Abstract Traditional telepresence systems are comprised of a person remotely controlling a robot in a hostile environment while receiving visual feedback from a camera mounted on the robot. While useful for a number of applications, this model is not particularly useful for everyday work applications. The size of the robot is intrusive, the robot needs to be designed for specific interactions and only one person can use the robot at any one time. This work seeks to address this problem by replacing the physical proxy with a virtual proxy. The purpose of this virtual proxy is to enhance the system by providing improved support for multiple users, interaction and navigation in the remote environment. This enhanced, or improved, version of telepresence is termed TeleReality as it combines elements of virtual reality with traditional telepresence technologies. To achieve this goal, the basic building blocks, or constructs, of traditional telepresence systems need to be changed. This thesis identifies and evaluates the base constructs needed to build any TeleReality system. These constructs include the need to support navigation of the remote environment and this is achieved by using a network of cameras and image processing software to calculate the various perspective viewpoints of the users. These constructs govern the means in which this collection of cameras are organised and connected. Each user receives a common set of video images from which they calculate their own perspective viewpoints, and consequently supporting a multi-user system. Interaction within the remote environment is promoted using ad-hoc networks and augmented reality technologies. Constructs also cover security and privacy issues that arise from using multiple cameras by adopting both an organisational and technological viewpoint. The focus is on establishing trust within the system by divesting control to the user. An example of these constructs is given by the implementation of a TeleReality model called a 'Visual Cell' system. The conclusion of this work identifies the constructs that are needed to support a telepresence system using a virtual proxy where the primary interaction framework is informational exchange, although physical interaction can also be supported depending upon the environmental support. This work also identifies the technical issues that require additional research for the implementation of a TeleReality system, from the need for improved image processing, video codec's, broadcast and ad-hoc security protocols, software architecture, registration and the availability of suitable head mounted displays.

Abstract Visual world is naturally correlated both spatially and temporally. The correlations are used in vision to enhance performance of neurons. For gaining maximal neural performance of the visual neurons, the experiments, from stimulus to the analysis, should be designed to take advantage of the correlations. In this thesis methods for generating and analyzing natural stimuli were examined by using computations and algorithms. For analyzing responses to natural stimuli in visual neurons, a method with only a few assumptions was developed for estimating information rate in long responses. The novel method gave a good agreement with Shannon information rate with linear system and Gaussian input but was able to handle also nonlinear processing and non-Gaussian data. Secondly, a computer controlled 3D virtual environment with a spherical screen was developed, with a large visual field. The image of the world was projected to the screen with a DLP projector, giving good enough temporal performance for insect vision research. A track-ball was used in closed loop experiments. Thirdly, properties of single photon (“bump”) information transfer at various light levels were investigated in cockroach photoreceptor with a coarse computational model. At dim light (< 10 ph/s), where single bump responses were visible, shot noise was dominant. At higher light levels latency distribution of the bump decreased the information rate, but amplitude distribution of bump did not have an effect. Fourthly, the contribution of K⁺ channels to information rate and energy consumption was investigated by creating a database of computation models with varying channel compositions. The information rate has a maximum as a function of mean conductance, which was a sum of the average K⁺ conductance and the leak conductance. This maximum was fine-tuned by the K⁺ channel composition, which had high so-called novel contribution and relatively low amount of other conductances.

