Due to relatively recent strides made in the field of virtual reality, the technology's potential use in a clinical setting has been the focus of a growing body of research. Multiple studies focus on benefits of its combination with meditation interventions; however, few explore its impact following a short-term period of utilizing both. This investigation aims to explore that gap in the literature by determining whether an improvement on mindfulness and working memory test scores would be seen following a single session of virtual reality meditation. That was done by randomly assigning participants to one of two conditions. One group underwent a guided meditation while immersed in a virtual environment, while the other listened to the same audio within a blank environment. Each participant's working memory was assessed with an N-back task before and after meditation. Additionally, participants were given the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (Walach et al. 2006) to determine if there were any changes in mindfulness. There were no significant differences in mindfulness scores across conditions, conversely, pre and post working memory scores were significantly different in the virtual reality condition. Results suggest that a single session provides tangible benefits to working memory, opening the door for more in-depth investigations.

No description available.

This study investigates the current state of the intersection between Augmented Reality(AR) and education, with a focus on improving statistical math learning in higher education through the application of AR and data modeling. Our research aims to answerthe question: "How can AR enhance math learning in the field of statistics in higher education?" We follow the method of Design and Creation to develop an open-source ARapplication tailored for an experimental study to assess the impact of AR on learning.In addition to the experimental aspect, this study includes a comprehensive semistructured literature review, where we analyze findings from prior research and utilize theirdata to validate our own results. Our research indicates that AR has a positive impacton the average student. It enhances spatial intelligence, makes learning more enjoyable,and is an effective tool for teaching complex topics. However, we acknowledge certainlimitations in implementing AR in education with current technology such as affordabilityand the lack of training necessary to employ these technologies. Despite these challenges,we conclude that the investment in making AR accessible and affordable for all studentsis worthwhile due to its significant positive effects on learning outcomes for mathematicalstatistics

This report covers the Master thesis work conducted at ABB Robotics in Västeråsduring the spring of 2022. The purpose of the thesis was to evaluate how VirtualReality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Additive Manufacturing (AM) can beused in the product design process for designs in Production Engineering. This is tominimize the time between design iterations to assure that the delivered design livesup to its expectations. During the thesis work, different software and equipments have been investigated tofind the appropriate solution for the different types of product designs scenarios. Todo this, the process was applied on the actual product design problem also included inthis thesis work, by involving the end user in the design reviews. During the designreviews different testers had the possibility to visualize and interact with the design.The function of the product design was also examined by using a modular basedproduct structure consisting of the moving and static parts in sub-assemblies. WithAM, the usage of prototypes depending on its purpose was investigated. The result of this thesis is a process consisting of a concept review with VR/ AR, aprototype step where AM is included and a final review with either VR or AR.

Think about how much of the things you do daily that is online. So much of our everyday life wouldn’t be possible without online connection. We are becoming more and more dependent on always having access to information and we spend so much time online. Every online interaction come from some kind of server located in a data center or common IT industry. The electricity used in datacenters is converted into heat and in most cases is let out straight into the atmosphere. Not only is the energy loss bad for the environment it is also a waste of money. However this is an hugely expanding business and in order to continue the development of our technological society we have to find a way to make it sustainable.  This is why I made a Folketshus+, from a different perspective. A physical, sustainable place for the could, combined with a place for people.Palmcloud is a hybridbuilding that consists mainly of a data center and a greenhouse for palmtrees. The greenhouse will be heated by reusing the excess heat from de serverhall. This way the datacenter, which I believe is a kind of building that is going to be a big part of the future, will be more climate positive and energy effective. The greenhouse and part of the datacenter will be used by people as a place for online culture, creativity and education. / Tänk på hur mycket av det du gör dagligen som sker online. Så mycket av vår vardag skulle inte fungera utan uppkoppling. Vi blir mer och mer beroende av att alltid ha tillgång till information och vi spenderar otroligt mycket tid online. All form av datatrafik sker genom kommunikation till olika servrar. Allt som sker online kommer från en eller flera servrar placerade i ett datacenter någonstans i världen. Detta är en stor och växande global energikonsument. Elen som används i datacentra omvandlas till värme och släpps i de flesta fall rakt ut i atmosfären. Energiförlusten är inte bara dålig för miljön, det är också slöseri med pengar. För att fortsätta utvecklingen av vårt teknologiska samhälle behöver vi hitta ett sätt att göra det mer hållbart.  Jag ville göra ett folketshus+ ur ett nytt perspektiv genom en fysisk, hållbar plats för molnet, kombinerat med en plats för människor.Palmcloud är en hybridbyggnad som huvudsakligen består av ett datacenter och ett orangeri för palmer. Genom att återanvända överskottsvärmen från serverhallen till att värma upp orangeriet kommer datacentret att bli mer klimatpositivt och energieffektivt. Byggnaden har ett fokus på onlinekultur, utbildning och upplevelser.

Yes / Most studies investigated the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) for healthcare and educational purposes, but little is known on the effectiveness of VR in social interaction. Our aim was to examine whether VR would be similar to in-person interaction in reducing loneliness. A total of 73 participants participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to in-person or VR condition and interacted for 15 minutes about a tourist landmark. Participants completed a set of questions that measured belonging – acceptance and exclusion, positive and negative affect, wellbeing, trust, and mood before and after the interaction. Results showed that in both conditions, loneliness was significantly lower, with higher wellbeing, higher positive and lower negative affect, feeling happier and had more fun post task. Trust was higher in the VR condition post task but not for in-person. Our regression analyses showed that having higher wellbeing was a significant predictor in reducing loneliness for in-person condition and that being older and higher belonging – acceptance were significant predictors on feeling lonelier for the VR condition. In sum, our results demonstrated some success in reducing loneliness in VR but may not be sufficient to develop lasting friendship. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 07 Nov 2024.

