Nahal Norouzi – Publications
NOTICE: This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author’s copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.
2020 |
|
 | Kangsoo Kim; Celso M. de Melo; Nahal Norouzi; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Reducing Task Load with an Embodied Intelligent Virtual Assistant for Improved Performance in Collaborative Decision Making Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR), pp. 529-538, Atlanta, Georgia, 2020. BibTeX | Links: @inproceedings{Kim2020rtl, title = {Reducing Task Load with an Embodied Intelligent Virtual Assistant for Improved Performance in Collaborative Decision Making}, author = {Kangsoo Kim and Celso M. de Melo and Nahal Norouzi and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IEEEVR2020_ARDesertSurvival.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_iZ_asjp3I&t=6s, YouTube Presentation}, doi = {10.1109/VR46266.2020.00-30}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-03-23}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR)}, pages = {529-538}, address = {Atlanta, Georgia}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } |
 | Austin Erickson; Nahal Norouzi; Kangsoo Kim; Joseph J. LaViola Jr.; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Effects of Depth Information on Visual Target Identification Task Performance in Shared Gaze Environments Journal Article In: IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 26 (5), pp. 1934-1944, 2020, ISSN: 1077-2626, (Presented at IEEE VR 2020). @article{Erickson2020c, title = {Effects of Depth Information on Visual Target Identification Task Performance in Shared Gaze Environments}, author = {Austin Erickson and Nahal Norouzi and Kangsoo Kim and Joseph J. LaViola Jr. and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/shared_gaze_2_FINAL.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQO_iosY62Y&t=6s, YouTube Presentation}, doi = {10.1109/TVCG.2020.2973054}, issn = {1077-2626}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-02-13}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics}, volume = {26}, number = {5}, pages = {1934-1944}, abstract = {Human gaze awareness is important for social and collaborative interactions. Recent technological advances in augmented reality (AR) displays and sensors provide us with the means to extend collaborative spaces with real-time dynamic AR indicators of one's gaze, for example via three-dimensional cursors or rays emanating from a partner's head. However, such gaze cues are only as useful as the quality of the underlying gaze estimation and the accuracy of the display mechanism. Depending on the type of the visualization, and the characteristics of the errors, AR gaze cues could either enhance or interfere with collaborations. In this paper, we present two human-subject studies in which we investigate the influence of angular and depth errors, target distance, and the type of gaze visualization on participants' performance and subjective evaluation during a collaborative task with a virtual human partner, where participants identified targets within a dynamically walking crowd. First, our results show that there is a significant difference in performance for the two gaze visualizations ray and cursor in conditions with simulated angular and depth errors: the ray visualization provided significantly faster response times and fewer errors compared to the cursor visualization. Second, our results show that under optimal conditions, among four different gaze visualization methods, a ray without depth information provides the worst performance and is rated lowest, while a combination of a ray and cursor with depth information is rated highest. We discuss the subjective and objective performance thresholds and provide guidelines for practitioners in this field.}, note = {Presented at IEEE VR 2020}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Human gaze awareness is important for social and collaborative interactions. Recent technological advances in augmented reality (AR) displays and sensors provide us with the means to extend collaborative spaces with real-time dynamic AR indicators of one's gaze, for example via three-dimensional cursors or rays emanating from a partner's head. However, such gaze cues are only as useful as the quality of the underlying gaze estimation and the accuracy of the display mechanism. Depending on the type of the visualization, and the characteristics of the errors, AR gaze cues could either enhance or interfere with collaborations. In this paper, we present two human-subject studies in which we investigate the influence of angular and depth errors, target distance, and the type of gaze visualization on participants' performance and subjective evaluation during a collaborative task with a virtual human partner, where participants identified targets within a dynamically walking crowd. First, our results show that there is a significant difference in performance for the two gaze visualizations ray and cursor in conditions with simulated angular and depth errors: the ray visualization provided significantly faster response times and fewer errors compared to the cursor visualization. Second, our results show that under optimal conditions, among four different gaze visualization methods, a ray without depth information provides the worst performance and is rated lowest, while a combination of a ray and cursor with depth information is rated highest. We discuss the subjective and objective performance thresholds and provide guidelines for practitioners in this field. |
