelarna tycktes uppleva sig hotade av skräckelementen som att det var riktat mot dem personligen och inte bara en karaktär i ett spel. Gällande skillnader mellan grupperna i erfarenhet fanns det inte många substantiella skillnader. Det kunde märkas lite skillnad i hur kontrollerna hanterades mellan de spelerfarna och icke erfarna. De med tidigare erfarenhet tycktes ha med sig förväntningar om hur kontrollerna skulle fungera. Studien hade, på grund av dess kvalitativa natur, inte möjlighet att få fram generaliserbara resultat. Dock så öppnade den upp för frågor till framtida forskning gällande både VR-spel och dess användare samt om VR-konsoler. / Virtual Reality has existed in different forms since around 80 years ago, but in its current form it has a more significant place on the current market. With this change, more research on how VR works and how humans are affected by it is needed to be able to develop products for this growing medium. The research today is lacking, so to expand the understanding of VR and specifically VR as a console for games, this qualitative study has researched how elements of fear are experienced in a VR-environment. The study also studied what can affect “immersion”, depth in the environment, as well as if previous experience can affect experiences in a VR-environment. These questions were analyzed based on two game tests that were made on the VR-console HTC Vive. The first test focused on controls and “immersion” to see how intuitive and easily understood the console is. The second test examined horror elements in VR and what kinds of elements could contribute to a more effective and intense horror experience. A total of 16 people between the ages of 19-26 participated in the game tests. The participants were students at Karlstad University, or had previously been so. The participants were divided in different kinds of groups depending on previous experiences in digital games (the first test) and horror (the second test). With the help of observation of the video recordings and the interviews the collected data could be divided into themes. The themes used to analyze the data were controls, disorientation/discomfort, “immersion” and horror elements. The results showed that HTC Vive have good qualifications for “immersion”. Though with a few problematic factors, the equipment for example, which disturbed the experience. Despite this, the console created a strong feeling of “immersion” as the participants experienced themselves to be present in the VR-environment because of factors such as background noise and a natural point-of-view of the VR-environment through the headset. The biggest contributor for “immersion” was that the environment needed to have a natural and believable behavior, acting the way the user expects it to. This kind of presence contributed positively to the horror experience as the participants seemed to believe themselves to be threatened by the horror elements as if it was directed at them personally and not just a character in a game.   In the subject of differences between the groups in experience there not a lot of substantial differences. A small difference could be found regarding how the controls were handled between the different groups of game experience. The participants with previous experience seemed to bring expectations about how the controls should work. The study had, because of its qualitative nature, no possibility to receive generalizable results. But the study did open up for questions for future research related to VR-games and their users, as well as VR-consoles.

<div>Computer visualization can effectively deliver instructions to a user whose task requires understanding of a real world scene. Consider the example of surgical telementoring, where a general surgeon performs an emergency surgery under the guidance of a remote mentor. The mentor guidance includes annotations of the operating field, which conventionally are displayed to the surgeon on a nearby monitor. However, this conventional visualization of mentor guidance requires the surgeon to look back and forth between the monitor and the operating field, which can lead to cognitive load, delays, or even medical errors. Another example is 3D acquisition of a real-world scene, where an operator must acquire multiple images of the scene from specific viewpoints to ensure appropriate scene coverage and thus achieve quality 3D reconstruction. The conventional approach is for the operator to plan the acquisition locations using conventional visualization tools, and then to try to execute the plan from memory, or with the help of a static map. Such approaches lead to incomplete coverage during acquisition, resulting in an inaccurate reconstruction of the 3D scene which can only be addressed at the high and sometimes prohibitive cost of repeating acquisition.</div><div><br></div><div>Augmented reality (AR) promises to overcome the limitations of conventional out-of-context visualization of real world scenes by delivering visual guidance directly into the user's field of view, guidance that remains in-context throughout the completion of the task. In this thesis, we propose and validate several AR visual interfaces that provide effective visual guidance for task completion in the context of surgical telementoring and 3D scene acquisition.