Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Virtual reality in medicine'

Arbetsterapi är ett ämne som framhäver hälsa och välmående genom aktivitet. Det huvudsakliga målet som arbetsterapeut är att möjliggöra för personer att delta i aktiviteter i det dagliga livet. Virtual Reality är en simulation där datorgrafik används för att skapa en tillsynes realistisk miljö och denna värld är inte statisk utan integrerar med användaren. Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att kartlägga hur och varför Virtual Reality kan användas av arbetsterapeuter. En systematisk litteraturstudie genomfördes och efter databassökning uppkom 14 artiklar som via en manuell sökning kompletterades med ytterligare 5 artiklar. Resultaten visar att Virtual Reality kan användas för att stödja utförandet av meningsfulla aktiviteter och ge en säker miljö att arbeta i. Virtual Reality kan stödja människor med olika funktionsnedsättningar med aktiviteter som annars är svåra för dem att utföra som t.ex. olika fritidsaktiviteter. Det ger också människor möjlighet att kunna förbereda sig för olika situationer som kan uppstå i det verkliga livet som vid hemkomst från sjukhus eller att gå och handla. Det saknas dock fortfarande arbetsterapiforskning på de kommersiella systemen som Nintendo Wii och det behövs mera forskning för att fortsätta utveckla området.
Occupational therapy is a profession that highlights health and wellbeing through activity. Occupational therapists enable people to participate in everyday living. An activity means the ordinary and familiar things that humans do every day. Virtual reality is a simulation in which computer graphics are used to create a realistic environment. This world is not static but is one with which the user can interact. The purpose of this literature review is to describe how and why Virtual Reality can be used by occupational therapists. After a database search 14 articles were found. Through a manual search, five additional articles were added. The result shows that virtual reality can support the performance of meaningful activities and provide a safe environment to work in. Virtual reality can allow people with disabilities to participate in activities that otherwise would be inaccessible, such as different leisure activities. It also offers the opportunity for people to prepare themselves for different situations that occur in real life, such as returning home from hospital or going shopping. There is still a lack of research within occupational therapy on the commercial systems like Nintendo Wii, and more research is required to develop this field of research.

The introduction of minimally invasive surgery has resulted in revolutionary changes in the process of surgery. As a consequence, surgeons have had to adopt an entirely new skill set, one which requires additional training. To this end, surgical simulators have been developed, (physical simulators and virtual reality based simulators). We endeavored to validate the LapSim virtual reality simulator and assess its potential in the learning and acquisition of basic and complex laparoscopic skills. A series of studies were undertaken to provide evidence for the simulator's validity. They include the formulation of metrics, transference of basic skills to more complex laparoscopic tasks, and the transference of skills acquired using the simulator to the in vivo model. Through these studies, it is demonstrated that the virtual reality simulator is effective in enhancing laparoscopic skills in novices in both in vitro and in vivo environments.

The development of haptic devices for surgery is an important task. The importance of constructing force-feedback haptic devices for modern medicine is shown. In these theses, a block diagram of such the device is proposed. The next steps are to develop the force feedback device.

The noradrenergic system is engaged by arousal and novel stimuli, and has a widespread influence throughout the body, indirectly innervating areas that control heart rate, respiratory rate, perspiration rate, pain sensitivity, and pupil diameter. This study aimed to create anxiety using threatening virtual reality protocols and determine whether that anxiety was sufficient to cause physiological responses consistent with locus coeruleus activation and thus noradrenaline release. Ten participants were exposed to three different types of virtual reality protocol (relaxing, implied threat and overt threat) and one mental arithmetic protocol, each designed to elicit a different level of anxiety for comparison. Anxiety level was assessed after each protocol using a five-point Likert scale, with a minimum of 1 (not anxious at all) and maximum of 5 (extremely anxious). While experiencing these protocols pupil diameter, pressure pain threshold, heart rate, and galvanic skin resistance were recorded. These autonomic and sensory measures are known to be influenced by locus coeruleus activation and noradrenaline release. Increases in pupil diameter, in particular, are correlated with locus coeruleus activity. Virtual reality threat protocols were successful in promoting anxiety in participants, however, the mental arithmetic protocol created greater anxiety. Virtual reality threat protocols resulted in significant increases in two of the outcome measures (pupil diameter and pressure pain threshold) and had a median anxiety score of ≤ 2.5, while mental arithmetic resulted in significant changes in three of the outcome measures (pupil diameter, pressuanixre pain threshold, galvanic skin resistance) and a median anxiety score of 3. Exploratory repeated measures correlations showed that pupil diameter correlated with pressure pain threshold (rrm = 0.27 [0.029, 0.49], p = 0.03), pressure pain threshold with galvanic skin resistance (rrm = -0.3 [-0.5, -0.075], p = 0.01), and galvanic skin resistance with heart rate (rrm = -0.36 [-0.57, -0.17], p = 0.00095). Changes in more responses with greater anxiety may suggest a staggered sensitivity of the outcome measures, with pupil diameter and pressure pain threshold being more sensitive to noradrenaline release than galvanic skin resistance and heart rate. The findings of this study indicate that the virtual reality protocols can successfully create anxiety sufficient to cause physiological responses consistent with some noradrenaline release by locus coeruleus activation. However, the amount of anxiety and degree of physiological responses were lower compared to that caused by mental arithmetic. Nonetheless, the versatility and control that the virtual reality medium offers allows the creation of virtual reality protocols that use tension and suspense to create mild anxiety. Thus, virtual reality protocols may be a more appropriate choice when measuring certain noradrenergic effects under conditions precluding movement and speech.

La tesi progettuale, descritta in questo volume, nasce sulla base di un progetto accademico, sviluppato con la collaborazione di docenti della facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria dell’Università di Bologna. Obiettivo della tesi è lo sviluppo di un prototipo di un sistema per la realizzazione di un ambiente E-learning virtuale ed interattivo per uso didattico. Il progetto implementato ha permesso di creare un sistema basato su Realtà Mista che utilizza al suo interno immagini fotografiche a 360° della stalla della facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria su cui inserire modelli 3D animati di animali. L'utente potrà quindi visitare la fattoria, attraversando i vari ambienti in modalità di tour virtuale.

