Agent technology is widely deployed in numerous commercial areas such as networking, modeling, and software; however, this technology remains under-utilized by operational organizations within the United States Navy. This thesis will investigate the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) for military training simulations, particularly in the training of intelligence personnel in the Navy. The Computer Generated Forces (CGF) of the current Intelligence Team Trainer's (ITT) system initiate actions as a result of rigid scripted programming. Forces will execute the same actions regardless of what the user decides to do, resulting in highly unrealistic scenarios. For instance, in a scenario where an ARG (Amphibious Ready Group) transits the Strait of Hormuz, the response of Iranian P3 or an incoming dhow would be the same whether the battle group utilized frigate escorts or not. This thesis will produce very simple, but less rigid AI, which can easily be made more complex and intelligent in later phases. Demonstrations and assessments will validate the importance of AI integration for the ITT. Furthermore, this analysis of the requirements for the AI will assist training commands and combat information centers fleet wide with the range of realistic combat-related possibilities needed in order to ensure a fully capable 'combat ready' watch team.

Fleet maneuvers, or division tactics (DIVTACS), are achieved by a series of precision shipboard movements directed by an Officer in Tactical Control. Much like a precision drill team, DIVTACS training requires multiple ships underway in close proximity, often a rare commodity. Costs to conduct live training range from several Thousand (per evolution) to several Million dollars (to repair ships after a collision at-sea). Computer simulation opens the door to maximizing DIVTACS training, while mitigating risk. The Navy spends in excess of 60 Million dollars per year on simulation-based training. Currently available simulators provide a DIVTACS capability by connecting several simulators together via a LAN. These simulators are cost prohibitive ranging from 1,00,000 dollars to Millions of dollars per unit. They are manpower and maintenance intensive requiring dedicated infrastructures, drastically limiting deploy-ability and reliability. Open source applications are gaining considerable leverage in the commercial market and offer significant cost-reductions. This thesis explored the possibilities of open source development by providing a proof of concept division tactics simulator. Additional considerations were given to the extension of the simulator for use in surface tactics in general and areas of future research.

Visualizing operations environments in three dimensions (3D) supports the warfighters' ability to make rapid, well-informed decisions by presenting complex systems in a naturalistic, integrated display format. Unfortunately, constructing these environments is a time-consuming task requiring specific expertise not typically available in the command center. The future use of 3D visualization in military operations depends on the ability of personnel with minimal graphics experience to create virtual environments quickly and accurately by leveraging data-driven customization of content from model archives with the data available in the command center. Practical 3D visualization depends on standardized scene autogeneration. The Extensible 3D (X3D) Graphics family of specifications is approved by the International Standards Organization (ISO) as the Web-based format for the interchange and rendering of 3D scenes. Previous work has demonstrated that an archive of X3D scenes, such as the Scenario Authoring and Visualization for Advanced Graphical Environments (SAVAGE) library, can be used to autogenerate sophisticated 3D tactical environments. Assembling and making sense of the data necessary to autogenerate a 3D environment requires context and good documentation, best accomplished through metadata. Metadata also supports data-centric, component-based design; key philosophies in promoting interoperability of networked applications. Coupled with recent developments in X3D, enhanced features of the Savage X3D Model archives are now sufficiently mature to support rapid generation of tactical environments. This thesis proposes an XML metadata standard to collect and organize the information necessary to create and populate a tactical 3D virtual environment: the Savage Modeling and Analysis Language (SMAL). The logical extension of a well designed standard is the ability to cross the boundaries of usage, allowing simulators to share data with command and control (C2) suites and mission planning tools based on the construction of a virtual scene. SMAL provides the informational "glue" necessary to perform tactical modeling, simulation, and analysis using networked, physics-based X3D virtual environments.

In this dissertation, a new method of interaction with virtual reality (VR) has been presented. The VR environment, developed in this work provides a realistic and immersive environment that is developed for studying human’s spatial cognition abilities. Different technical aspects of the implementation are described. To improve the accuracy of the experiments, a new method for comparing and analyzing trajectories has been presented. A set of human subject experiments have been conducted using the developed platform. The first experiment was based on an ordinary computer, a joystick and 40 cognitively healthy participants within the age range of 19 to 82 years. Participants were asked to perform the VR spatial cognition test by navigating in the VR environment. It was found that computer usage skills had an effect on the overall performance of the participants as well as motion sickness; such an effect was undesirable. To resolve both problems, a novel input device made from the combination of a wheelchair and a motion capture unit, called VRNChair was developed. The VRNChair allows the participant to move physically in the real world in order to navigate in the VR environment. This allows participants to have a more intuitive interaction with the VR environment. Since the participant physically experiences the motion seen in the VR, motion sickness is minimized. A test based on two age groups, 34 young (< 40 years) and 20 older (60+ years) participants was performed. The results showed no difference between using the VRNChair or the joystick for the young participants while it showed considerable improvement among the older participants. Furthermore, it was noted that participants became distracted while using the VRNChair, Hence, a head mounted display (HMD) was added to the platform. A test with 14 males showed less distraction to the participant by using the HMD. Overall, the VR environment designed in this work passed all the validation experiments successfully. It offers a novel solution to overcome induced motion sickness experienced as a side effect of VR environments. / October 2016