</div><div><br></div><div>A first AR interface provides a mentee surgeon with visual guidance from a remote mentor using a simulated transparent display. A computer tablet suspended above the patient captures the operating field with its on-board video camera, the live video is sent to the mentor who annotates it, and the annotations are sent back to the mentee where they are displayed on the tablet, integrating the mentor-created annotations directly into the mentee's view of the operating field. We show through user studies that surgical task performance improves when using the AR surgical telementoring interface compared to when using the conventional visualization of the annotated operating field on a nearby monitor. </div><div><br></div><div>A second AR surgical telementoring interface provides the mentee surgeon with visual guidance through an AR head-mounted display (AR HMD). We validate this approach in user studies with medical professionals in the context of practice cricothyrotomy and lower-limb fasciotomy procedures, and show improved performance over conventional surgical guidance. A comparison between our simulated transparent display and our AR HMD surgical telementoring interfaces reveals that the HMD has the advantages of reduced workspace encumbrance and of correct depth perception of annotations, whereas the transparent display has the advantage of reduced surgeon head and neck encumbrance and of annotation visualization quality. </div><div><br></div><div>A third AR interface provides operator guidance for effective image-based modeling and rendering of real-world scenes. During the modeling phase, the AR interface builds and dynamically updates a map of the scene that is displayed to the user through an AR HMD, which leads to the efficient acquisition of a five-degree-of-freedom image-based model of large, complex indoor environments. During rendering, the interface guides the user towards the highest-density parts of the image-based model which result in the highest output image quality. We show through a study that first-time users of our interface can acquire a quality image-based model of a 13m $\times$ 10m indoor environment in 7 minutes.</div><div><br></div><div>A fourth AR interface provides operator guidance for effective capture of a 3D scene in the context of photogrammetric reconstruction. The interface relies on an AR HMD with a tracked hand-held camera rig to construct a sufficient set of six-degrees-of-freedom camera acquisition poses and then to steer the user to align the camera with the prescribed poses quickly and accurately. We show through a study that first-time users of our interface are significantly more likely to achieve complete 3D reconstructions compared to conventional freehand acquisition. We then investigated the design space of AR HMD interfaces for mid-air pose alignment with an added ergonomics concern, which resulted in five candidate interfaces that sample this design space. A user study identified the aspects of the AR interface design that influence the ergonomics during extended use, informing AR HMD interface design for the important task of mid-air pose alignment.</div>

Many applications have been developed for Virtual Reality (VR) during the new wave of VR technology. These new technologies make it possible to create 3D meshes in a virtual environment in real time. However, the usability of VR as a modelling tool is still a new area of research. This study’s research created a VR 3D modeling tool that will provide the user with tools to interactively generate and edit 3D meshes in real-time and teach the users how to create 3D models. The study had two groups of participants, one group used Autodesk Maya, and another used the VR modeling tool. All participants were from Purdue University and all data was collected in the Polytechnic Institute. Both groups were given a task to create a teacup with the time it took to complete it recorded. The VR tool was evaluated with a SUS (System Usability Scale). The participants provided feedback and rated how difficult it was to use the application. With the SUS, it was determined that the application did not meet the industry standard average score of 68. However, further analysis on users’ responses showed many areas to improve in the application. A few recommendations for future research include implementation of multi-selection, a undo and redo feature, and improvements of how the user interacts with the 3D meshes.

Humans are very effective at evaluating information visually. Scientific visualization is concerned with the process of presenting complex data in visual form to exploit this capability. A large array of tools is currently available for visual presentation. This research attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of three different presentation models that could be used for scientific visualization. The presentation models studied were, two-dimensional perspective rendering, field sequential stereoscopic three dimensional rendering and immersive virtual reality rendering. A large section of a three dimensional sub surface seismic survey was modeled as four-dimensional data by including a value for seismic reflectivity at each point in the survey. An artificial structure was randomly inserted into this data model and subjects were asked to locate and identify the structures. A group of seventeen volunteers from the University of Houston student body served as subjects for the study. Detection time, discrimination time and discrimination accuracy were recorded. The results showed large inter subject variation in presentation model preference. In addition the data suggest a possible gender effect. Female subjects had better overall performance on the task as well as better task acquisition.