Abstract Introduction: Deficits in planning and prospective memory are common after brain injury and contribute to difficulties participating in everyday activities. Recent research has suggested that using non-contingent auditory alerts may facilitate a ‘goal-review’ process and improve performance on tasks that make demands on executive functions. This study investigated whether combining alerts with a brief goal management training (GMT) programme would improve performance on a complex virtual reality task. Method: Twenty individuals with evidence of executive impairment completed two versions of the Removals Task, one trial with auditory alerts following a GMT session, and the other trial in standard, non-alerted conditions. Nineteen healthy controls were recruited to complete the task with no alerts or GMT. Results: The brain-injury group were significantly poorer than the controls on some measures of the task in non-alerted conditions. GMT and auditory alerts did not improve performance (though a sub-group analyses revealed improvement for 6 participants on one task measure). Discussion: Ceiling effects, brevity of the GMT procedure and paradoxical effects of the alerts on the measures are discussed as some possible reasons for failure to find significant differences. Sensitivity of the Removals Task to detect executive impairment and its efficacy as a potential cognitive rehabilitative assessment tool is investigated in light of differing findings between studies. Conclusion: The Removals Task revealed differences in performance between individuals with executive dysfunction and healthy controls on some measures. While a sub-group of participants did show improvement in the alerted condition for one measure, GMT and auditory alerts failed to improve performance in the brain-injury group on the majority of task measures. Limitations of the current study are acknowledged and recommendations for future research are given.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2005.
Title from title screen (viewed 19 May 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine. Degree awarded 2005; thesis submitted 2004. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2008.
Vita. The entire thesis text is included in file. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed March 28, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-154).

In this thesis the development of a remotely controlled system used for visual monitoring of surgical procedures at distant locations in described. The system has been developed for laboratory testing, where in the longer term it is to be verified under field conditions. Using existing technology in areas of serial communication and videoconferencing in a new configuration, it has been possible to achieve such a system. The system is intended to assist in performing complex surgical procedures at remote locations where specialist surgeons are normally unavailable. With the prototype system developed in this thesis, a remotely based general surgeon performing an operation can consult and interact with other specialist surgeons through visual operation and voice communications. The teleoperated system consists of two computers, a commercially available robot and a videoconferencing unit
Master of Engineering (Hons)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006.
Principal faculty advisors: Kenneth E. Barner, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Karl V. Steiner, Delaware Biotechnology Institute. Includes bibliographical references.

The fundamental of surgical training is the traditional apprenticeship method introduced by William Halsted which has been used for the last 100 years. It is based on learning in the operating room (OR) where the resident is guided by an experienced surgeon and gradually and methodically exposed to surgery. The continuous development of surgical methods together with the growing awareness of medical errors and ethical considerations have made the Halsted method outdated and there is an obvious need to be able to learn the skills of surgery without risking patient safety. New methods such as laparoscopy and endoscopy demand specific skills and abilities that may not be met by everyone. At the same time, the physical limitations of these new methods have made it possible to construct virtual reality (VR) simulators to practise and learn the skills necessary. This study is about the construction and evaluation of a VR-simulator for the training of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). It also concerns the specific abilities needed to become a good surgeon. A simulator for training TURP was developed after a face validity study where 17 experienced urologists gave their opinion of the specific content necessary for the training of this procedure. After a content validity study by nine experienced urologists and application of necessary improvements, a group of 11 medical students and nine experienced urologists performed a construct validity test where the urologists showed significantly higher levels of both skill and effectiveness compared to the inexperienced students when performing a simulated TURP procedure. The students showed a positive learning curve, but did not reach the levels of the urologists. The results of the experienced urologists were used as the minimal criterion level when 24 urology residents practised the procedure. Training took place while on a course on benign enlargement of the prostate and its treatment options, with emphasis on the “gold standard” treatment – TURP. During the course they performed three guided and video-taped TURP-procedures each on selected patients. Between two of the procedures they performed criterion-based training in the simulator. This VR-to-OR study showed improvement in operative skills with the same patient outcome as in the normal clinical situation. It also showed that simulator training improved their skills even more. During their time on the course their personality traits (TCI) and cognitive abilities (Rey complex figure and recognition trial, tower of London, WAIS-III) were tested. The results showed that a better learning curve in the OR was associated with a better simulator learning curve and a good visuospatial memory. The associated personality traits were high levels of goal directedness, impulse control, responsibility, anticipation of harmful events and a balanced attachment style. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that it was technically possible to construct a useful simulator for the training of TURP (PelvicVision®) which may now be considered clinically validated for this purpose. Novice training and performance in the simulator improves the learning curve and predicts the resident’s performance in the OR. The results support the implementation of validated simulation technology in a criterion-based training curriculum for residents. Furthermore, the results showed preliminary data on personality traits and visuospatial abilities that are important for learning a complex surgical procedure.

Background: Reduced heart rate variability is an important factor in evaluation of autonomic nervous system and diseases. Resonance frequency breathing is a non-invasive and effective training method for increasing heart rate variability. Turing this breathing exercise into a video game is an efficient way to reduce training time and vapidity. Though there has been a successful implementation in 3D game, the influence of virtue reality technology application and interaction elements still need to be explored. Objective: The main objective is to build and evaluate the virtue reality game. Applying appropriate game design and interaction elements will also be discussed. The correct and efficient training should be ensured. Also, recognizing the relationship between game elements and efficiency is also included in the task. By evaluating the impact in heart rate variability biofeedback, the understanding of breathing training game design will be broadened and deepened. Methods: A 3D virtue reality running game is designed with biofeedback framework. Development process is conducted in a user-centred way with interface test. The summative evaluation will be performed 10 participants in a controlled setting. (participant age and health state) Each participant will fill a post-test questionnaire about game experience. The sensor data will be stored on local device. Qualitative analyse of data will be done. Results: VR environment game has shown more significant effects in helping increase heart rate variability than normal game (P<0.05). Both modes have shown more than 50% increase in standard deviation of heart rate variability. A high immersion and positive effects along was reported by a Game Experience Questionnaire. Conclusion: The results have shown that the VR game has the potential to help increase HRV via the resonance breathing training. The game can also allow long-term study by increasing the motivation of participants. Evaluation with GEQ are presented, which will give insights about the usability of this game. Additionally, the new tracks for future study have been explored.

In this thesis the development of a remotely controlled system used for visual monitoring of surgical procedures at distant locations in described. The system has been developed for laboratory testing, where in the longer term it is to be verified under field conditions. Using existing technology in areas of serial communication and videoconferencing in a new configuration, it has been possible to achieve such a system. The system is intended to assist in performing complex surgical procedures at remote locations where specialist surgeons are normally unavailable. With the prototype system developed in this thesis, a remotely based general surgeon performing an operation can consult and interact with other specialist surgeons through visual operation and voice communications. The teleoperated system consists of two computers, a commercially available robot and a videoconferencing unit