The purpose of this study was to develop an intuitive software that aids in the field of prosthetic training and rehabilitation by creating an individualized visualization of joint angles. This software is titled “the prosthetic training software (PTS) for individualized joint angle representation”, and it enables the individualized portrayal of predicted or pre-recorded joint angles. The PTS is an intuitive program for clinicians and prosthesis users that produces an animation of a virtual avatar reflecting the user’s segment lengths and amputation for rehabilitation and training purposes. The PTS consists of a graphical user interface (GUI) and a 3D visualization of the information input into the GUI. This software was developed in Microsoft Visual Studio (Microsoft, Redmond, Washington) as well as the Unity game engine (Unity Technologies, San Francisco, California) in the programming language C#. Four GUI tabs were created consisting of a patient input tab, a patient measurements tab, a prosthesis view and search tab, and a tab dedicated to editing a list of prostheses. Code was developed to take information input into these tabs to create an individualized 3D human model for the visualization. Twenty-four models were created in order to allow for unique portrayal of that input data. The models consisted of small, medium and large sizes, both male and female genders, and able-bodied, transradial left side, and transradial right side amputation variations. A generic transradial prosthesis was created for the use in the variations of these models. An additional six stick figure models were generated in order to give additional perspective of the portrayed joint angles. Code was also developed in order to animate these models accurately to the joint angles that are sent to them. Playback speed, viewing orientation, and perspective control functionalities were developed in order to assist in the comprehensiveness of the displayed joint angles. The PTS is not meant to be standalone software, however, the functionalities that it needed to encapsulate in order to work in conjunction with research currently being conducted at USF were tested. The intuitiveness of the GUI and visualization was evaluated by ease of use surveys, as well as volunteer commentary, in order to find how easily the interface that can be operated in a home setting without the oversight of an experienced operator. On average, subjects agreed that the PTS was intuitive to use, both for inputting information and utilizing the visualization. Feedback from these surveys will be used to further improve the PTS in the future. The feasibility of learning from the visualization output from the PTS was tested by comparing motions from five able-bodied subjects before and after having been taught three motions comprising pre-recorded joint angles animated by the PTS. Joint angles were calculated from recorded marker positions. It was found that after viewing the animation, the joint angles were markedly closer to the joint angles portrayed to them. This shows that the PTS is fully capable of showing joint angles in a comprehensive way. Future work will include additional testing of these functionalities, including the testing of prosthesis users, as well as the introduction and testing of new features of prosthesis recommendation and predictive joint angle production when later combined with future research.

Several researchers have successfully developed realistic models of real world objects/ phenomena and then have simulated them in the virtual world. In this thesis, we propose the opposite: instantiating virtual world events in the real world. The interactive 3D virtual environment provides a useful, realistic 3D world that resembles objects/phenomena of a real world, but it has limited capability to communicate with the physical environment. We argue that new and intuitive 3D user interfaces, such as 3D virtual environment interfaces, may provide an alternative form of media for communicating with the real environment. We propose a 3D virtual world-based add-on architecture that achieves a synchronized virtual-real communication. In this framework, we explored the possibilities of integrating haptic and real world object interactions with Linden Lab's multiuser online 3D virtual world, Second Life. We enhanced the open source Second Life viewer client in order to facilitate communications between the real and virtual world. Moreover, we analyzed the suitability of such an approach in terms of user perception, intuition and other common parameters. Our experiments suggest that the proposed approach not only demonstrates a more intuitive mode of communication system, but also is appealing and useful to the user. Some of the potential applications of the proposed approach include remote child-care, communication between distant lovers, stress recovery, and home automation.