SammanfattningSyfte: Syftet var att sammanställa och beskriva hur Virtual Reality används som rehabiliteringsintervention för personer med stroke samt hur rehabiliteringsinterventionen upplevs för personerna. Metod: Författarna valde att utföra en litteraturöversikt för att granska det aktuella forskningsläget. Litteraturöversikten inkluderar 11 studier med utgivningsår 2012-2022. Studiedesignen i de inkluderade studierna var kvantitativ, kvalitativ samt mixad metod. Studierna inhämtades i databaserna Pubmed, Cinahl, PsycInfo och AMED. Samtliga studier kvalitetgranskades för att öka trovärdigheten i litteraturöversikten. Resultat: Resultatet sammanställdes i fyra kategorier; Rehabilitering av funktioner och förmågor, alternativa VR-system att tillämpa vid strokerehabilitering, rörelseträning med direkt, visuell och auditiv feedback samt personer med stroke upplever VR olika. Resultatet visade att VR som rehabiliteringsintervention för personer med stroke kan användas i olika syften samt användas på olika sätt för att rehabilitera utifrån personens funktioner och förmågor. I sin helhet uttryckte personer som utför rehabilitering med VR att det upplevdes som meningsfullt, njutbart samt engagerande. Slutsats: Slutsatsen är att VR möjliggör fler sätt till rehabilitering efter en stroke, vilket gör att VR kan vara användbart som intervention inom arbetsterapi. Tekniken fortsatta utveckling erbjuder möjlighet att använda teknik inom den arbetsterapeutiska proffesionen, där det är viktigt för arbetsterapeuter att följa med utvecklingen. Slutligen krävs mer forskning för att kunna utvärdera om VR är en tänkbar rehabiliteringsintervention att använda i större omfattning, framförallt om det är applicerbart i svensk hälso- och sjukvård för arbetsterapeuter. / AbstracktAim: The aim of this study was to compile and describe how Virtual Realiy is uses as a rehabilitation intervention for people with stroke and how the rehabilitation intervention is experienced by the people. Method: The authors have chosen to perform a literature review to review the current state of research. The literature review includes 11 studies with publication years 2012-2022. The study design in the inclusive studies was quantitative, qualitative and mixed method. The studies were collected in the databases of Pubmed, Cinahl, PsycInfo and AMED. All studies were quality reviewed to increase the credibility of the literature review. Result: The result was compiled into four categories; Rehabilitation of functions and abilities, alternative VR-systems to apply to stroke rehabilitation, training movement with direct, visual and auditory feedback and people with stroke experience VR differently. The result showed that VR as a rehabilitation intervention for people with stroke can be used for different purposes and used in different ways to rehabilitate based on the person's functions and abilities. In its entirety, people who performed rehabilitation with VR expresses that it was percived as meaningful, enjoyable and engaging. Conclusion: The conclusion is that VR allows fore more ways to rehabilitate after a stroke, which means that VR can be useful as an intervention in occuational therapy. The continued development of technology offers the opportunity to use technology in the occupational therapy profession, where it is important for occupational therapists to keep up with developments. Finally, more research is needed to be able to evaluate whether VR is a possible rehabilitation intervention to use to a greater extent, especially if it is applicable in Swedish health care for occupational therapists.