Haptic simulation of medical procedures is an active area of research in engineering and medicine. Analogous to flight simulators for pilots, surgery simulators can allow medical students and doctors to practice procedures in a risk free and well monitored virtual environment. The quality of interaction that a surgery simulator can generate is dependent upon many components. In this thesis, careful attention is paid to the haptic display of viscous effects.
Viscous terms, defined here as terms that are dependent upon velocity, are typically computed 'using a discrete time backwards difference estimation of the velocity. It is well known that differentation has the tendency to amplify high frequency noise, and as a result, the backwards difference estimation generates considerable errors when applied to the quantized position readings from a digital encoder. Prior to this work, the only feasible method to improve velocity estimation was to use a variety of observation or filtering techniques, all of which inevitably add phase delay. In this thesis, the backwards difference operation was analyzed in detail. It was found that feedback viscosity simulation is very non-robust to noise, and oscillations exist in the presence of quantization noise regardless of the physical parameters of the plant.
A typical haptic interface for surgery simulation consists of a mechanical linkage driven by electric motors. These linkages are controlled with a computer using a discrete-time force update law that generates a prescribed force given the user's position in the medical virtual environment. It is clear from the literature that a haptic interface must have some level of physical dissipation to enable a passive rendering due to the inherent instability associated with time delayed systems. However, dissipation in typical haptic interfaces is a byproduct of their design, and is neither controllable nor easily identifiable. A prototype haptic interface is presented in this thesis that uses eddy current brakes to add high bandwidth programmable dissipation to an existing motor linkage. The new hardware has been optimized experimentally to maximize damping and minimize inertia given conventional machining and available material constraints.
A new paradigm in the control of haptic interfaces is time-domain passivity control. Passive systems are desirable in haptics because a passive system is globally stable, passivity theory applies to linear and nonlinear systems alike, and a user cannot extract energy from a passive system. Passivity controllers monitor the energy flow in the device and add virtual damping to remove any energy that violates the passivity constraint. Unfortunately, the amount of virtual damping available to a given device is limited by the physical dissipation that it exhibits. If the device is directly driven and light, such as the pantograph, the available virtual damping is insufficient to maintain the passivity constraint. The eddy current brakes allow programmable physical damping to be used in place of virtual damping which has been shown with experiments to improve the stable impedance range of a haptic interface.
It is clear from the literature that most tissues in a human body exhibit viscoelastic behavior. Simulation of viscoelastic objects requires that the velocity of interaction be known. Because typical haptic interfaces use digital encoders to sample position, the estimated velocity signal is noisy, delayed or both. Eddy current brakes are viscous actuators by nature, as they generate a resistive force proportional to the velocity. To take advantage of this fact, viscoelastic decomposition algorithms were developed that can output viscous components to the eddy current brakes and elastic components to the motors. This technique reduces or eliminates the use of a velocity estimation signal in the feedback loop which improves passivity, reduces motor saturation effects, and allows for a wider stable range of mechanical impedances than conventional haptic interfaces can achieve.

The purpose of this thesis was to aid in the development of a web-based physical activity intervention for people with type 2 diabetes living in remote and rural areas. Chapter 1 introduces the research area, the design of the thesis and the key research questions. The thesis is then made up of 5 key studies. Study one, a systematic review of the literature was conducted and reported in chapter 2. This review identified the technologies that have previously been used to promote physical activity in type 2 diabetes, it identified the methodological quality of each included technology and the key components for effective change. Web based technology was the most commonly used and the most effective in increasing physical activity using components such as goal setting and physical activity trackers. These results informed study 2 (chapter 3) which explored patient and health professional's views on diabetes, physical activity and use of the internet. The need for clear information was identified with regard to diabetes as well as the call for accurate physical activity advice in relation to diabetes for both patients and health professionals. Study 3 (chapter 4) explored key information and components for an effective website. Included features were the need for a personalised approach; detailed advice on how the body responds to physical activity; a physical activity tracker and goal setting. The need for a 'virtual trainer' for support, advice and help with goal setting and interactive maps showing physical activity opportunities were all deemed important. The fourth study, chapter 5 described the design of the website and its features as well as the protocol for a six month pilot randomised controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of the development website, with and without interactive design elements. The final study in this thesis (chapter 6), describes the physical activity, physiological and biochemical results from a randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of the website and its features. The final chapter summarises the findings in response to the research questions and the future recommendations based on the outcomes.

Background: The use of telemedicine was gaining momentum. Although the strength of the therapeutic alliance (TA) correlated with treatment outcomes, there was no research exploring the skills, attitudes and behaviours that enhanced the TA during Skype consultations in palliative care. Aims: This study identified the skills, attitudes and behaviours that affected the TA between palliative care patients and health care professionals during Skype consultations and identified strategies that enhanced the TA. Study Design: Two cycles of action research engaged the participants in self-reflective inquiry and encouraged the identification of strategies that enhanced the TA and the Skype experience. Participants: Six health professionals and nine patients were recruited from a Hospice out patient service in one Health Authority in England. Data Collection: Data from the audio-recorded consultation were managed quantitatively and the TA was measured using the Working Alliance Inventory (S). Qualitative data were collected from participant interviews and focus groups attended by the professionals. Data Analysis: The analysis ran in parallel with the data collection, started after the first consultation and all sources of data were cross-referenced. Thematic analysis was used to sequentially code the qualitative data to help identify, examine and record patterns within the data set. Findings: The findings suggested that it was possible to establish and a positive therapeutic alliance between health professionals and palliative care patients when using Skype. There was a shift in perception for those health professionals who had reservations about their ability to establish a therapeutic alliance (TA) via a computer link. It was demonstrated that advanced communication skills were transferrable between face to face and video consultations. No additional communication skills training was needed to enable a strong TA when using Skype. Including some social talk, working with the patient’s as opposed to the professional’s agenda and actively offering solutions improved the Skype experience for the patients. The strategies that health professionals promoted to enhance the TA included using Skype with appropriately selected patients to complement the existing Service. Mandatory training in the effective use of Skype was recommended even for those health professionals who used Skype socially. Clarification to address the challenge of clinical governance was recommended. In keeping with an action research design the change impacted on both the health professionals own practice and the Organisation’s approach to telemedicine. The potential for using action research to engage nurses and doctors in critical self-reflective inquiry and to empower them to be change facilitators was demonstrated. Conclusion: Although a small sample size, this study identified strategies that enhanced the TA during Skype consultations. The findings were significant because they added to the current body of knowledge about using Skype to facilitate consultations within the palliative care population. Additionally, the findings may be transferable to different populations and healthcare contexts.