2019 |
|
 | Myungho Lee; Nahal Norouzi; Gerd Bruder; Pamela J. Wisniewski; Gregory F. Welch Mixed Reality Tabletop Gameplay: Social Interaction with a Virtual Human Capable of Physical Influence Journal Article In: IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 24 (8), pp. 1-12, 2019, ISSN: 1077-2626. @article{Lee2020, title = {Mixed Reality Tabletop Gameplay: Social Interaction with a Virtual Human Capable of Physical Influence}, author = {Myungho Lee and Nahal Norouzi and Gerd Bruder and Pamela J. Wisniewski and Gregory F. Welch }, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/TVCG_Physical_Virtual_Table_2019.pdf}, doi = {10.1109/TVCG.2019.2959575}, issn = {1077-2626}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-12-18}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics}, volume = {24}, number = {8}, pages = {1-12}, abstract = {In this paper, we investigate the effects of the physical influence of a virtual human (VH) in the context of face-to-face interaction in a mixed reality environment. In Experiment 1, participants played a tabletop game with a VH, in which each player takes a turn and moves their own token along the designated spots on the shared table. We compared two conditions as follows: the VH in the virtual condition moves a virtual token that can only be seen through augmented reality (AR) glasses, while the VH in the physical condition moves a physical token as the participants do; therefore the VH’s token can be seen even in the periphery of the AR glasses. For the physical condition, we designed an actuator system underneath the table. The actuator moves a magnet under the table which then moves the VH’s physical token over the surface of the table. Our results indicate that participants felt higher co-presence with the VH in the physical condition, and participants assessed the VH as a more physical entity compared to the VH in the virtual condition. We further observed transference effects when participants attributed the VH’s ability to move physical objects to other elements in the real world. Also, the VH’s physical influence improved participants’ overall experience with the VH. In Experiment 2, we further looked into the question how the physical-virtual latency in movements affected the perceived plausibility of the VH’s interaction with the real world. Our results indicate that a slight temporal difference between the physical token reacting to the virtual hand’s movement increased the perceived realism and causality of the mixed reality interaction. We discuss potential explanations for the findings and implications for future shared mixed reality tabletop setups. }, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } In this paper, we investigate the effects of the physical influence of a virtual human (VH) in the context of face-to-face interaction in a mixed reality environment. In Experiment 1, participants played a tabletop game with a VH, in which each player takes a turn and moves their own token along the designated spots on the shared table. We compared two conditions as follows: the VH in the virtual condition moves a virtual token that can only be seen through augmented reality (AR) glasses, while the VH in the physical condition moves a physical token as the participants do; therefore the VH’s token can be seen even in the periphery of the AR glasses. For the physical condition, we designed an actuator system underneath the table. The actuator moves a magnet under the table which then moves the VH’s physical token over the surface of the table. Our results indicate that participants felt higher co-presence with the VH in the physical condition, and participants assessed the VH as a more physical entity compared to the VH in the virtual condition. We further observed transference effects when participants attributed the VH’s ability to move physical objects to other elements in the real world. Also, the VH’s physical influence improved participants’ overall experience with the VH. In Experiment 2, we further looked into the question how the physical-virtual latency in movements affected the perceived plausibility of the VH’s interaction with the real world. Our results indicate that a slight temporal difference between the physical token reacting to the virtual hand’s movement increased the perceived realism and causality of the mixed reality interaction. We discuss potential explanations for the findings and implications for future shared mixed reality tabletop setups. |