<p>The U.S. construction sector ranks second in fatal occupational injuries in 2021 among other sectors. Although many research efforts have been conducted for decades to improve safety at construction jobsites, fatal occupational injuries did not reduce to the desired level. Specifically, previous studies argued that still more than 70% of hazards often remained unrecognized by construction workers even after receiving safety training. In addition to the enforced safety regulations, the Organizational Safety and Health Administrator (OSHA) has mandated safety training for construction workers to train them regarding potential hazards and risks at jobsites while mainly focusing on a general overview of the hazards and preventive measures.</p> <p>However, in the last decade, it was extensively argued that workers’ low performance in hazard identification may not only be related to their hazard knowledge and more related to the cognitive processing of information to identify and perceive the cues in a construction environment to remain situationally aware (i.e., cognitive failures). Therefore, there is a critical need to identify a new approach for customizing training construction workers to address the lack of knowledge and cognitive failures that workers may experience. Thus, this thesis aimed to develop multi-modal personalized safety training to reduce human errors and construction workers' unsafe behaviors by improving their hazard identification abilities.</p> <p>To do so, workers’ hazard identification skills were assessed through subjective and objective non-invasive psychophysiological metrics (e.g., visual attention, emotional responses) in an immersive 360° virtual environment and customized training for them. The effectiveness of the developed personalized training was tested and validated, and the findings indicate considerable improvements in subjects’ hazard identification performance after receiving this customized training.</p> <p>This thesis contributed to the body of knowledge and practice by proposing an advanced personalized safety training framework that automatically translates workers' subjective test results and objective psychophysiological responses into customized training recommendations. The outcomes lay the necessary foundations for building tailored training regimens to improve construction worker safety using comprehensive cognitive analysis and effective intervention strategies. The developed personalized safety training will not only improve workers' hazard identification performance but will also save construction companies time delays and cost overruns by eliminating the need for a repetitive retraining of the workforce.</p>

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(文学) / 甲第25036号 / 文博第941号 / 京都大学大学院文学研究科文献文化学専攻 / (主査)教授 横地 優子, 教授 VASUDEVASomdev, 教授 宮崎 泉, 教授 CATT Adam Alvah / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Letters / Kyoto University / DFAM

This dissertation aimed to expand knowledge and practical uses of educational technology tools in high-stakes team training environments. This study depicted the real-world impacts of virtual reality (VR) technology on learning and training for the Royal New Zealand Police Academy and those training teams in high-stakes environments. Recommendations for improvement in designing these technologies and training resulted from the study. The study involving VR and the Bedford Workload Scale employed pre- and post-training to determine if using that technology produced statistical significance and improved user learning in VR tactical police training. The final study resulted in similar pre- and post-test results from participants (n = 74), indicating VR may produce realistic levels of cognitive load in virtual participants, and one statistically significant finding for participants who had previous experience using VR, suggesting that cognitive load may be higher during training for those with previous experience. The findings revealed that VR shows promise for increasing the value and efficacy of compliance training in tactical police settings and similar high-stakes team training environments.

In virtual worlds, designers often consider "real walking" to be the gold standard when it comes to locomotion, as shown by attempts to incorporate walking techniques within tasks. When real walking is not conceivable due to several different limitations of virtual interactions (space, hardware, tracking, etc.) a walking simulation technique is sometimes used. We call these moderate interaction fidelity techniques and based upon literature, we can speculate that they will often provide an inferior experience if compared to a technique of high or low fidelity. We believe that there is an uncanny valley which is formed if a diagram is created using interaction fidelity and user effectiveness. Finding more points on this graph would help to support claims we have made with our hypothesis. There are several studies done previously in the field of virtual reality, however a vast majority of them considered interaction fidelity as a single construct. We argue that interaction fidelity is more complex involving independent components, with each of those components having an effect of the actual effectiveness of an interface. In addition, the intention of the designer can also have influence on how effective an interface can be. In this study we are going to be doing a deeper look into devices which attempt to overcome the limitations of physical space which we will call semi-natural interfaces. Semi-natural interfaces are sometimes difficult to use at first due to mismatch of cues or possibly due to a lack of fidelity, but training has been shown to be beneficial to overcome this difficulty. As of today, designers have not yet found a fully general solution to walking in large virtual environments. / Master of Science / When a user enters a virtual world, they expect it to be as realistic as possible. They expect to be able to move around an interact with objects exactly how they would in real life. This expectation is, at times, met with dismay when there are limitations between what the user expects to be able to do and what is possible for the experience to achieve. The level of realism in a virtual world is something that we call fidelity, and this comes in different levels ranging from low to high. An interaction in virtual reality which is far from how you would make that same interaction in the real world is called a low fidelity technique and this can be compared to a standard game controller being used to move a character forward. On the other spectrum, a technique in virtual reality with high similarities to the real-world interaction is call high fidelity. An example of a high-fidelity technique would be similar to having a user physically walk from one point to another to move the virtual character. In several studies it has been said that both high fidelity and low fidelity techniques have a positive effect on users and they perform well using them, but if the fidelity of the technique falls in between, it will have a negative effect on user experience. The studies in this document test several different fidelity levels of techniques in an attempt to add evidence to the hypothesis that medium fidelity devices currently do not improve user experience and in fact, are creating a negative one.