Thesis (M.S. in Modeling, Virtual Environments, and Simulation (MOVES))--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2009.
Thesis Advisor(s): Becker, William. "June 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on July 10, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Aviation, Haptics, Human Factors, Modeling and Simulation, Situational Awareness, Telepresence, Virtual Environments, Human Computer Interface. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-57). Also available in print.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
The use of Virtual Reality techniques in computational systems intends to generate immersive and interactive systems. The interactive and immersive nature of such systems motivates their use in simulations of various situations. The recent questions raised about the traditional paradigms of teaching in the medical field and the technological advances that permits the development of high fidelity simulations, encouraged the building of virtual simulators in order to provide study and training in medical procedures. The aim of this work is to discuss the use of Virtual Reality based simulators to help the teaching and training of medical procedures. As a product of this research, it is detailed the development of a Virtual Reality simulation system to gynecological examination. The objective of this system is providing of a three-dimensional and interactive environment to help the teaching and training of gynecological examination. Other important feature of the system is the assessment of the user interaction. By the end of this work, it is discussed the studies, research and development results and are proposed future works.
A utilização de técnicas de Realidade Virtual na construção de sistemas computacionais procura gerar sistemas imersivos e interativos. Estas características fazem com que estes sistemas sejam utilizados em simulações de diversas situações do cotidiano. Tais características, associadas aos crescentes questionamentos levantados sobre os paradigmas tradicionais de ensino na área médica e ao avanço tecnológico que permite a criação de simulações cada vez mais realistas, alavancaram a construção de simuladores virtuais com o intuito de prover estudo e treinamento de procedimentos médicos. O objetivo deste trabalho é discutir a utilização de simuladores computacionais baseados em Realidade Virtual para o auxílio ao ensino e treinamento de procedimentos médicos, particularmente em ginecologia. Como uma conseqüência direta deste estudo foi proposto e desenvolvido um sistema de simulação de exame ginecológico baseado em RV, o SITEG. Este simulador tem por finalidade o fornecimento de um ambiente tridimensional e interativo para o estudo e treinamento na realização do exame ginecológico, com a possibilidade do monitoramento e avaliação da interação do usuário. No final deste trabalho são discutidos os resultados dos estudos, da pesquisa e da implementação do simulador e são propostos trabalhos futuros no desenvolvimento do sistema.

Thesis (M. E.) (Honours) -- University of Western Sydney, 2002.
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering (Honours), University of Western Sydney, School of Engineering & Industrial Design, March 2002. Bibliography : p. 99-104.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) think and understand social contexts primarily from a visual stand point. Feelings of being present in their social environment are a key component to their development (Strickland, Marcus, Mesibov, & Hogan, 1996). A virtual reality environment (VRE) can provide a therapeutic setting for children with ASD to learn social skills (Ehrlich & Munger, 2012). In the present research, a pilot study was used to assess the validity of a Second Life VRE developed by the researcher (Markopoulos, 2016b) by comparing the VRE to a real life film by The National Autistic Society (2016) in the United Kingdom. Feedback from the pilot study was used to make revisions to the VRE. The validated virtual reality therapy environment (VRTE) was used in the main research study. Twenty-eight Louisiana mental health practitioners’ perceptions of the VRTE were assessed using two random order conditions. Condition A required participation in the VRTE twice, first using a laptop computer only and then using the laptop with the new 2016 Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD, Oculus VR, LLC, 2016). Condition B required participation in the VRTE twice, first using a laptop with the new 2016 Oculus Rift HMD and then using a Laptop alone. Four out of eight subscales from the Temple Presence Inventory (TPI) (Lombard, Weinstein, & Ditton, 2011) were used to assess practitioners’ perceptions of presence in the VRTE. Results of a repeated-measures MANOVA showed that the order of the conditions were not significantly different. Additionally, participants’ TPI total and subscales scores were significantly higher when using the HMD than when using the Laptop, as well as their likelihood of using the HMD with children diagnosed with ASD than using the Laptop. All of the correlations for participants’ age and experience with technology were insignificant except for the subscale III, engagement was significant for participants’ age. Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, therapy, virtual reality environment, head-mounted display, temple presence inventory, presence

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Fundação para o Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico em Saúde - FIOTEC
Stroke is a common neurological disorder, classified as the third death cause and mean cause of long-term disability worldwide. The majority of survivors has different levels of impairments. During the technological advancement, virtual reality has been widely used for care and rehabilitation on stroke. We proposed to evaluate the experience and effectiveness of a virtual reality system to promote the rehabilitation of the upper limb on post-stroke. This is a experimental, descriptive and analytical research with a quantitative and qualitative approach. This study was developed at Neuroscience and Behavior Laboratory (LaNeC), located in the Physical Therapy Department of State University of Paraíba. The sample was non-probabilistic for accessibility, composed by three post-stroke patients. Besides the game for training of participants, was used the following instruments for evaluation: Clinical Evaluation and patient experience Report, Mini-Mental State Examination, Box and blocks, Eye-Hand Coordination of Melo test and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator. Data was expressed descriptively, on average, standard deviations and percentages. To verify the data normality was used Shapiro-Wilk test. To compare both groups was used parametric t-test. The inferential analysis was fulfilled by the statistic program GraphPad Prism version 6.0. In all analyzes was considered the significance level of 5% (p <0.05) and 95% confidence interval. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the State University of Paraíba with protocol nº51638015.0.0000.5187. Our study shown that the Leap Motion Controller is a new tool of high level. The therapy proposed with the game was well-received by the patients. The short-term intensive use provided a decrease of the cortical motor threshold of the studied patients (p=0,0430). However, it suggests that new studies be conducted with randomized methodological designs and controlled with bigger sample of post-stroke patients.
O Acidente Vascular Cerebral (AVC) é um distúrbio neurológico comum, classificado como a terceira causa de morte e a principal causa de incapacidade em longo prazo no mundo. A maioria dos sobreviventes possuem graus variados de sequelas. Com os avanços tecnológicos, a realidade virtual tem sido usada amplamente para cuidados e reabilitação no AVC. Nesse sentido, objetivou-se avaliar a experiência e eficácia de um sistema de realidade virtual para promover a reabilitação do membro superior no pós-AVC. Trata-se de pesquisa de caráter experimental, descritiva, analítica, com abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa. Foi realizada pelo Laboratório de Neurociência e Comportamento Aplicadas, localizado no Departamento de Fisioterapia, situado no Campus I da Universidade Estadual da Paraíba. A amostra foi do tipo não probabilística por acessibilidade, composta por 03 pacientes pós-AVC. Além do jogo para treinamento dos participantes, foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos para avaliação: Ficha de Avaliação clínica e experiência do paciente, Mini-Exame do Estado Mental, Caixa e Blocos, Teste de Coordenação Óculo-Manual de Melo e o Estimulador Magnético Transcraniano. Os dados obtidos foram expressos, descritivamente, em média, desvio padrão da média e porcentagem. Para verificar a normalidade dos dados foi utilizado o teste de Shapiro-Wilk, os quais mostraram-se paramétricos. Para comparar os dois grupos, foi utilizado o teste “t” paramétrico. A análise inferencial foi realizada através do programa estatístico GraphPad Prism 6.0. Em todas as análises foi considerado o nível de significância de 5% (P<0,05) e intervalo de confiança de 95%. Este trabalho foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Universidade Estadual da Paraíba sob nº51638015.0.0000.5187. Os resultados desse estudo mostraram que o Leap Motion Controller é uma nova ferramenta de alto nível. A terapia proposta com o jogo foi bem recebido pelos pacientes. O uso intensivo a curto prazo, proporcionou a diminuição do limiar motor cortical dos pacientes estudados (P=0,0430). No entanto, sugere-se que sejam realizados novos estudos com desenhos metodológicos randomizados e controlados com amostras maiores de pacientes pós-AVC.