 | Kangsoo Kim; Nahal Norouzi; Tiffany Losekamp; Gerd Bruder; Mindi Anderson; Gregory Welch Effects of Patient Care Assistant Embodiment and Computer Mediation on User Experience Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Artificial Intelligence & Virtual Reality (AIVR), pp. 17-24, IEEE, 2019. @inproceedings{Kim2019epc, title = {Effects of Patient Care Assistant Embodiment and Computer Mediation on User Experience}, author = {Kangsoo Kim and Nahal Norouzi and Tiffany Losekamp and Gerd Bruder and Mindi Anderson and Gregory Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/AIVR2019_Caregiver.pdf}, doi = {10.1109/AIVR46125.2019.00013}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-12-09}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Artificial Intelligence & Virtual Reality (AIVR)}, pages = {17-24}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {Providers of patient care environments are facing an increasing demand for technological solutions that can facilitate increased patient satisfaction while being cost effective and practically feasible. Recent developments with respect to smart hospital room setups and smart home care environments have an immense potential to leverage advances in technologies such as Intelligent Virtual Agents, Internet of Things devices, and Augmented Reality to enable novel forms of patient interaction with caregivers and their environment. In this paper, we present a human-subjects study in which we compared four types of simulated patient care environments for a range of typical tasks. In particular, we tested two forms of caregiver mediation with a real person or a virtual agent, and we compared two forms of caregiver embodiment with disembodied verbal or embodied interaction. Our results show that, as expected, a real caregiver provides the optimal user experience but an embodied virtual assistant is also a viable option for patient care environments, providing significantly higher social presence and engagement than voice-only interaction. We discuss the implications in the field of patient care and digital assistant.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Providers of patient care environments are facing an increasing demand for technological solutions that can facilitate increased patient satisfaction while being cost effective and practically feasible. Recent developments with respect to smart hospital room setups and smart home care environments have an immense potential to leverage advances in technologies such as Intelligent Virtual Agents, Internet of Things devices, and Augmented Reality to enable novel forms of patient interaction with caregivers and their environment. In this paper, we present a human-subjects study in which we compared four types of simulated patient care environments for a range of typical tasks. In particular, we tested two forms of caregiver mediation with a real person or a virtual agent, and we compared two forms of caregiver embodiment with disembodied verbal or embodied interaction. Our results show that, as expected, a real caregiver provides the optimal user experience but an embodied virtual assistant is also a viable option for patient care environments, providing significantly higher social presence and engagement than voice-only interaction. We discuss the implications in the field of patient care and digital assistant. |
 | Nahal Norouzi; Austin Erickson; Kangsoo Kim; Ryan Schubert; Joseph J. LaViola Jr.; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Effects of Shared Gaze Parameters on Visual Target Identification Task Performance in Augmented Reality Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI), pp. 12:1-12:11, ACM, 2019, ISBN: 978-1-4503-6975-6/19/10, (Best Paper Award). @inproceedings{Norouzi2019esg, title = {Effects of Shared Gaze Parameters on Visual Target Identification Task Performance in Augmented Reality}, author = {Nahal Norouzi and Austin Erickson and Kangsoo Kim and Ryan Schubert and Joseph J. LaViola Jr. and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/a12-norouzi.pdf}, doi = {10.1145/3357251.3357587}, isbn = {978-1-4503-6975-6/19/10}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-10-19}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI)}, pages = {12:1-12:11}, publisher = {ACM}, abstract = {Augmented reality (AR) technologies provide a shared platform for users to collaborate in a physical context involving both real and virtual content. To enhance the quality of interaction between AR users, researchers have proposed augmenting users' interpersonal space with embodied cues such as their gaze direction. While beneficial in achieving improved interpersonal spatial communication, such shared gaze environments suffer from multiple types of errors related to eye tracking and networking, that can reduce objective performance and subjective experience. In this paper, we conducted a human-subject study to understand the impact of