Orientador: Maria Helena Baena de Moraes Lopes / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T01:27:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ribeiro_MariaAndreiaSilva_M.pdf: 6503348 bytes, checksum: 1303df7f6467b00bfd427d19565e2077 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004 / Resumo: Trata-se de uma pesquisa quase experimental, longitudinal, utilizando pré e pós-teste, que teve como objetivos desenvolver, aplicar e avaliar um curso a distância, através da Internet, utilizando o ambiente virtual de aprendizagem TelEduc, destinado a enfermeiros. O TelEduc é um ambiente para criação, participação e administração de cursos na Web desenvolvido pelo Núcleo de Informática Aplicada à Educação (NIED) da Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Foi escolhido como tema o tratamento de feridas devido ao grande interesse dos enfermeiros no assunto, visto que atendem diariamente portadores de feridas. O referencial teórico adotado foi a andragogia baseada nos pressupostos e princípios de Knowles. O curso teve uma carga horária total de 20 horas e foram gastas 200 horas para seu desenvolvimento dividido nas seguintes etapas: elaboração do programa do curso, digitalização do conteúdo do curso, organização do material digitalizado em arquivo Hipertext Markup Language (HTML), publicação do curso no ambiente TelEduc e aplicação do curso aos enfermeiros. O curso foi avaliado por cinco especialistas em tratamento de feridas e três especialistas em ensino a distância (EAD) utilizando-se instrumentos especialmente desenvolvidos para esse fim. O curso foi também avaliado, através de instrumento próprio, pelos alunos ao final do curso. Para avaliar a aprendizagem do aluno foram utilizadas a avaliação diagnóstica, ao aplicar o pré-teste antes do início do curso; processual, através da participação dos alunos nas atividades desenvolvidas durante o curso e somativa, ao final do curso, com a aplicação do pós-teste. Foram convidados 38 enfermeiros para participarem do curso, 28 se inscreveram e 17 o concluíram. Houve desistência de 39% dos alunos. Os alunos que finalizaram o curso tinham como características: predominância do sexo feminino (94%); idade média de 35 anos e tempo médio de formado de 12,4 anos. Quanto ao nível de habilidade em informática, 47,1% eram iniciantes, 35,3% tinha nível intermediário e 17,7% nível avançado. Variáveis como idade e nível de habilidade em informática não influenciaram o desempenho do aluno durante o curso. A avaliação dos especialistas em tratamento de feridas considerou o curso adequado, mas que precisava de pequenas reformulações nos critérios: autoridade, apresentação das informações, confiabilidade das informações e desenho metodológico. O critério 'conteúdo geral das informações' foi considerado adequado, mas que precisava de reformulações. Os especialistas em EAD consideraram que o curso era adequado, mas que precisava de pequenas reformulações. Quanto à avaliação da aprendizagem, os alunos obtiveram uma melhora no seu desempenho, comparando-se os resultado do pré e pós-testes (p<0,0001). A maior parte dos alunos apresentou uma opinião positiva com relação ao curso e a consistência interna do questionário utilizado foi de 0,52, utilizando o coeficiente ? de Cronbach. Conclui-se que foram atingidos os objetivos propostos e embora o curso necessite de algumas reformulações propiciou aprendizado aos alunos. Além disso, os instrumentos desenvolvidos poderão ser aprimorados e utilizados mais amplamente para avaliar cursos na modalidade a distância / Abstract: This is a research based on quasi-experimental method, longitudinal using a pretest questionnaire and another one in the end of the course. It aims to design, implement and evaluate a distance learning course to nursing people based on web site, in a virtual environment named TelEduc. It is a virtual environment for the creation, participation and administration of Web-based courses. It was designed by researches NIED University of Campinas (Unicamp). The wound treatment subject was selected because the great interest showed by nursing people, as a lot of people are looking for nursing assistance every day. The theoretical method adopted was the andragogy, based on Knowles principles and assumptions. The total time for teaching was 20 hours, and 200 hours were spent for the course design, which was divided in the following steps: choice of teaching strategies techniques, set-up of program content, input of course, organization course in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), publication of the course in the TelEduc environment, and course application to nursing. The course content was evaluated by five nurse specialists on wound treatment and by three specialists on distance learning (EAD) based on frameworks, especially designed for this purpose. The course was also evaluated by the students at the end of the course, using proper framework. For the evaluation of the students learning the following evaluation criteria were used: The Diagnosis evaluation was obtained from the pretest questionnaire before starting the course, the Processual evaluation was obtained by the participation of students during the course activities, and the Sum evaluation was obtained with the same questionnaire filled in at the end of the course. The number of invited students was 38 nurses; 28 enrolled in the course and 17 of them concluded the course. The percents of students that dropped out the course was 39.9%. The students that concluded the course have the following characteristics; predominance for female sex (94%); average age was 35 years old; 12.4 average years of graduation. The informatics skills levels were 47.1% beginners, 35.3% intermediate and 17.7% advanced .The variables like age and informatics abilities didn¿t influence the students performance during the curse The wound specialists evaluated the course as adequate but they recommended minor adjustments for the following items: author, presentation, information confiability and the methodology design. The item General Content was considered adequate but they recommended to re-design. The specialist learning (EAD) considered the course adequate but they recommended minor adjustments. Concerning to the student¿s learning, the student¿s showed an improvement in their performance when comparing the results of the pretest and the test in the end of course (p. < 0.0001). Most of the student showed a positive evaluation of the course and the internal consistency of the student¿s questionnaire was 0.52% using the coefficient of ? Cronbach. The course reached its proposed objectives. Despite the recommendations for some adjustments the course provided the learning on wound treatment. Furthermore, the framework developed for the course can by improved and it can have a broad use for evaluating distance learning courses / Mestrado / Enfermagem e Trabalho / Mestre em Enfermagem

