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IEEE Virtual Reality Conference 2006 Tutorial
Schedule
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Tutorial 1: Virtual Reality
Technology – An Introduction
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| 08:00 -
17:00, Saturday, 25th
March |
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This
tutorial is intended for
those new to the VR/VE field. It will present topics related to Input
Devices (such as and Gesture Interfaces), Output Devices (such as
Haptic Displays and auto-stereoscopic displays), Computing
Architectures for VR, Modeling of virtual objects, VR Programming
issues, Human Factors in VR (user performance evaluations and
cybersickness) and VR Applications. The tutorial is based on the
textbook published by the Instructor and class slides from his courses
at Rutgers University. (www.iwvr.org).
Topics to be addressed:
- Input Devices (Trackers,
Navigation, and Gesture
Interfaces);
- Output Devices (Graphics,
Three-Dimensional Sound, and
Haptic Displays);
- Computing Architectures for VR
(graphics and haptics
pipelines, PC and
- Workstation-based architectures,
parallel and distributed
systems);
- Modeling (geometric, kinematics,
physical, behavior, model
management);
- VR Programming (Scene graph, WTK,
Java 3D, GHOST,
PeopleShop)
- Human Factors in VR (multimodal
evaluations, cybersickness);
- VR Applications (medical,
education/entertainment,
military, manufacturing,robotics, visualization
Who
should attend: The
tutorial in intended for those new to the field
of VR/VE, although others may benefit as well.
Level of
Expertise: None.
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Presenter:
Grigore
Burdea, Rutgers
University
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Tutorial 2: Conducting Human-Subject
Experiments with Virtual and Augmented Reality
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| 08:00 -
17:00, Saturday 25th March |
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As
virtual and augmented reality
hardware and software have grown more mature over the past decade, the
focus of the field is shifting away from the basic engineering
technology, and towards the science and applications of VR and AR
techniques. Increasingly, virtual and augmented reality researchers are
conducting human-subject experiments, both to understand the way humans
perceive, manipulate, and cognate with VR and AR information, and to
quantify the
utility of VR and AR in different application contexts.
This tutorial is for researchers and engineers, working in the field of
VR and AR, who wish to conduct a human-subject experiment. It will
cover (1) the basic principles of experimental design
and analysis, with an emphasis on human-subject experiments in VR and
AR (Swan); (2) a “journalistic approach” to measuring human performance
that organizes the activity around questions such as “Who? What? When?
Where? How? and Why?” (Ellis); and (3) the basic principals and
techniques of psychophysics, along with examples of how they have
successfully examined human perceptual performance in virtual
environments (Adelstein).
The tutorial will consist of three complementary topics, taught by each
of the three instructors:
(1) Basic Experimental Design and Analysis (Swan): This session will
introduce the basics of experimental design and analysis. Especially in
regards to experimental analysis, it will focus on the fundamental
logic behind topics such as hypothesis testing and analysis of
variance, while avoiding the complexities that come from considering
individual statistical tests.
Topics include:
- generating empirically testable
hypotheses
- experimental validity
- standard statistical designs
- independent and dependent variables
- experimental design and
counterbalancing
- statistical tests
- gathering data
- describing data
- inferential statistics
- hypothesis testing
- power and effect size analysis
- analysis of variance
- reporting statistical results
(2) Measuring Human Performance in Virtual Environments (Ellis): This
session will discuss general aspects of measuring human performance,
with a larger focus on the overall enterprise. The instructor has
organized the session around a “journalistic approach” to human
performance studies, which centers on asking classic journalistic
questions such as “Who? When? Where? What? How? and Why?”. The
presenter will explain how this approach has proven fruitful in his own
human performance studies of virtual environments.
Topics include:
- the purpose of human performance
assessment
- a journalistic approach: the who,
why, how, where, and what
of human performance assessment
- elements of human factors analysis
- a classification of measurement
scales
- illustrative case studies involving
nominal, ordinal, and
interval data collection in virtual environments
- heuristics for behavioral data
analysis
(3) Psychophysics for Virtual Environments (Adelstein): This session
will introduce and motivate the field of psychophysics for virtual
environments. It will describe psychophysics generally, and cover the
most fundamental psychophysical methods (method of adjustment, method
of constant stimuli, and method of limits), as well as basic analysis
techniques for these methods. It will involve several motivating case
studies involving the instructor’s own use of psychophysical methods to
examine latency discrimination in virtual environments.
Topics include:
- what is psychophysics and what is
it good for?
- why do we need psychophysics in
virtual environments?