Volvo Group är ett av världens ledande tillverkare av bland annat lastbilar, bussar, entreprenadmaskiner och motorer för marina och industriella applikationer. Volvo Group äger totalt 10 olika märken, dessa är: Volvo Trucks, UD Trucks, Renault Trucks, Mack Trucks, Group Trucks Asia & JVs, Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo Bus, Volvo Penta, Volvo Financial Services och Governmental Sales. Initiativet till projektet togs av Metod och Processutvecklings avdelningen på Volvo Group Trucks Operations (GTO), som är den delen av Volvo Group som utför själva sammansättningen av lastbilar. Volvo GTO finns i flertal olika länder världen över vilket leder till att arbetsprocesserna kan skilja mellan länderna. För att kunna standardisera ett arbetssätt där konstruktören (komponent ägaren) tillsammans med geometri arkitekten kan göra en första ergonomisk analys på den berörda komponenten. För att detta ska vara möjligt så tog projektet fram en handbok på hur man som komponentägare skall gå tillväga för att få en så bra och korrekt analys som möjligt. I denna kandidatarbete tas det upp förslag på hur VR hade kunnat hjälpa till ett utvärderingsverktyg redan i konstruktionsstadiet när en ny produkt/komponent ska tas fram eller om det ska göras förbättringar på en befintlig komponent. Kandidatarbetet har valt att fokusera mest på hur konstruktören och geometri arkitekten ska kunna utvärdera de ergonomiska aspekterna med VR som hjälp. Projektet har undersökt två user case varav ett av dem presenteras i denna rapport. Detta gäller monteringen av värmeskydd. Anledningen till att just denna montering valdes är på grund av dess dåliga ergonomi och åtkomlighet. Projektet valde att göra både en RULA-analys och PLIBEL-analys. RULA-analysen gav hög totalpoäng, 7 av 7 medan PLIBEL endast är en analys på arbetsplatsen vilket gav ett bra underlag för fortsatt arbete. Studien visade att VR är ett väldigt bra hjälpmedel vid analys av ergonomiska aspekter i tidig design fas. Det ger relevanta resultat och har potential för besparingar i resurser och kostnader inom utvecklingsprocessen. För att förbättra kandidatarbetes resultat har det gjorts besök på ESI-Group som har gått in med stöttning i form av VR utrustning och workshop. Detta gav projektmedlemmarna en inblick på möjligheterna man har med VR.
Volvo Group is one of the Worlds leading manufacturer in the categories trucks, busses, construction equipment and engines for the marine and industrial applications. Volvo Group consist of many different brands 10 in total, these are: Volvo Trucks, UD Trucks, Renault Trucks, Mack Trucks, Group Trucks Asia & JVs, Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo Bus, Volvo Penta, Volvo Financial Services and Governmental Sales. The initiative for the project came from Method and Process Development within Volvo Trucks Tuve Plant, department at Volvo Group Trucks Operations (GTO), which is the part of Volvo Group performing the actual production of the trucks. Volvo GTO is located worldwide in several different countries, which leads to different work processes. To standardize a method where the designer (component owner) together with the geometry architect can make a first ergonomics analysis of the concerned component. To make this possible, the project presented a manual on how the component owner should proceed to obtain as good and correct analysis of ergonomics as possible. This bachelor thesis makes suggestions for how VR would be helpful in the design phase as an evaluation tool during development of a new product/component or whether improvements should be made to an existing component. The thesis has focused mostly on how the designer and geometry architect can evaluate the ergonomics aspects with VR as a help, already in the design phase. The project has investigated two user cases. One of them is presented in this report. This applies to the installation of heat shield, the reason that this particular assembly was chosen is due to its poor ergonomics and accessibility. The project chose to do a RULA-analysis and PLIBEL-analysis. The RULA analysis gave a high total score, 7 out of 7, while PLIBEL was an analysis at the workplace. Both proved to be a good basis for continued work.  The study shows that VR is a great tool for analysis of the ergonomics aspects in early design phase. It gives relevant results and has the potential for savings in resources and cost in product development process. To improve the results of the thesis, there have been visits on ESI-Group which has sponsored the thesis in the form of VR equipment and workshop. This gave the project members an insight into the possibilities of VR.