Data visualisation in a virtual environment (VE) opens up new ways of presenting data and makes it possible for the observer to explore data in an immersive way. However, it also comes with a number of challenges. One of these challenges is data distinguishability. The data needs to be distinguishable against the background, but in a VE where the user can move around and observe the data from different perspectives, the backdrop will be constantly changing. This thesis studies this challenge and contributes knowledge to current research about data visualisation in VEs. The research question When in a detailed virtual environment, what impact does the varying background have on distinguishability of visualised data? is answered using a digital self -completion questionnaire and four hypotheses.  The data were not able to clearly determine if one of the colourmap used (YellowRed, Rainbow) was overall more effective than the other one. However, the rainbow colourmap did have marginally better results and was chosen by more participants as their preferred colourmap. The results did show that a larger number of participants disagreed that the light background made the data easier to distinguish in comparison to a dark backdrop. The results showed that more participants found it easier to see the data when seen from above than when from below. The two colourmaps were not equally effective regarding how well they could show both the VE and the data: The results indicating that the YellowRed colourmap was better at showing the details of the VE but not as good at distinguishing the data, whilst the Rainbow colourmap had the reverse results being better at distinguishing the data but less effective at showing the background.  The thesis concludes that it has fulfilled its goal of establishing a starting point for further studies, further studies that, according to the author, is woefully needed.

Cognitive processes associated with spatial orientation can use different reference frames: egocentric, centered on observer and allocentric, centered on objects in the environment. In this thesis, we use EEG to investigate the dynamics of brain processes accompanying spatial orientation based on these reference frames. Participants were instructed to estimate distances between objects or themselves and objects located in a virtual circular arena; this task was presented in both 2D and 3D displays. Task-related EEG changes were analyzed using a time-frequency analysis and event-related potential analysis of 128-channel EEG recordings. Through time-frequency analysis we found significant power differences in delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma bands amongst the control, egocentric and allocentric testing conditions. We noted a decrease in alpha power in occipital and parietal regions, while a significantly stronger decrease was observed for the allocentric condition compared to both egocentric and control conditions. A similar pattern was also detectable for the beta band. We also report an increase in theta and delta power in temporal, fronto-temporal and lateral frontal regions that was significantly stronger for the egocentric condition compared to control and, in some electrodes, even...

The thesis is submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of a Master's degree in network Forensics at Halmstad University, Sweden. The author had selected VirtualizationSecurity as a valid issue for cloud computing service. In choosing this topic had the intention to apply the acquired knowledge during the Master's course, in search of practical solutions for computer security issues. This study report is classified into six segments and a conclusion. These are the introduction, background, research methodology, literature review, summary, discussions, conclusion, and recommendation (future work). InformationTechnology (IT) sector had encountered numerous and ever-emerging security issues, including those in virtual environments, which have become a big concern for organizations. Virtualization is the use of software to accommodate multiple operating systems on a computer system simultaneously, which can be applied from anywhere, given that there is internet connectivity. So the user can have access and can resolve the security issues. However, some constraints are limiting the benefits of the Virtualization of servers. The objective of this project is to study Virtualization as a valid means of solving IT security issues. Also, to assess mitigation approaches that can enhance Virtualization in the computing environment. To accomplish such objectives, this study had undergone a systematic literature review to learn the variety and nature of security issues of the virtual environment. Accordingly, the study had undertaken the classification of security issues to determine effective mitigation methods. The study had realized that there are around twenty-two known security issues, which are classified and described in section six of the report. Virtualization, as the subject study: three mitigation schemes are reviewed and discussed to alleviate important virtualization security issues (chapter seven of this Thesis).Moreover, the effects of the proposed mitigation techniques on the virtualization security issues on the CIA model (Availability, Integrity, and Confidentiality) are explained in brief. The model allows the researcher to quickly find the appropriate mitigation technique to manage the security issues of any virtual environment. In conclusion, the study provided a metadata reading of the security issues in the virtual environment. And apply the selected methods to solve the security issues, which proves that the virtualization technology is the critical element of utilizing computing power to its maximum capacity by executing process simultaneously without downtime, however IT security issues are continuously evolving and the research mission is always to conceive new techniques.