accuracy, precision, latency, and dropout based errors on users' performance when using shared gaze cues to identify a target among a crowd of people. We simulated varying amounts of errors and the target distances and measured participants' objective performance through their response time and error rate, and their subjective experience and cognitive load through questionnaires. We found some significant differences suggesting that the simulated error levels had stronger effects on participants' performance than target distance with accuracy and latency having a high impact on participants' error rate. We also observed that participants assessed their own performance as lower than it objectively was, and we discuss implications for practical shared gaze applications.}, note = {Best Paper Award}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Augmented reality (AR) technologies provide a shared platform for users to collaborate in a physical context involving both real and virtual content. To enhance the quality of interaction between AR users, researchers have proposed augmenting users' interpersonal space with embodied cues such as their gaze direction. While beneficial in achieving improved interpersonal spatial communication, such shared gaze environments suffer from multiple types of errors related to eye tracking and networking, that can reduce objective performance and subjective experience. In this paper, we conducted a human-subject study to understand the impact of accuracy, precision, latency, and dropout based errors on users' performance when using shared gaze cues to identify a target among a crowd of people. We simulated varying amounts of errors and the target distances and measured participants' objective performance through their response time and error rate, and their subjective experience and cognitive load through questionnaires. We found some significant differences suggesting that the simulated error levels had stronger effects on participants' performance than target distance with accuracy and latency having a high impact on participants' error rate. We also observed that participants assessed their own performance as lower than it objectively was, and we discuss implications for practical shared gaze applications. |
 | Kendra Richards; Nikhil Mahalanobis; Kangsoo Kim; Ryan Schubert; Myungho Lee; Salam Daher; Nahal Norouzi; Jason Hochreiter; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Analysis of Peripheral Vision and Vibrotactile Feedback During Proximal Search Tasks with Dynamic Virtual Entities in Augmented Reality Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI), pp. 3:1-3:9, ACM, 2019, ISBN: 978-1-4503-6975-6/19/10. @inproceedings{Richards2019b, title = {Analysis of Peripheral Vision and Vibrotactile Feedback During Proximal Search Tasks with Dynamic Virtual Entities in Augmented Reality}, author = {Kendra Richards and Nikhil Mahalanobis and Kangsoo Kim and Ryan Schubert and Myungho Lee and Salam Daher and Nahal Norouzi and Jason Hochreiter and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Richards2019b.pdf}, doi = {10.1145/3357251.3357585}, isbn = {978-1-4503-6975-6/19/10}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-10-19}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI)}, pages = {3:1-3:9}, publisher = {ACM}, abstract = {A primary goal of augmented reality (AR) is to seamlessly embed virtual content into a real environment. There are many factors that can affect the perceived physicality and co-presence of virtual entities, including the hardware capabilities, the fidelity of the virtual behaviors, and sensory feedback associated with the interactions. In this paper, we present a study investigating participants' perceptions and behaviors during a time-limited search task in close proximity with virtual entities in AR. In particular, we analyze the effects of (i) visual conflicts in the periphery of an optical see-through head-mounted display, a Microsoft HoloLens, (ii) overall lighting in the physical environment, and (iii) multimodal feedback based on vibrotactile transducers mounted on a physical platform. Our results show significant benefits of vibrotactile feedback and reduced peripheral lighting for spatial and social presence, and engagement. We discuss implications of these effects for AR applications.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } A primary goal of augmented reality (AR) is to seamlessly embed virtual content into a real environment. There are many factors that can affect the perceived physicality and co-presence of virtual entities, including the hardware capabilities, the fidelity of the virtual behaviors, and sensory feedback associated with the interactions. In this paper, we present a study investigating participants' perceptions and behaviors during a time-limited search task in close proximity with virtual entities in AR. In particular, we analyze the effects of (i) visual conflicts in the periphery of an optical see-through head-mounted display, a Microsoft HoloLens, (ii) overall lighting in the physical environment, and (iii) multimodal feedback based on vibrotactile transducers mounted on a physical platform. Our results show significant benefits of vibrotactile feedback and reduced peripheral lighting for spatial and social presence, and engagement. We discuss implications of these effects for AR applications. |
