Augmenting Immersive Telepresence Experience with a Virtual Body

Arora, Nikunj; Suomalainen, Markku; Pouke, Matti; Center, Evan G.; Mimnaugh, Katherine J.; Chambers, Alexis P.; Pouke, Sakaria; LaValle, Steven M.

doi:10.1109/tvcg.2022.3150473

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…In this regard, previous studies have shown that 360° videos are effective in inducing presence (e.g., [ 53 ]). Several factors influence this variable, such as camera height or viewer position [ 55 ]. Thus, participants showed an high sense of presence even though they were not physically in the experience, which might have limited the effect of our intervention [ 54 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connecting to Nature through 360° Videos during COVID-19 Confinement: A Pilot Study of a Brief Psychological Intervention

Navarrete

Navarro-Siurana

Herrero

et al. 2022

Journal of Healthcare Engineering

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Psychological interventions have been shown to be beneficial in mitigating stress related to COVID-19 confinement. According to theories of restorative environments, exposure to natural surroundings has positive effects on well-being and stress through its restorative qualities. With 360° video-based Virtual Reality (VR), people can be exposed to nature and so better manage the consequences associated with mobility restrictions during confinement. The main aim of this pilot study was to examine whether a 360° video-based VR intervention composed of five 13-minute sessions (once a day) has positive effects on affect, well-being, and stress. The sample was made up of 10 participants (4 men and 6 women; age : M = 46.5, SD = 11.7) who were confined at home (voluntarily or not) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were instructed to watch a 360° video each day (of a “beach” or “lake” environment) using their smartphone and VR glasses sent to them by mail. Participants responded with several self-reports before and/or after each session (emotions and sense of presence) and before and/or after the intervention (affect, well-being, perceived stress, perceived restorativeness of nature, and the usefulness and acceptability of the intervention). Results showed a tendency to improve positive (e.g., happiness) and negative (e.g., anxiousness) emotions and experience a high sense of presence after each session. Moreover, perceived restorative qualities of the environment and their cognitive and behavioral effects were high. A significant decrease in negative affect was found after the intervention. Usefulness and acceptability were also high. This is the first study to show that an affordable and accessible technology can be used to overcome the negative consequences of confinement and counteract its harmful psychological effects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connecting to Nature through 360° Videos during COVID-19 Confinement: A Pilot Study of a Brief Psychological Intervention

Navarrete

Navarro-Siurana

Herrero

et al. 2022

Journal of Healthcare Engineering

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“…Therefore, the use of VR and AI in education has moved the traditional classroom to a classroom based on smart technology [4], [5]. Furthermore, the global job competition has dictated the progress in educational systems [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Smart and Immersive Classroom based on AI, VR, and 6G

Sharrab

Almutiri²,

Tarawneh³

et al. 2023

Int. J. Emerg. Technol. Learn.

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The technological revolutions greatly impact current and future Classrooms. These advances in technology include the revolution of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and super highspeed internet. In the coming next generation (6G), the data rate will be very sufficient for live scenes in virtual reality applications such as telepresence and teleoperation. This paper review and discuss next-generation technologies in AI, VR, and communication. Moreover, we examine the motivation for establishing an Advanced Technology based Smart and Immersive Classroom (SIC) and the advantages of its availability to the virtual society. Recent advances in computer and communications technology have delivered capabilities to tomorrow’s SIC. Advances in virtual reality and real-time streaming on the internet have created a revolution in curricula and classrooms. Index Terms—Virtual Reality in education; 6G for education, Artificial Intelligence in education, Immersive Classroom

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Full body video-based self-avatars for mixed reality: from E2E system to user study

et al. 2023

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In this work, we explore the creation of self-avatars through video pass-through in mixed reality (MR) applications. We present our end-to-end system, including custom MR video pass-through implementation on a commercial head-mounted display (HMD), our deep learning-based real-time egocentric body segmentation algorithm, and our optimized offloading architecture, to communicate the segmentation server with the HMD. To validate this technology, we designed an immersive VR experience where the user has to walk through a narrow tile path over an active volcano crater. The study was performed under three-body representation conditions: virtual hands, video pass-through with color-based full-body segmentation, and video pass-through with deep learning full-body segmentation. This immersive experience was carried out by 30 women and 28 men. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first user study focused on evaluating video-based self-avatars to represent the user in a MR scene. Results showed no significant differences between the different body representations in terms of presence, with moderate improvements in some Embodiment components between the virtual hands and full-body representations. Visual Quality results showed better results from the deep-learning algorithms in terms of the whole body perception and overall segmentation quality. In this study, we provide some discussion regarding the use of video-based self-avatars and some reflections on the evaluation methodology. The proposed E2E solution is in the boundary of the state-of-the-art, so there is still room for improvement before it reaches maturity. However, this solution serves as a crucial starting point for MR applications where users can feel immersed and interact with their own bodies.

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Augmenting Immersive Telepresence Experience with a Virtual Body

Cited by 7 publications

References 59 publications

Connecting to Nature through 360° Videos during COVID-19 Confinement: A Pilot Study of a Brief Psychological Intervention

Connecting to Nature through 360° Videos during COVID-19 Confinement: A Pilot Study of a Brief Psychological Intervention

Toward Smart and Immersive Classroom based on AI, VR, and 6G

Full body video-based self-avatars for mixed reality: from E2E system to user study

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