Background: Retailing through Virtual Reality (VR) is faced with a dilemma of potential customers using the VR to look for products online, but somehow do not make a purchase online and prefer to visit the physical stores instead. This phenomenon is referred as Transition Risk. Aim: To develop an understanding regarding the concepts and factors that influence the occurrence of transition risk by using UTAUT2 framework. Identify those concepts and thus be able to assist retailers in diminishing the transition risk gap. Methodology: Is a quantitative study that involves an experiment followed by a questionnaire as the research instrument. The data was analyzed through regression analysis by using SmartPLS 3.0 as the data analysis tool for SEM. An exploratory research design for the cross-sectional study of a small sample of 45 people experimented. Findings: Findings of the research suggest that transition risk has a direct relation with the UTAUT2 constructs: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, hedonic motivation, and habit of the consumer. Moreover, absence of familiarity with VR retailing, social influence and consumer’s habit of web-rooming and retail therapy are significant contributors towards transition risk. Furthermore, UTAUT2 framework can also be used to identify reason for no usage and/or abandoning of use technology.

The science of curiosity is not fully understood, yet it seems to be a key component of nature which drives both humans and animals to seek out new information. Humans actively seek out to solve problems for the sake of solving them, with evidence suggesting that the seeking and obtaining of new knowledge is itself inherently rewarding. This study uses new methods to collect data to investigate how humans react when presented with novel environments and a problem to solve. Information gain was tracked using Shannon’s entropy, a measure of how effective a communication is at communicating its message across. The study investigates if participants feelings of satisfaction will increase the more information they receive, as measured by a change in Shannon’s entropy. A total of 44 participants with complete data were recruited accross two conditions A and B, with A containing a complete knowlege graph to determine what knowledge is gained through interactions with the environment and B containing more uncertainty so that the participant can be observed building their own knowledge-graph. Participants entered a virtual enviroment named Omosa where they were told about a mystery involving the deaths of herbivores on the island. Participants were given free reign to explore and investigate for a minimum 6 minutes. In increments of 90s, participants were asked questions about what they thought was killing the herd and how confident they were of their answer. After 6 minutes final questions were presented collecting player satisfaction and trait curiosity. Additional meta-data including trajectory and interactions were also collected. No significant results were gleaned due to high drop out and incomplete data. Methodology could be altered in future renditions to increase participation and reduce drop out. / Vetenskapen om nyfikenhet förstås inte helt, men det verkar vara en nyckelkomponent i naturen som driver både människor och djur att söka ny information. Människor försöker aktivt lösa problem för att lösa dem, med bevis som tyder på att att söka och få ny kunskap i sig är givande i sig. Denna studie använder nya metoder för att samla in data för att undersöka hur människor reagerar när de presenteras för nya miljöer och ett problem att lösa. Informationsvinster spårades med hjälp av Shannons entropi, ett mått på hur effektiv en kommunikation är för att kommunicera sitt budskap. Studien undersöker om deltagarnas känslor av tillfredsställelse kommer att öka mer information de får, mätt med en förändring i Shannons entropi. Totalt rekryterades 44 deltagare med fullständig data enligt två villkor A och B, där A innehöll en fullständig kunskapsgraf för att bestämma vilken kunskap som erhålls genom interaktioner med miljön och B som innehåller mer osäkerhet så att deltagaren kan observeras bygga sin egen kunskaps grafen. Deltagarna gick in i ett virtuellt miljö med namnet Omosa där de fick höra om ett mysterium som involverade djur av växtätare på ön. Deltagarna fick fri tid att utforska och undersöka i minst 6 minuter. I steg från 90-talet ställdes deltagarna frågor om vad de trodde dödade besättningen och hur säkra de var på svaret. Efter 6 minuter presenterades de sista frågorna för att samla spelarnas nöjdhet och dragkänslighet. Ytterligare metadata inklusive bana och interaktioner samlades också in. Inga signifikanta resultat samlades in på grund av högt bortfall och ofullständig data. Metodik kan ändras i framtida versioner för att öka deltagandet och minska bortfallet.