Virtual Reality is a powerful tool for training, simulation, and computer aided design. The sensation of being in a real environment, while interacting with VR simulation is usually referred as sense of presence or sense of immersion. In most of the current applications the focus has been in providing a good visual and sound feedback to the user. However, the lack of mechanoreception/touch and proprioception/force feedback, or in other words, the impossibility of really touching the virtual objects makes the interaction unreal and more difficult. The rapid advances in VR and the development of techniques such as virtual medicine, virtual training and virtual prototyping have highlighted the lack of an effective input/feedback interface in these technologies and this led to research activity in all aspects of input and feedback technology related to touch/force sensation and reflection. This work presents the development of a generic integrated haptic (touch/force) feedback interface for use in VR and telepresence applications. The interface presented here consists of a 7 DOF input control/force feedback exoskeleton and a multi-functional input control/touch feedback glove interface. The arm exoskeleton monitors the motions of the human arm and feed back force sensations using ultra light weight pneumatic Muscle Actuators (pMA) to obtain high power weight outputs in a light comfortable and inherently safe structure. The glove interface monitors the motions of the hand and feed back touch sensations such as contact pressure, surface texture and temperature. These hardware systems have been integrated together and have been interfaced with a virtual reality system to permit exploration and testing of interactions with virtual environments. It is believed that the use of the system in VR, particularly, in all design and rapid prototyping applications will provide enhanced performance and will augment the design-production process.

A Virtual Reality is a computer model of an environment, actual or imagined, presented to a user in as realistic a fashion as possible. Stereo goggles may be used to provide the user with a view of the modelled environment from within the environment, while a data-glove is used to interact with the environment. To simulate reality on a computer, the machine has to produce realistic images rapidly. Such a requirement usually necessitates expensive equipment. This thesis presents an implementation of a virtual reality system on a transputer architecture. The system is general, and is intended to provide support for the development of various virtual environments. The three main components of the system are the output device drivers, the input device drivers, and the virtual world kernel. This last component is responsible for the simulation of the virtual world. The rendering system is described in detail. Various methods for implementing the components of the graphics pipeline are discussed. These are then generalised to make use of the facilities provided by the transputer processor for parallel processing. A number of different decomposition techniques are implemented and compared. The emphasis in this section is on the speed at which the world can be rendered, and the interaction latency involved. In the best case, where almost linear speedup is obtained, a world containing over 250 polygons is rendered at 32 frames/second. The bandwidth of the transputer links is the major factor limiting speedup. A description is given of an input device driver which makes use of a powerglove. Techniques for overcoming the limitations of this device, and for interacting with the virtual world, are discussed. The virtual world kernel is designed to make extensive use of the parallel processing facilities provided by transputers. It is capable of providing support for mUltiple worlds concurrently, and for multiple users interacting with these worlds. Two applications are described that were successfully implemented using this system. The design of the system is compared with other recently developed virtual reality systems. Features that are common or advantageous in each of the systems are discussed. The system described in this thesis compares favourably, particularly in its use of parallel processors. / KMBT_223

Parallax is a distributed storage system that uses virtualization to provide storage facilities specifically for virtual environments. The system employs a novel archi-tecture in which storage features that have traditionally been implemented directly on high-end storage arrays and switches are relocated into a federation of storage VMs, sharing the same physical hosts as the VMs that they serve. This architecture retains the single administrative domain and OS agnosticism achieved by array- and switch-based approaches, while lowering the bar on hardware requirements and facilitating the development of new features. Parallax offers a comprehensive set of storage features including frequent, low-overhead snapshot of virtual disks, the “gold-mastering” of template images, and the ability to use local disks as a persistent cache to dampen burst demand on networked storage. / Science, Faculty of / Computer Science, Department of / Graduate

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, half of Ontario’s population will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Many patients being assessed for cancer however become overwhelmed when having to manage information overload, many appointments with different instructions and locations, and recommendations on how to improve their lifestyle. This causes much anxiety and uncertainty among patients. Some cancer assessment clinics offer some guidance in the form of paper-based patient navigators, which provide much reliable information to patients but are limited in terms of dynamic updates to appointments, opportunities for sharing knowledge between healthcare providers and patients, and of patients supporting each other. This thesis proposes a new web-based, mobile, and user-friendly virtual patient navigator application framework named Care Ami, which incorporates the information found in an existing paper-based navigator along with the new features such as remote updates to personal care paths and calendars, personalized navigation guidance, sharing of symptoms/medications information, and peer group support. Unlike existing solutions, Care Ami is configurable to support multiple types of diseases (e.g., lung cancer and breast cancer). This application is evaluated through testing and the usage of heuristic evaluation guidelines related to usability, and a comparison with related work highlights its many benefits.