 | Nahal Norouzi; Kangsoo Kim; Myungho Lee; Ryan Schubert; Austin Erickson; Jeremy Bailenson; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch Walking Your Virtual Dog: Analysis of Awareness and Proxemics with Simulated Support Animals in Augmented Reality Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), 2019, pp. 253-264, IEEE, 2019, ISBN: 978-1-7281-4765-9. @inproceedings{Norouzi2019cb, title = {Walking Your Virtual Dog: Analysis of Awareness and Proxemics with Simulated Support Animals in Augmented Reality }, author = {Nahal Norouzi and Kangsoo Kim and Myungho Lee and Ryan Schubert and Austin Erickson and Jeremy Bailenson and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch }, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Final__AR_Animal_ISMAR.pdf}, doi = {10.1109/ISMAR.2019.00040}, isbn = {978-1-7281-4765-9}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-10-16}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), 2019}, pages = {253-264}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {Domestic animals have a long history of enriching human lives physically and mentally by filling a variety of different roles, such as service animals, emotional support animals, companions, and pets. Despite this, technological realizations of such animals in augmented reality (AR) are largely underexplored in terms of their behavior and interactions as well as effects they might have on human users' perception or behavior. In this paper, we describe a simulated virtual companion animal, in the form of a dog, in a shared AR space. We investigated its effects on participants' perception and behavior, including locomotion related to proxemics, with respect to their AR dog and other real people in the environment. We conducted a 2 by 2 mixed factorial human-subject study, in which we varied (i) the AR dog's awareness and behavior with respect to other people in the physical environment and (ii) the awareness and behavior of those people with respect to the AR dog. Our results show that having an AR companion dog changes participants' locomotion behavior, proxemics, and social interaction with other people who can or can not see the AR dog. We also show that the AR dog's simulated awareness and behaviors have an impact on participants' perception, including co-presence, animalism, perceived physicality, and dog's perceived awareness of the participant and environment. We discuss our findings and present insights and implications for the realization of effective AR animal companions.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Domestic animals have a long history of enriching human lives physically and mentally by filling a variety of different roles, such as service animals, emotional support animals, companions, and pets. Despite this, technological realizations of such animals in augmented reality (AR) are largely underexplored in terms of their behavior and interactions as well as effects they might have on human users' perception or behavior. In this paper, we describe a simulated virtual companion animal, in the form of a dog, in a shared AR space. We investigated its effects on participants' perception and behavior, including locomotion related to proxemics, with respect to their AR dog and other real people in the environment. We conducted a 2 by 2 mixed factorial human-subject study, in which we varied (i) the AR dog's awareness and behavior with respect to other people in the physical environment and (ii) the awareness and behavior of those people with respect to the AR dog. Our results show that having an AR companion dog changes participants' locomotion behavior, proxemics, and social interaction with other people who can or can not see the AR dog. We also show that the AR dog's simulated awareness and behaviors have an impact on participants' perception, including co-presence, animalism, perceived physicality, and dog's perceived awareness of the participant and environment. We discuss our findings and present insights and implications for the realization of effective AR animal companions. |