A new wave of VR head mounted displays is being developed and released to the commercial market including examples such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Playstation VR. Bundled together with these head mounted displays are a new generation of hand motion controllers which allows the users to reach out and grasp in the virtual environment. Earlier research has explored a range of possible interaction techniques for immersive VR interaction, mainly focusing on the quantitative and objective performance of each technique. Yet even with this research picking the right technique for a given scenario remains a challenging task. This study tries to complement earlier research by instead investigating the qualitative and more subjective aspects of usability, along with making use of the upcoming commercial VR hand controllers. The purpose was to provide guidelines to help future immersive VR interaction designers and researchers. Two interaction techniques (classic Go-Go and ray casting with a reel) were chosen to represent the two most commonly used interaction metaphors for selection and manipulation, i.e. grabbing and pointing. Eleven users were then recruited to try the two interaction techniques inside a shopping scene initially part of a commercial VR game. Each user had to complete five tasks for each technique while “thinking aloud”, followed by an interview after the test. The sessions were recorded and analysed based on five usability factors. The results indicated a strong preferences for the Go-Go interaction technique, with arguments based on how natural its interaction was. These results confirmed several conclusions drawn in earlier research about interaction in immersive VR, including the strength of natural interaction in scenarios which has the capacity to reach a high grade of naturalism, as well as the importance of showing the user when the interaction technique differs from realistic behaviour. Last but not least the results also pointed to the importance of further study on immersive VR interaction techniques over long time use and when combined with user interfaces. / En ny våg av VR-hjälmar håller på att utvecklas för den kommersiella marknaden med exempel såsom HTC Vive, Oculus Rift och Playstation VR. Dessa VR-hjälmar kommer tillsammans med en ny generation av rörelsekänsliga handkontroller som tillåter användarna i den virtuella miljön att nå ut och greppa tag. Tidigare forskning har utforskat en mängd möjliga interaktionstekniker för immersiv VR interaktion, med fokus på de kvantitativa och objektiva faktorerna för varje teknik. Trots denna forskning så är valet av interaktionsteknik för ett givet VR scenario fortfarande en svår uppgift. Denna studie försöker komplementera tidigare forskning genom att granska de mer subjektiva och kvalitativa aspekterna av användbarhet, samtidigt som den nya generationen av handkontroller för VR används. Syftet med studien var att framställa rekommendationer för att underlätta för framtida interaktionsdesigners och forskare inom VR. Två interaktionstekniker (klassisk Go-Go samt strålkastning med fiskerulle) valdes ut för att representera de två mest använda interaktionsmetaforerna för val och manipulering, det vill säga att greppa och att peka. Elva användare rekryterades för att pröva de två interaktionsteknikerna, inom ramen för ett shopping scenario som ursprungligen ingick i ett kommersiellt VR spel. Varje användare ombads att utföra fem uppgifter med varje teknik samtidigt som de “tänkte högt”, vilket följdes av en avslutande intervju. Sessionerna spelades in och analyserades utifrån fem användbarhetsfaktorer. Resultaten visade att användarna föredrog Go-Go, på grund av att dess interaktion ansågs vara mer naturlig. Resultaten bekräftade även ett flertal slutsatser från tidigare forskning kring interaktionstekniker för VR, så som styrkan i naturlig interaktion i situationer som har kapacitet att nå en hög grad av realism och vikten av att visa användarna när interaktionstekniken bryter mot ett realistiskt beteende. Sist men inte minst visade resultaten även på vikten av framtida studier, dels gällande användning av interaktionstekniker över en längre tid och dels gällande hur dessa interaktionstekniker ska kombineras med användargränssnitt.