Physical rehabilitation of individuals who are experiencing a disabling illness or have survived a traumatic injury (i.e. stroke) must seek to train the body’s structures and functions to reduce disability (activity limitations, participation restrictions) (Stucki, 2005). Figure 1 represents a modified version of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF), Disability and Health (World Health Organization, 2002). This figure illustrates how, for example, a stroke impacts the body structures and functions (e.g. muscle recruitment) which influences the ability to complete activities (e.g. gait) ultimately restricting participation in all areas of life (e.g. employment). The ICF model presents a framework for clinical practice and rehabilitation research studies. Although it has been shown to be strongly correlated (Schmid, Van Puymbroeck, et al., 2013) the concept of function cannot always be directly correlated with the concept of quality of life (Stucki, 2005) as the individual may not perceive, for example, impaired balance and mobility as detrimental to their quality of life. However, reduced function does put an individual at further risk of complications including falls and injuries from compensatory mechanisms and therefore must be addressed. The focus of this thesis is the study of the potential benefits of an exercise modality (virtual reality) to encourage restoration of the body’s structures and functions for individuals post-stroke. As the individuals engage in physical rehabilitation through exercise, there may be improvements on the individual’s abilities as seen through measurements of the control of posture and walking. The thesis comprises four studies, two of which have been published in peer reviewed journals. The progression of studies attempts to characterize outcomes following the use of virtual reality training in clinical populations (dementia and stroke) to address impairments to the body structures and functions (e.g. mobility) as measured by both clinical measures of activity and laboratory based measures of balance and to elucidate a possible mechanism (focus of attention) that makes training in a virtual environment effective.

The aim of this research was to implement a computer-aided 3D to 2D pattern development technique for outerwear. A preponderance of total clothing consumption is of garments in this category, which are designed to offer the wearer significant levels of ease. Yet there has not previously been on the market any system which offers a practical solution to the problems of 3D design and pattern flattening for clothing in this category. A set of 3D outerwear templates, one for men's shirts and another for men's trousers, has been developed to execute pattern flattening from virtual designs and this approach offers significant reduction in time and manpower involvement in the clothing development phase by combining creative and technical garment design processes into a single step. The outerwear templates developed and demonstrated in this research work can provide 3D design platforms for clothing designers to create virtual clothing as a surface layer which can be flattened to create a traditional pattern. Point-Cloud data captured by a modern white-light-based 3D body-scanning system were used as the basic input for creating the outerwear templates. A set of sectional curves, representative of anthropometric size parameters, was extracted from a virtual model generated from the body scan data by using reverse engineering software. These sectional curves were then modified to reproduce the required profile upon which to create items of men's outerwear. The curves were made symmetrical, as required, before scaling to impart resizability. Using geometric modelling technique, a new surface was generated out of these resizable curves to form the required 3D outerwear templates. Through a set of functionality tests, it has been found that both of the templates developed in this research may be used for virtual design, 3D grading and pattern flattening.

Many theories exist attempting to explain the allure of horror films to the human psyche. None can fully explain this fascination to the horror genre. However, there are clear visual techniques used routinely in these films to produce fear in audiences. This thesis explores the application of those cinematic techniques used in horror cinema for well over a century into a virtual reality (VR) experience, The Invasion. Using a wide range of examples from classic horror films, The Invasion endeavors to show how the lessons learned from the study of horror cinema’s use of color theory, light, shadow, and sound design, when paired with the virtual reality medium, can provide a richer, more immersive horror vehicle and create new possibilities for fear-based content. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (MFA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Globalisation and advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are contributing to the increased virtualisation of work teams within organisations. Researchers are in agreement that most modern day work teams have some degree of virtualisation (Workman, 2007) and that it is critical for researchers and practitioners alike to understand the impact of virtualisation on the inputs, process and outputs of work teams. Benefits commonly associated with increased team virtualisation such as increased knowledge retention (Dietz-Uhler&Bishop-Clark, 2001), cost savings (Bergiel, Bergiel,&Balsmeier, 2008) and flexibility (Clemons&Kroth, 2011) are proven and well researched. However we know that no benefit can be obtained without incurring some sort of a cost (Colander, 2010) and research showed that virtual teams typically incur additional challenges in the areas of communication, culture, technology and leadership (Kayworth&Leidner, 2000).This research hypothesised that the three levers of organizational structure as defined by Satô (2010) namely the formalization, standardization and centralization of organisational elements can ease the negative effects caused by an increase in team virtualisation. We evaluated the impact that the organisational structure has on the performance of work teams throughout the team virtualisation continuum by conducting a set of interviews, a survey and performing descriptive quantitative analysis on the results. A total of three interviews were conducted which served as confirmation of our research questions and provided guidance to construct the questionnaire. A total of 87 respondents participated in our online survey of which 69 responses were included in the quantitative analysis phase. The responses received were equally distributed between four categories namely: Organic Face-to-face, Mechanistic Face-to-face, Organic Virtual and Mechanistic Virtual.The results revealed that there is no statistically significant relationship between the organisational structure and the performance of virtual teams. We further noticed a higher variance in the performance scores of virtual teams which indicates that the performance of virtual teams are more inconsistent than that of Face-to-face teams. The key finding of the research is that virtual teams perform equally well in both organic and mechanistic organisational structures. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The burden of strokes on the healthcare system is tremendous. Strokes are one of the leading causes of long-term morbidity and mortality in the United States. In addition, strokes have a huge economic burden that lasts long after the actual stroke has occurred and has been medically stabilized. Thus, there is a desire to prevent strokes, as well as treat those who have experienced stroke. As technology has and continues to advance, there is the potential for the inclusion of new technologies to become integrated into the healthcare system. One such example is the inclusion of virtual reality in the rehabilitation of patients who have experienced a stroke. The current process of stroke rehabilitation focuses upon returning a patient as close as possible to their baseline level of function. This is generally through the use of repetitive activity to help the brain reroute neuro signaling pathways around damaged areas of the brain. With the inclusion of virtual reality into the process of rehab, it may be possible to better control the environment around a patient and create activities to help better simulate activities of daily life. Through the inclusion of current generation virtual reality into modern rehabilitation regiments it may be possible to better the outcomes of patients who have undergone a stroke with physical deficits. With the current burden of stroke on the medical system it is important to find ways to treat patients as efficiently as possible. By incorporating virtual reality into stroke rehabilitation, there may be better outcomes for patients which will allow them to live better and more capable lives. Much of the research that has been conducted on the matter has shown promise but has lacked large sample sizes and often uses outdated technology. More research must be conducted using more modern technologies and larger sample sizes to show a true benefit in its utilization. The proposed study in this thesis will be a two-armed randomized control trial to assess the efficacy of virtual reality in stroke rehabilitation. The Fugl-Meyer assessment of motor recovery after stroke will be used to evaluate the physical motor benefits of implementation of virtual reality in stroke rehab. The potential benefit of virtual reality into stroke rehab could profoundly impact how we take care of patients who have experienced a stroke. It can create an effective new means to help patients regain their pre-stroke level of function, thus better helping return individuals to their normal lives. This in turn can help decrease costs on the healthcare system by decreasing the number of people living with long term disability.