[ES] El Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA) es una afección compleja que se encuentra dentro de los llamados Trastornos del Neurodesarrollo. Está caracterizada por la presencia de disfunciones en las interacciones sociales, en la capacidad comunicativa, pensamiento simbólico, así como, conductas estereotipadas y desregulación de carácter sensorial. Actualmente, dada su elevada prevalencia, ha despertado el interés científico para poder llevar a cabo diagnósticos más tempranos que repercutan en intervenciones más eficaces. Hasta el momento el diagnóstico del TEA se ha venido realizando mediante baterías diagnósticas estandarizadas basadas en criterios cualitativos, por lo cual, la respuesta puede distar de la obtenida en un contexto real. Es por ello que herramientas como la Realidad Virtual (RV), con la potencialidad de reproducir entornos con elevado grado de realismo, pueden ser un contexto válido tanto para la evaluación como para la intervención terapéutica. Se han aplicado entornos virtuales no inmersivos, dado el rechazo de la población TEA a utilizar visores RV, aunque con resultados observacionales. Dichas limitaciones pueden superarse con el uso de los llamados Entornos Virtuales Inmersivos (EVI), ya que suponen una solución tecnológica no invasiva, con mayor capacidad de inmersión y, por tanto, de generar respuestas con mayor similitud a las obtenidas en un contexto real. Las mediciones de carácter observacional pueden superarse con mediciones fisiológicas, tales como, la actividad electrodermal (EDA), que proporciona la respuesta de la excitación corporal en forma de sudoración ante un estímulo o el eye tracking, el cual muestra el comportamiento ocular. Ambas suponen respuestas implícitas, inconscientes y cuantificables, que pueden ayudar a definir la afección. Por todo ello, la presente Tesis Doctoral, compuesta de tres estudios, tiene como objetivo unir el uso de EVI, con capacidad de estimulación visual, auditiva y olfativa con medidas fisiológicas, focalizadas en la evaluación y entrenamiento del TEA, además de estudiar las relaciones entre las mismas y las baterías diagnósticas del TEA. El Estudio nº 1 valoró la adaptación de los participantes a los dispositivos y el EVI y los niveles EDA en un contexto de respuesta al saludo. Los resultados hallaron que los sujetos TEA mostraron una tolerancia similar en el uso del EVI y del dispositivo EDA. Aumentaron sus niveles de excitación con respecto al estado de reposo previo (Ratio), cuando intervino el sentido del olfato, no habiendo relaciones significativas con las baterías diagnósticas. El Estudio nº 2 profundizó en los niveles EDA en un contexto de imitación total o parcial. Los resultados mostraros que los sujetos TEA mostraron una menor activación (Ratio), ante procesos de imitación total, con estimulación olfativa, no encontrando relaciones significativas con las baterías diagnósticas. El Estudio nº 3 estudió el EDA y el comportamiento ocular en un EVI basado en un Centro Comercial. Los resultados EDA, no proporcionaron diferencias en la sesión de evaluación, pero descendieron en los sujetos TEA tras una sesión de entrenamiento. El comportamiento ocular en la sesión de evaluación discriminó entre los grupos, pero en el entrenamiento el comportamiento fue similar. Las relaciones entre dichas medidas y las baterías diagnósticas no mostraron relaciones significativas. Tecnologías inmersivas y medidas psicofisiológicas para la evaluación y entrenamiento de niños con Trastorno del Espectro Autista Como conclusión final cabe señalar que, la medida electrodermal que contó con mayor capacidad para identificar a la población TEA fue la medida Ratio. Mientras que el EDA, tras el entrenamiento, fue indicador de una mejora de la excitación ante situaciones de señalado, respuesta al nombre y atención conjunta, en el caso del comportamiento ocular, fue capaz de diferenciar entre los grupos únicamente en la
[CA] El Trastorn de l'Espectre Autista (TEA) és una afecció complexa que es troba dins dels anomenats Trastorns del Neurodesenvolupament. Està caracteritzada per la presència de disfuncions en les interaccions socials, en la capacitat comunicativa, pensament simbòlic, així com, conductes estereotipades i desregulació del caràcter sensorial. Actualment, donada la seua elevada prevalença, ha despertat l'interés científic per poder dur a terme diagnòstics més primerencs que deriven en intervencions més eficaces. Fins al moment el diagnòstic del TEA s'ha realitzat mitjançant bateries diagnòstiques estandarditzades basades en criteris qualitatius, és per això que la resposta pot ser diferent a l'obtinguda en un context real. Per tant, eines com la Realitat Virtual, amb la capacitat de reproduir entorns amb un elevat grau de realisme, poden ser un context vàlid tant per a l'avaluació com per a la intervenció terapèutica. S'han aplicat entorns virtuals no immersius, donat el rebuig de la població TEA a utilitzar visors RV, malgrat que amb resultats observacionals. Dites limitacions poden superar-se amb l'ús dels anomenats Entorns Virtuals Immersius (EVI), ja que suposen una solució tecnològica no invasiva, amb major capacitat d'immersió i per tant, de generar respostes amb major similitud a les obtingudes en un context real. Les mesures de caràcter observacional poden superar-se amb mesures fisiològiques, tals com, l'activitat electrodermal (EDA), que proporciona la resposta de l'excitació corporal en forma de sudoració enfront d'un estímul o l'eye tracking, el qual mostra el comportament ocular. Ambdues suposen respostes implícites, inconscients i quantificables, que poden ajudar a definir l'afecció. Per tot això, la present Tesi Doctoral, composta de tres estudis, té com a objectiu unir l'ús d'EVI, amb capacitat d'estimulació visual, auditiva i olfactiva amb mesures fisiològiques, focalitzades en l'avaluació i entrenament del TEA, a més d'estudiar les relacions entre les mateixes i les bateries diagnòstiques del TEA. L'Estudi nº 1 va valorar l'adaptació dels participants als dispositius i l'EVI i els nivells EDA en un context de resposta salutació. Els resultats van trobar que els subjectes TEA van mostrar una tolerància similar en l'ús d'EVI i del dispositiu EDA. Van augmentar els seus nivells d'excitació pel que fa a l'estat de repòs prEVI (Ràtio), quan va intervenir el sentit de l'olfacte, no havent-hi relacions significatives amb les bateries diagnòstiques. L'Estudi nº 2 va aprofundir en els nivells EDA en un context d'imitació total o parcial. Els resultats mostraren que els subjectes TEA mostraren una menor activació (Ràtio), davant de processos d'imitació total, amb estimulació olfactiva, no trobant relacions significatives amb les bateries diagnòstiques. L'Estudi nº 3 va estudiar l'EDA i el comportament ocular a un EVI basat en un Centre Comercial. Els resultats EDA, no van proporcionar diferències en la sessió d'avaluació, però van baixar en els subjectes TEA després d'una sessió d'entrenament. El comportament ocular en la sessió d'avaluació va discriminar entre els grups, però en l'entrenament el comportament va ser similar. Les relacions entre aquestes mesures i les bateries diagnòstiques no van mostrar relacions significatives. Com a conclusió final es pot assenyalar que, la mesura electrodermal que va comptar amb major capacitat per a identificar a la població TEA fou la mesura Ràtio. Pel quefa a l'EDA, després de l'entrenament, va ser un indicador d'una millora de l'excitació enfront de situacions d'assenyalament, resposta al nom i atenció conjunta, en el cas del comportament ocular, va ser capaç de diferenciar entre els grups únicament en la sessió d'avaluació. Finalment, l'EDA i el comportament ocular, no van ser mesures amb capacitat correlacional amb les bateries diagnòstiques.
[EN] Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex condition that falls under the category of so-called Neurodevelopmental Disorders. It is characterized by the presence of dysfunctions in social interactions, in the communicative capacity, symbolic thinking, as well as, stereotypical behaviours and deregulation of sensorial character. Currently, given its high prevalence, it has awakened scientific interest in order to carry out earlier diagnoses that will have an impact on more effective interventions. Until now, the diagnosis of ASD has been carried out by means of standardized diagnostic batteries based on qualitative criteria, so that the response may be far from that obtained in a real context. Therefore, tools such as Virtual Reality (VR), with the potential to reproduce highly realistic environments, can be a valid context for both assessment and therapeutic intervention. Non-immersive virtual environments have been applied, given the refusal of the ASD population to use VR viewers, although with bservational results. These limitations can be overcome with the use of so-called Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs), since they represent a non-invasive technological solution, with a greater capacity for immersion and, therefore, for generating responses that are more similar to those obtained in a real context. Observational measurements can be overcome with physiological measurements, such as electrodermal activity (EDA), which provides the body's response in the form of sweating to a stimulus, or eye tracking, which shows the behaviour of the eye. Both involve implicit, unconscious and quantifiable responses, which can help define the condition. Consequently, the present Doctoral Thesis, composed of three studies, aims to unite the use of IVE, with the capacity of visual, auditory and olfactory stimulation with physiological measures, focused on the evaluation and training of ASD, as well as studying the relationships between them and the diagnostic batteries of ASD. The Study nº1 evaluated the adaptation of the participants to the deviIces and the IVE and the EDA levels in a context of response to the greeting. The results found that ASD subjects showed similar tolerance in the use of the IVE and EDA dEVIce. They increased their levels of arousal with respect to the prEVIous resting state (Ratio), when the sense of smell was involved, with no significant relationship with the diagnostic batteries. Study nº2 studied in depth the EDA levels in a context of total or partial imitation. The results show that the ASD subjects showed a lower activation (Ratio), when facing total imitation processes, with olfactory stimulation, finding no significant relations with the diagnostic batteries. The Study nº3 studied the EDA and the ocular behaviour in an IVE based in a Shopping Centre. The EDA results, did not provide differences in the evaluation session, but they decreased in the ASD subjects after a training session. Eye behaviour in the assessment session discriminated between the groups, but in the training the behaviour was similar. The relationships between these measures and the diagnostic batteries did not show significant relationships. As a final conclusion, it should be pointed out that the electrodermal measure that had more capacity to identify the ASD population was the Ratio measure. While the EDA, after the training, was an indicator of an improvement of the excitement in front of situations of signalling, response to the name and joint attention, in the case of the ocular behaviour, it was one able to differentiate between the groups only in the evaluation session. Finally, the EDA and the ocular behaviour, were not measured with correlational capacity with the diagnostic batteries.
Olmos Raya, E. (2021). Tecnologías Inmersivas y medidas psicofisiológicas para la evaluación y entrenamiento de niños con Trastorno del Espectro Autista [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/165871
TESIS