This thesis will cover the entirety of the development process of Skara Skyddsängels virtual reality test platform. The platform means to support their efforts in creating a lighting drone service that assists pedestrians and cyclists in areas lacking proper lighting infrastructure while at the same time promoting sustainable modes of transportation. Unreal Engine 4 was used since it provides all the tools needed in order to create the desired product. All changeable parameters requested by the supervisor are fully implemented, such as drone altitude, light angle, and light intensity. Beyond the required parameters, some additional miscellaneous features, such as ambient sound, are also implemented to increase the immersion further. The result is a functioning test platform with an environment resembling a rural road in Skara that can assist the Skara Skyddsängel project in accelerating its testing. / Denna kandidatrapport handlar om den kompletta utvecklingsprocessen för Skara Skyddsängels virtual reality testplatform. Denna plattform skapas för att assistera Skara Skyddsängel i deras arbete att utveckla och utvärdera belysningsdrönare för fotgängare och cyklister i områden där traditionell belysningsinfrastruktur inte är lönsam. Genom att erbjuda alternativ infrastuktur strävar projektet mot en ökad användning av mer miljövänliga transportmedel. Samtliga av projektledarens krav är implementerade, såsom till exempel drönarhöjd, ljusvinkel och ljusintensitet. Dessutom finns några övriga funktioner implementerade, så som ljud från omgivningen för att göra miljön mer verklighetstrogen. Den slutgiltliga produkten är en fungerade testplatform med en miljö som efterliknar en väg på landsbygden utanför Skara. Denna plattform kommer hjälpa Skara Skyddsängel i att göra tester för att hitta optimala drönarinställningar / Skara Skyddsängel

Despite the number of studies demonstrating the opportunities for the broad implication of virtual reality (VR) across numerous industry domains, including media, this technology has not yet made history, to a large extent, because of the bottlenecks that prevent it from becoming mainstream. A number of media houses, video production companies, and even VR equipment developers such as The New York Times, Disney, or Oculus invested into the creation of the VR video platforms and apps with 360-degree films and VR movies. However, their acceptance by a general public has been slower than many have anticipated. This paper explores the ecosystem of platforms serving VR video and identifies the factors influencing their development and adoption based on the insights from the previous research on the technology acceptance models (TAMs) of virtual reality and interviews with ten VR professionals: developers, content providers, and representatives of VR video platforms. This qualitative study reveals that VR hardware design and performance (degrees of freedom, rendered video quality, immobility, interaction with VR content, cybersickness), the price of VR headsets (which are monofunctional devices), limited socialization features in virtual environment, the lack of appealing VR content and issues with its production are some of the main components that hinder the interest towards virtual reality and VR video platforms by a large audience. These determinants, subsequently, may influence the VR users’ perceived enjoyment, usefulness and ease of use, essential for the emerging technologies diffusion. The paper presents the discussion on the bottlenecks and potential growth points that may become the drivers for the further development of platforms offering VR video and their adoption by the wider public. / Trots ett stort antal studier som visar upp möjligheterna för bred implikation av virtual reality (VR) över flertalet branschdomäner, inklusive media, har denna teknik ännu inte fått ett brett genomslag, i stor utsträckning, på grund av flaskhalsar som hindrar den från att bli "mainstream". Ett antal mediehus, videoproduktionsföretag och till och med utvecklare av VR-utrustning (som The New York Times, Disney samt Oculus) investerade i skapandet av VR-videoplattformar och appar med 360-graders filmer och VR-filmer. Allmänhetens acceptans har gått långsammare än många har förväntat sig. Denna uppsats utforskar ekosystemet för plattformar som leverar VR-video och identifierar de faktorer som påverkar deras utveckling och antagande baserat på insikter från tidigare forskning om teknikacceptationsmodeller (TAM) för virtual reality och intervjuer med tio VR-proffs: utvecklare, innehållsleverantörer, och representanter för VR-videoplattformar. Denna kvalitativa studie avslöjar att VR-hårdvarudesign och prestanda (frihetsgrader, renderad videokvalitet, rörlighet, interaktion med VR-innehåll, "cybersickness"), priset på VR-headset (som monofunktionella enheter), begränsade socialiseringsfunktioner i virtuell miljö, bristen av tilltalande VR-innehåll och problem med dess produktion är några av de viktigaste komponenterna som hindrar intresset för virtual reality och VR-videoplattformar att nå en stor publik. Dessa avgörande faktorer kan därefter påverka VR-användarnas upplevda njutning, användbarhet och användarvänlighet, vilket är väsentligt för spridningen av ny teknik. Uppsatsen presenterar diskussionen om flaskhalsar och potentiella tillväxtpunkter som kan bli drivkrafter för vidareutveckling av plattformar som erbjuder VR-video och deras antagande av en bredare allmänhet.