Vivimos en una realidad en la que para hacer turismo debemos movernos a algún lugar. Algunas personas dejan de hacer turismo por temor a equivocarse en el destino elegido, por salud o por limitaciones físicas. Así también, ahora que atravesamos por una pandemia que ha obligado a los gobiernos a cerrar fronteras, vuelos y destinos turísticos, entonces, ¿Cómo podemos hacer turismo frente a todas estas limitaciones? Debido a esta problemática, presentamos una plataforma que utiliza tecnología de realidad virtual para conectar guías de turismo profesional con personas que deseen disfrutar la experiencia de hacer un tipo de turismo diferente, el virtual. Nuestra propuesta de negocio ofrece acceso a un guía de turismo profesional quien transmitirá el recorrido turístico hacia una plataforma a la que personas podrán conectarse mediante lentes de realidad virtual que atraparán sus sentidos de audición y visión logrando la sensación de estar presencialmente en el destino turístico. Este tipo de turismo no existe como modelo de negocio en el mercado local siendo una idea totalmente innovadora. Centramos nuestra propuesta de valor en un modelo de tipo Peer-To-Peer entre guías profesionales y turistas alcanzando una experiencia muy cercana a la realidad gracias al uso de tecnología. Gracias a un sondeo realizado en las principales calles de Lima hemos encontrado que un 84% de los encuestados estarían dispuestos a consumir un servicio de turismo virtual. Este modelo de negocio resulta rentable gracias a los márgenes de ganancias obtenidos del volumen de turistas virtuales que se podrán conectar a una sesión atendida por un único guía profesional. Financieramente, se alcanza un VAN de S/ 770.568,37 y un TIR de 40.46%, con recuperación al segundo año de operación, evidenciando un alto potencial en su implementación. / We live in a reality in which to do tourism we must move somewhere. However, some people stop touring for fear of making a mistake in their chosen destination, due to health or physical limitations. Furthermore, now that we are going through a pandemic that has forced governments to close borders, flights and tourist destinations, then how can we do tourism and cope with all these limitations? Due to this problem, we present a platform that uses virtual reality technology in order to connect professional tourist guides with people who want to enjoy the experience of doing a different type of tourism, the virtual. Our business proposal offers access to a professional tour guide who will transmit the tourist route to a platform in order to people can connect through virtual reality glasses. This will engage their senses of hearing and vision, achieving the feeling of being in person at the tourist destination. This type of tourism does not exist as a business model in the local market, being a completely innovative idea. We focus our value proposition on a Peer-To-Peer type model between professional guides and tourists, achieving an experience very close to reality thanks to the use of technology. Thanks to a survey carried out in the main streets of Lima, we have found that 84% of those surveyed would be willing to consume a virtual tourism service. This business model is economical thanks to the profit margins obtained from the volume of virtual tourists who will be able to connect to a session attended by a single professional guide. Financially, a VAN of S / 770,568.37 and TIR of 40.46% are reached, with recovery in the second operation year. This evidence of high potential in its implementation. / Trabajo de investigación