Transcript Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

The Psychology of
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality

An immersive multimedia experience
 Games
 Training
in a simulator
 Exploration of environments
 Remote control/ robotics
 Therapy
 (many other potential applications as well)
Virtual Reality
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Three fundamental ideas (da Costa et
al.)
 Immersion
 Interaction
 Presence
Virtual reality
Immersive computer graphics,
contingent on user’s behavior
 Head-mounted display (often)
 Synchronized sounds (usually)
 Synchronized proprioceptive feedback
(sometimes: motion, tactile output)
 Moving air; smells (rarely)
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Readings
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Virtual city for cognitive rehabilitation
Overcoming phobias by virtual exposure
Virtual reality treatment in acrophobia: A
comparison with exposure in vivo
Exploratory design and evaluation of a user
interface for virtual reality exposure therapy
VR Education & Rehabilitation
By Inman, Loge, & Leavens
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Goal: to train disabled children to use
motorized wheelchairs
Problems
Achieving realistic crashes
 Achieving realistic stops and starts
 Limitations in resolution - tradeoff
between speed and realism
 Motivation problems
(learned helplessness)
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3 training scenarios:
Simple world with no obstacles
 Interesting, grassy place with objects
and places to get stuck in
 Traffic intersection
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Other applications of VR
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Cognitive rehabilitation
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Overcoming phobias
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http://www.icdvrat.reading.ac.uk/2000/papers/2000_38.pdf
http://www.do2learn.com/aboutus/research/phobia.htm
Training (pilots, soldiers, astronauts,
first responders, etc.)
Human factors issues:
What can go wrong with virtual reality?
Simulator Sickness (Schroder)
A feeling of sickness resulting from exposure
to a computer-generated space.
 the part inherent to the stimulus itself,
present even if the simulation were a
perfect representation of the real world
 the part that results from an imperfect
simulation, for instance due to lag, poor
inter-ocular adjust, poor resolution, etc
Simulator Sickness
Types of symptom:
 Nausea
 Oculomotor
 Disorientation
Simulator Sickness
Questionnaire
http://www.hitl.washington.edu/publications/r-9811/node135.html
Fatigue
 Fullness of head
 Headache
 Blurred vision
 Eyestrain
 Dizziness
 Difficulty focusing
 Vertigo
 Increased salivation
 Stomach awarenesss
 Difficulty
 Burping
concentrating
Rate for severity: none, slight, moderate, severe
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Relative severity of symptoms:
Disorientation, Nausea, Oculomotor
Virtual environments:
Space sickness:
Simulator sickness:
Sea/airsickness:
D>N>O
O>D>N
O>N>D
N>D>O
Virtual environment (e.g., head-mounted
display) scores tend to be higher and
reported by more users.
Adapting to Virtual Environments
People do adapt (become less sick)
 But they must re-adapt upon returning
to the “real world”
 To what extent do aftereffects go away?
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 Postural
stability, hand-eye coordination,
visual functioning
User initiated control
Active motion is better than being a
passive observer in VE
 But moving about with no constraints
can be overwhelming also
 Coupled control minimizes
cybersickness - task constrains motion
 Allow users several sessions to adjust
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Health and safety issues (Viire)
Visual changes are temporary in adults
 Alignment is critical for stereo images
 Focus is constant in stereoscopic HMD,
whereas it shifts in a real environment
 How should an object look when you get
close to it?
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Other dangers
Loud sounds (well understood)
 Injury due to not seeing real environment
 Flicker vertigo or migraine
 Psychological: If VR can have positive
effects (helping with phobias), it can
probably desensitize people to other
things also (such as violence).
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Conclusions: Virtual Realty
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Useful for training in dangerous environments
or for learning in infeasible environments
Can be used to systematically desensitize
phobias
Can be used in rehabilitation
(but beware of cybersickness!)
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adjust gradually w/ breaks
warn of possible effects
give user control of motion
constrain environment
The Cutting Edge
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Virtual Human Interaction Lab
 Avatar
Identity
 Transformed Social Interaction
 Haptic Communication
 Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming
 Eyewitness Testimony & Police Lineups
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VirtuSphere
 http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/0
409-the_new_virtual_reality.htm