The industry is nowadays going through a transformation in networking technologies which leads to what it is called Industry 4.0. This stage of the industry is arriving from the hand of the internet of things. Having connected all the elements within a factory allows to control and keep track of them telematically. Virtual commissioning is in charge of designing, testing and debugging the system before it is even built. This project tries to approach virtual reality to virtual commissioning and create the virtual model of a human in these simulated environments. Technology allows introducing human interaction for many purposes such as operator training. To do this project properly a methodology will be followed for the design and creation. Once the background, frame of reference and literature review are established, the development can start. The development of the project has taken place alongside Simumatik Open Emulation Platform, consisting of creating the body of a person, as simple as possible, following ergonomics, into this platform for commissioning purposes. The model will be able to interact with the virtual environment like robots, boxes, and sensors. To sum up, the complexity of the model will be limited to the inputs coming from the head and the hands. There exist infinite solutions for which position should be the rest of the body, therefore, this project aims to fix some variables to find valid solutions. Finally, the project achieved building a digital human model in which the main goal was building the arms that are estimated. The model is capable of interact with Simumatik´s environment that has been created specifically to show the functionalities of this project, being detected for sensors and robots of the system.

Modern technology grows faster and faster. A lot of new gadgets and devices appears in our everyday life. Huge corporations compete for being the first in the fields of technology. Indie developers try to invent something new. All these things lead humanity to prosperity.

This study examines representations of virtual reality within Western and Westernised culture. Particular attention will be given to the 1980s and 1990s when representations of virtual reality were prolific. Semiotic analysis will be used as a theoretical tool with which to study these representations in order to question such concepts as simulacra, simulation, hyperreality, the virtual and the real. This study has some interdisciplinary aspects as it draws upon representations of virtual reality in art history, cultural studies, film studies, computer science, cognitive science and philosophy. Three case studies are presented to provide an in-depth exploration of representations of virtual reality, these are: Neuromancer (1986), a science fiction novel by William Gibson, The Matrix (dir. A. & L. Wachowski, 1999), a major Hollywood Film and Osmose (1995) and Ephemere (1998) by Char Davies, which are virtual works of art. During this study attention is given to the relationships between perception, embodiment and virtual reality in order to move beyond binary notions of the mind versus the body. Upon investigation representations of virtual reality indicate that there is a sense of ambivalence surrounding this technology, particularly in relation to embodiment. In some instances there are claims that the body can be repressed or somehow denied; whilst in some cases the human body is denigrated as 'meat'. There are even calls for a post embodied and possibly post-human existence via immersion in virtual reality environments. Countering these dismissals of embodiment this study calls for a returned emphasis on the body as the ground of human experience. Embodiment cannot be repressed or denied; it is central to the immersive and interactive experiences that are made possible by virtual reality technology. In summary it is possible that embodiment both encompasses signification and interaction in virtual environments and the world around us.

Creating immersive experiences for virtual reality (VR) presents new design opportunities and challenges that do not appear when creating experiences on a screen. Creating prototypes and exploring concepts in VR is today limited to professionals with previous knowledge in 3D application development, and testing 3D experiences requires the usage of an Head-Mounted Display (HMD), which forces professionals to switch medium from the computer to an HMD. With new advances in this field, there have to be new solutions to these challenges. The goal of this thesis is to explore how VR technology can be utilized in the experience design process for VR. This is achieved through a literature study and conducting expert interviews, followed by a hardware evaluation of different HMDs and concept creation using rapid prototyping. From the interviews, a number of issues could be identified that correlates with the research from the literature study. Based on these findings, two phases were identified as suitable for further improvements; Concept prototyping and testing/tweaking of a created experience. Lo-fi and hi-fi prototypes of a virtual design tool were developed for HTC Vive and Google Daydream, which were selected based on the hardware evaluation. The prototypes are designed and developed, then tested using a Wizard of Oz approach. The purpose of the prototypes is to solve some of the issues when designing immersive experiences for HMDs in the suitable experience design phases that were identified by analyzing the interview results. An interactive testing suite for HTC Vive was developed for testing and evaluation of the final prototype, to verify the validity of the concept. Using Virtual Reality as a medium for designing virtual experiences is a promising way of solving current issues within this technological field that are identified in this thesis. Tools for object creation and manipulation will aid professionals when exploring new concepts as well as editing and testing existing immersive experiences. Furthermore, using a Wizard of Oz approach to test VR prototypes significantly improves the prototype quality without compromising the user experience in this medium.

Denna undersökning diskuterar virtual reality (VR) spel i förhållande till lärande och underhållning. Gestaltningen kommer ske genom det existerande spelet GROW’em från företaget Okay Games där vi undersökte effekten av virtual reality på lärande i just spel. Målet är att förse spelaren med engagerande uppgifter för att sköta ett växthus tillsammans med lekfulla VR-interaktioner och möjligheten att kunna påverka den egna omgivningen. Syftet är att spelaren ska lära sig om genuin flora och kanske en dag framöver byta ut sin virtuella växt till en riktig planta. Med denna undersökningen vill vi lyfta fram spel och virtual reality som ett verktyg för lärande, där kroppens del i lärandet syftar på hur inlärning sker genom ens handlingar.
This study discusses virtual reality (VR) games in relation to learning and entertainment. The digital portrayal will take place through the existing game GROW’em from the company Okay Games, where we examined how the effect on learning in a virtual reality game. The goal is to provide the player with engaging tasks in order to manage their greenhouse together with playful VR-interactions and the ability to influence their own environment. The purpose is for the player to learn about genuine flora and maybe one day replace their virtual plant with an actual plant. With this study we want to highlight games and virtual reality as a tool for learning, where the body's part in learning refers to how learning takes place through one's actions.