BACKGROUND: Almost all fields of dentistry are very reliant on dentists’ well-developed dexterity and psychomotor skills. Simulation preclinical dental training is important for dental students to acquire preliminary manual dexterity before interacting with real patients. In the recent years, virtual reality specifically haptic simulations have drawn a lot of attention due to their multiple advantages including lack of the threat of spreading air-borne diseases. PURPOSE: The overall purpose of this study was to provide a review of the available dental haptic simulators in the market, and specific aim was to report the available evidence from the current scientific literature about the use and benefit of them during early preclinical pediatric dentistry training. METHODS: Information about Haptic VR simulators was obtained through manufacturers’ websites and current scientific literature. For the specific aim, the review is reported using the PRISMA-Scoping Review (ScR) guidelines and bibliographic databases such as PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, and Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source. RESULTS: The systematic search identified 79 titles of which 14 full-text articles were selected for detailed review. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria 4 studies were included in this review. CONCLUSION: Evaluation evidence from reviewed studies indicates the usefulness of the haptic simulators in preclinical pediatric dental training. The haptic simulators complement the existing phantom head simulators by offering different beneficial features. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the simulators in pediatric dental training and to support the current availability of evidence.

Utvecklingen av visualiseringsverktyg så som CAD-ritningar har lett till stora förändringar i hur projekteringsprocessen löper från planeringsstadiet till slutprodukt. När dessa CAD-ritningar har sammanfogats i större utsträckning med det arbetssätt som kallas för BIMmodeller så finns det en gemensam databas med informationen för ett projekt. Denna information går då att översätta till nästa steg i en virtuellt renderad modell som kan granskas med hjälp av VR-utrustning. För att användningen av VR-teknik i visualiseringen ska vara smidig krävs att det finns BIM-modeller med en tillhörande 3D-ritning gjord i exempelvis Revit eller Archicad. Med detta i grund så har detta arbete baserats på att med enkätundersökningar studera och sammanställa vilka positiva och negativa aspekter det finns med VR-teknik i projekteringen samt vilka hinder som står för en bredare användning. Utifrån dessa studier har de positiva effekterna av en användning främst gett resultatet att det förhöjer rumsupplevelsen och ger projektmedlemmar ett bättre verktyg för att optimera rumsflöden och utformning. Dock utgör fortfarande kunskapsbrist i användningen av denna teknik ett hinder för en bredare acceptans samt att det är en kostnadsfråga för företagen. En annan anledning till att det ej används är att företag inte har tagit beslutet än att implementera denna teknik i sin process vilket är en tidskrävande och kostsam process. / The development of visualization tools such as CAD drawings has led to major changes in how the design process runs from the planning stage to the final product. When these CAD drawings are merged to a greater extent with the approach known as BIM models, there is a common database with the information for a project. This information can then be translated into the next stage of a virtually rendered model that can be viewed using VR equipment. For the use of VR technology in the visualization to be smooth, it is required that there are BIM models with an associated 3D drawing made in for example Revit or Archicad. With this as a basis, this work has been based on studying and compiling the positive and negative aspects of VR technology in design and the obstacles that stand for a more widespread use. Based on these studies, the positive effects of a use have mainly given the result that it enhances the room experience and gives project members a better tool for optimizing room flows and design. However, a lack of knowledge in the use of this technology still represents an obstacle to wider acceptance and is a cost issue for companies. Another reason why it is not used is that companies have not made the decision to implement this technology in their process, which is a time-consuming and costly process / <p>2023-06-26</p>