Learning is one of the most interactive processes that humans practice. The level of interaction between the instructor and his or her audience has the greatest effect on the output of the learning process. Recent years have witnessed the introduction of e-learning (electronic learning), which was then followed by m-learning (mobile learning). While researchers have studied e-learning and m-learning to devise a framework that can be followed to provide the best possible output of the learning process, m-learning is still being studied in the shadow of e-learning. Such an approach might be valid to a limited extent, since both aims to provide educational material over electronic channels. However, m-learning has more space for user interaction because of the nature of the devices and their capabilities. The objective of this work is to devise a framework that utilises augmented reality and context awareness in m-learning systems to increase their level of interaction and, hence, their usability. The proposed framework was implemented and deployed over an iPhone device. The implementation focused on a specific course. Its material represented the use of augmented reality and the flow of the material utilised context awareness. Furthermore, a software prototype application for smart phones, to assess usability issues of m-learning applications, was designed and implemented. This prototype application was developed using the Java language and the Android software development kit, so that the recommended guidelines of the proposed framework were maintained. A questionnaire survey was conducted at the University, with approximately twenty-four undergraduate computer science students. Twenty-four identical smart phones were used to evaluate the developed prototype, in terms of ease of use, ease of navigating the application content, user satisfaction, attractiveness and learnability. Several validation tests were conducted on the proposed augmented reality m-learning verses m-learning. Generally, the respondents rated m-learning with augmented reality as superior to m-learning alone.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The goal of much work in Virtual Environments (VEs) to date has been to produce innovative technology but until recently, there has been very little user-centered, usability-focused research in VEs that will turn interesting applications into usable ones. There is beginning to be at least some awareness of the need for usability engineering within the VE community. A handful of articles address usability concerns for particular parts of the VE usability space. From this point Gabbard and Hix [1997] has proposed a taxonomy about usability characteristics in VEs to help VE usability engineers and designers. This taxonomy can be used to learn characteristics of VEs or to develop usability engineering methodologies specifically for VEs. In this study, we built hypermedia representation of the taxonomy and evaluated the effectiveness of the user interface by using scenario based formative usability engineering method that developed by Hix and Hartson [1993]. First, we discussed the need for usability engineering for VEs and took a look at a proposed usability engineering methodology [Gabbard and others, 1999] for VEs. Second we implemented hypermedia based web-site taxonomy and then evaluated it iteratively. Last, we added a new study to show the dynamic nature of web-site application. / Lieutenant Junior Grade, Turkish Navy

KASTiS, Kulturarv och spelteknologi i Skaraborg

Thesis (M.M. (Strategic Marketing))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2014. / The world as we know it is rapidly transforming into what is frequently referred to by many scholars as the era of „postmodernism‟. The postmodern consumer is more flexible, instinctive, more individualistic in preference and needs, and builds an identity through the products he/she consumes. Postmodern consumers are exposed to increased levels of advertising clutter and are becoming difficult to reach via traditional media. As a result, marketers have found alternative methods to get their message across and have looked at innovative ways to engage postmodern consumers and have turned their attention towards non-conventional advertising practices such as product placement within mass media entertainment. Reality television has emerged as a prominent genre in South Africa among young adults (Generation Y) and the incidence of product placements within these shows has grown substantially over the past few years. With marketing spend allocated to traditional television advertising (when marketing to Generation Y), the research aims to explore if traditional television advertising is effective compared to product placement in reality television in creating brand awareness and brand identity. It also aims to identify if product placement in reality television can be integrated as an element in IMC strategies.

The overarching purpose of this research is to understand whether Mixed Reality can enhance a surgeon’s manipulations skills during minimally invasive procedures. Minimally-invasive surgery (MIS) utilizes small cuts in the skin - or sometimes natural orifices - to deploy instruments inside a patient’s body, while a live video feed of the surgical site is provided by an endoscopic camera and displayed on a screen. MIS is associated with many benefits: small scars, less pain and shorter hospitalization time as compared to traditional open surgery. However, these benefits come at a cost: because surgeons have to work by looking at a monitor, and not down on their own hands, MIS disrupts their eye-hand coordination and makes even simple surgical maneuvers challenging to perform. In this study, we wish to use Mixed Reality technology to superimpose anatomical models over the surgical site and explore if it can be used to mitigate this problem.

胡一峰. / "2002年7月" / 論文 (哲學碩士)--香港中文大學, 2002. / 參考文獻 (p. 78-83) / 附中英文摘要. / "2002 nian 7 yue" / Hu Yifeng. / Lun wen (zhe xue shuo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2002. / Can kao wen xian (p. 78-83) / Fu Zhong Ying wen zhai yao. / 摘要 --- p.i-ii / 感謝 --- p.iii / Chapter 第一章 --- 引言 --- p.1-3 / Chapter 第二章 --- 主要文獻及研究問題 --- p.4-20 / Chapter 第一部 --- 分ICQ的使用 --- p.4-7 / Chapter 第二部 --- 分虛擬現實中的人際傳播 --- p.8-17 / Chapter 第三部 --- 分硏究問題 --- p.18-20 / Chapter 第三章 --- 硏究設計 --- p.21-27 / Chapter 第一部 --- 分硏究方法 --- p.21-22 / Chapter 第二部 --- 分硏究樣本 --- p.23-25 / Chapter 第三部 --- 分硏究對象簡貌 --- p.26-27 / Chapter 第四章 --- 硏究發現 --- p.28-73 / Chapter 第一部 --- 分情誼關係之産生 --- p.28-40 / Chapter 第二部 --- 分情誼關係之發展 --- p.41-49 / Chapter 第三部 --- 分情誼關係之解體 --- p.50-54 / Chapter 第四部 --- 分情誼關係之虛幻與真實 --- p.55-73 / Chapter 第五章 --- 結論與討論 --- p.74-77 / 參考文獻 --- p.78-83