Whale Tank Virtual Reality is a novel technique for collocated collaboration in virtual reality. It provides a simple solution for head-coupled virtual reality technology allowing more than one user at a time to observe a 3D scene from a correct perspective. Whale Tank VR employs natural interaction using a large touch screen display. It provides each user with a personal viewport into the virtual scene that may be joined and shared with other users’ viewports in certain circumstances of collaboration. We conducted an experiment to study the influence of head coupling on users’ awareness-and-recall of collocated coworker’s actions. The study employed a simulated collaborative situation under several levels of task difficulty. The results revealed no statistically significant difference in awareness-and-recall performance with or without the presence of head coupling. This suggests that in situations where head coupling is employed, there is no degradation in users' awareness of collocated activity. There are a number of benefits to Whale Tank VR. The head coupling is advantageous because it allows a user to experience the sense of a third dimension and to observe difficult-to-see objects without requiring additional navigation other than natural head movement. The multiple viewports available in our Whale Tank VR technique enable collocated collaboration by seamlessly adjusting the head-coupled perspectives in each viewport according to the proximity of the collaborators to ensure a consistent display at all times.

Software visualisation is an important weapon in the program comprehension armoury. It is a technique that can, when designed and used effectively, aid in understanding existing program code. It can achieve this by displaying information in new and different forms, which may make obvious something missed in reading the code. It can also be used to present many aspects of the data at once. Software, despite many software engineering advances in requirements, design and implementation techniques, continues to be complex and large and if anything seems to be growing in these respects. This means that techniques that failed to aid comprehension and maintenance are certainly not going to be able to deal with the current software. Therefore this area requires research to be able to suggest solutions to deal with the information overload that is sure to occur. There are several issues that this thesis addresses; all of them related to the creation of software visualisation systems that are capable of being used and useful well into the next generation of software systems. The scale and complexity of software are pressing issues, as is the associated information overload problem that this brings. In an attempt to address this problem the following are considered to be important: abstractions, representations, mappings, metaphors, and visualisations. These areas are interrelated and the first four enable the final one, visualisations. These problems are not the only ones that face software visualisation systems. There are many that are based on the general theory of the applicability of the technique to such tasks as program comprehension, rather than the detail of how a particular code fragment is shown. These problems are also related to the enabling technology of three- dimensional visualisations; virtual reality. In summary the areas of interest are: automation, evolution, scalability, navigation and interaction, correlation, and visual complexity. This thesis provides an exploration of these identified areas in the context of software visualisation. Relationships that describe, and distinguish between, existing and future software visualisations are presented, with examples based on recent software visualisation research. Two real world metaphors (and their associated mappings and representations) are defined for the purpose of visualising software as an aid to program comprehension. These metaphors also provide a vehicle for the exploration of the areas identified above. Finally, an evaluation of the visualisations is presented using a framework developed for the comparative evaluation of three-dimensional, comprehension oriented, software visualisations. This thesis has shown the viability of using three-dimensional software visualisations. The important issues of automation, evolution, scalability, and navigation have been presented and discussed, and their relationship to real world metaphors examined. This has been done in conjunction with an investigation into the use of such real world metaphors for software visualisation. The thesis as a whole has provided an important examination of many of the issues related to these types of visualisation in the context of software and is therefore a valuable basis for future work in this area.

What is virtual and augmented reality? First of all, for a better understating what these two terms mean let me give you a definition. Virtual reality – is a simulated experience that can even be out of this world. When augmented reality is some addons to your life. Examples of virtual reality would be you with the help of technology to go out of this world (basically it has no effect on your real life). Examples of augmented reality can be some devices that would give you the opportunity to effect things in the real world.

This paper investigates how VR Impacts game user satisfaction. Four games were tested. Each game has a different genre to help better understand if it will affect player’s preferences in platforms. This study uses a customized ‘The Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale’ (GUESS) which has seven key factors that are used to determine a satisfaction grade for each game on each platform. The results are then compared between each other to analyze the differences and similarities. The result of this thesis showed that the playtesters preferred playing on VR, and that both people with more gaming experience and those with less, preferred VR interactions over PC.

Die Firma Kärcher wurde 1935 von Alfred Kärcher in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt zur Entwicklung und Herstellung industrieller Produkte auf dem Gebiet der Heiztechnik gegründet. Der erste Heißwasser-Hochdruckreiniger Europas entstand 1950 am neuen Stammsitz in Winnenden und bedeutete für Kärcher den Durchbruch in der Reinigungstechnik. Ein weiterer Meilenstein in der Firmengeschichte war die Einführung des ersten tragbaren Hochdruckreinigers und die damit verbundene Erschließung des Consumer-Marktes 1984.

The current era has seen unrestrained technological progress. New technologies are replacing common work practices and processes in several fields, such as industry, healthcare, and commerce. The main reasons for using these technologies is the reduction of time to develop products, increased quality of products and processes, and increases in security and communication. This thesis focuses on Virtual Reality (VR). VR is currently replacing old systems and modifying practices and processes in fields such as automotive, healthcare, training and psychological therapies. However, when applying technologies, it is fundamental to study the interaction between the technology and the end users. This thesis takes into consideration one aspect of human-computer interaction: trust. Trust has been seen as fundamental in technologies such as e-commerce, e-marketing, autonomous systems and social networks. This is because trust has been found to be associated with the intention to use a technology, and lack of trust could deter users from adopting the technology. This concept is particularly important for VR, since it is only recently gaining widespread adoption. However, studies on users’ trust in VR systems are limited in the literature and there is uncertainty regarding the factors which could influence end user trust. This research aimed at developing a model to investigate trust in VR. The goal was to identify the factors which have a theoretical influence on trust in VR through an analysis of the literature on trust in VR and trust in technology in general. This permitted the creation of a framework with usability, technology acceptance and presence as possible predictors of trust in VR. In order to validate this framework, six user experiments were conducted. The experiments investigated the relationships among the factors identified in the literature and their influence on trust. The first study was designed to explore possible methodological issues. The next three studies, conducted in collaboration with researchers at the University of Nottingham, analysed further the relationship between usability and trust and between technology acceptance and presence with trust. The fifth experiment was conducted to specifically explore the influence of presence on trust. The last study looked at all factors, and validated the framework, demonstrating that technology acceptance and presence are predictors of trust in VR, and usability has an indirect effect on trust, as it is a strong predictor of technology acceptance. This research generated a model which includes well-studied factors in human computer interaction and human factors and could be applied to study trust in VR for different systems. This model increases the amount of information on VR, both on an academic and industrial point of view. In addition, guidelines based on the model were generated to inform the evaluation of existing VR systems and the design of new ones.