- classical psychophysical methods:
the method of adjustment,
the method of constant stimuli, the method of limits
- detection theory
- psychometric functions
- illustrative case studies involving
latency discrimination
in virtual environments
To illustrate the discussed principals and techniques, the course will
include illustrative case studies of actual human-subject experiments
conducted with VR and AR systems.
Who
should attend:
Researchers and engineers, working in the fields of VR and AR, who wish
to conduct a human-subject experiment.
Level of
expertise: All
levels. The basic principals of experimental design and analysis
discussed early in the day will set the stage for the more advanced
topics that follow.
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Presenters:
J. Edward
Swan II, Mississippi
State University
Stephen
R. Ellis, NASA Ames
Research Center
Bernard
D. Adelstein, NSAS Ames
Research Center
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Tutorial 3: Virtual Reality
Technology for Mental Health and Rehabilitation: Applications and
Issues
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08:00 -
17:00, Sunday 26th
March
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After an
early period of
inflated expectations and limited delivery, Virtual Reality (VR)
technology has emerged as a viable tool for assessment, therapy and
rehabilitation applications. Virtual reality integrates
real-time computer graphics, body tracking devices, visual displays,
and other sensory input devices to immerse a participant in a
computer-generated virtual environment (VE) that changes in a natural
way with head and body motion. The capacity of VR technology to create
controllable, dynamic, interactive three-dimensional stimulus
environments, within which behavioral responding can be recorded and
measured, offers clinical assessment and intervention options that are
not available using traditional methods. Much like an aircraft
simulator serves to test and train piloting ability under a variety of
controlled conditions, VEs have been developed to present simulations
that target human cognitive and functional processes that are relevant
for assessment, therapy and rehabilitative purposes. As well, VR
technology provides assets that will continue to advance the scientific
study of normal psychological, cognitive and motor processes.
VR applications are now being developed and tested which focus on
component cognitive processes including: attention, executive
functions, memory, and spatial abilities. Additionally, a wide variety
of VEs have been developed to address psychological conditions (e.g.,
anxiety disorders, PTSD, pain control) and motor impairments (i.e.
reaching, grasping and gait). Functional VE training scenarios have
also been designed to test and teach instrumental activities of daily
living such as street-crossing, automobile driving, meal preparation,
supermarket shopping, use of public transportation, and wheelchair
navigation. These initiatives have formed a foundation of work that
provides support for the feasibility and potential value of further
development of VR applications for clinical and research questions.
This talk will briefly present an introductory overview of VR
technology and the rationale for its use in assessment and
rehabilitation. This will be followed by a detailing of the assets that
are available with the use of VR in assessment, therapy and
rehabilitation. Embedded within this critical review of the field, will
be exemplars of VR applications that have added value and those that
illustrate the crime of technological overkill! Throughout the
presentation, participants will be given the latest information on what
the technology involves, how it has been applied with clinical (and
some non-clinical) populations, professional issues involved in its
use, and what is in store for the next millenium! Specific details on
the presenters' ongoing research using VR for assessment, therapy and
rehabilitation along with hands-on demonstrations will be available to
the attendees. As the impact of information technology continues to
accelerate across the spectrum of human functioning, the thoughtful,
rational, ethical, and professional application of these new tools will
be stressed throughout the presentation. It is our belief that an
informed awareness of the issues involved in this technology's use is
required to maximize the value of these emerging tools for clinical and
research applications.
Presentation Objectives:
You will learn about:
- About the relevant issues involved
in the design,
development, implementation, and evaluation of VR for use in mental
health/rehabilitation applications.
- About the specific rationales and
advantages for use of VR
for psychological, cognitive and motor function applications.
- How virtual reality has been used
as an adjunct to
cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of phobias, eating
disorders, addictive behaviors, acute pain and PTSD
- How virtual reality has been used
in the study, assessment,
and rehabilitation of cognitive/functional processes in neuropsychology
(ADHD, traumatic brain injury, and age-related neurodegenerative
disorders).
- About the presenters' research
program using VR with both
clinical and non-clinical populations.
- About the basic issues for decision
making regarding the
use of these information technology tools in a professional and ethical
manner.
- About what is in store for the
future of this technology
and what needs to be advanced to make VR more accessible and usable.
Who
should attend: Anyone
interested in learning about the technology
and how it has been used in the mental health and rehabilitation
domains.
Level of
Expertise:
Beginning to intermediate skill level and a basic
understanding of computing-However, no programming knowledge is
necessary.
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Presenters:
Albert
"Skip" Rizzo, University
of Southern California
Brenda K.
Wiederhold, Interactive
Media Institute
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