 | Nahal Norouzi; Luke Bölling; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Augmented Rotations in Virtual Reality for Users with a Reduced Range of Head Movement Journal Article In: Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering, 6 , pp. 1-9, 2019. @article{Norouzi2019c, title = {Augmented Rotations in Virtual Reality for Users with a Reduced Range of Head Movement}, author = {Nahal Norouzi and Luke Bölling and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/RATE2019_AugmentedRotations.pdf}, doi = {10.1177/2055668319841309}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-05-21}, journal = {Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering}, volume = {6}, pages = {1-9}, abstract = {Introduction: A large body of research in the field of virtual reality (VR) is focused on making user interfaces more natural and intuitive by leveraging natural body movements to explore a virtual environment. For example, head-tracked user interfaces allow users to naturally look around a virtual space by moving their head. However, such approaches may not be appropriate for users with temporary or permanent limitations of their head movement. Methods: In this paper, we present techniques that allow these users to get virtual benefits from a reduced range of physical movements. Specifically, we describe two techniques that augment virtual rotations relative to physical movement thresholds. Results: We describe how each of the two techniques can be implemented with either a head tracker or an eye tracker,e.g., in cases when no physical head rotations are possible. Conclusions: We discuss their differences and limitations and we provide guidelines for the practical use of such augmented user interfaces.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Introduction: A large body of research in the field of virtual reality (VR) is focused on making user interfaces more natural and intuitive by leveraging natural body movements to explore a virtual environment. For example, head-tracked user interfaces allow users to naturally look around a virtual space by moving their head. However, such approaches may not be appropriate for users with temporary or permanent limitations of their head movement. Methods: In this paper, we present techniques that allow these users to get virtual benefits from a reduced range of physical movements. Specifically, we describe two techniques that augment virtual rotations relative to physical movement thresholds. Results: We describe how each of the two techniques can be implemented with either a head tracker or an eye tracker,e.g., in cases when no physical head rotations are possible. Conclusions: We discuss their differences and limitations and we provide guidelines for the practical use of such augmented user interfaces. |
![[POSTER] Matching vs. Non-Matching Visuals and Shape for Embodied Virtual Healthcare Agents](https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ieeevr_poster_thumbnail-1.png) | Salam Daher; Jason Hochreiter; Nahal Norouzi; Ryan Schubert; Gerd Bruder; Laura Gonzalez; Mindi Anderson; Desiree Diaz; Juan Cendan; Greg Welch [POSTER] Matching vs. Non-Matching Visuals and Shape for Embodied Virtual Healthcare Agents Inproceedings In: Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality (VR), 2019, 2019. @inproceedings{daher2019matching, title = {[POSTER] Matching vs. Non-Matching Visuals and Shape for Embodied Virtual Healthcare Agents}, author = {Salam Daher and Jason Hochreiter and Nahal Norouzi and Ryan Schubert and Gerd Bruder and Laura Gonzalez and Mindi Anderson and Desiree Diaz and Juan Cendan and Greg Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/IEEEVR2019_Poster_PVChildStudy.pdf}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-03-27}, publisher = {Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality (VR), 2019}, abstract = {Embodied virtual agents serving as patient simulators are widely used in medical training scenarios, ranging from physical patients to virtual patients presented via virtual and augmented reality technologies. Physical-virtual patients are a hybrid solution that combines the benefits of dynamic visuals integrated into a human-shaped physical form that can also present other cues, such as pulse, breathing sounds, and temperature. Sometimes in simulation the visuals and shape do not match. We carried out a human-participant study employing graduate nursing students in pediatric patient simulations comprising conditions associated with matching/non-matching of the visuals and shape.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Embodied virtual agents serving as patient simulators are widely used in medical training scenarios, ranging from physical patients to virtual patients presented via virtual and augmented reality technologies. Physical-virtual patients are a hybrid solution that combines the benefits of dynamic visuals integrated into a human-shaped physical form that can also present other cues, such as pulse, breathing sounds, and temperature. Sometimes in simulation the visuals and shape do not match. We carried out a human-participant study employing graduate nursing students in pediatric patient simulations comprising conditions associated with matching/non-matching of the visuals and shape. |
 | Nahal Norouzi; Gerd Bruder; Brandon Belna; Stefanie Mutter; Damla Turgut; Greg Welch A Systematic Review of the Convergence of Augmented Reality, Intelligent Virtual Agents, and the Internet of Things Book Chapter In: Artificial Intelligence in IoT, pp. 37, Springer, 2019, ISBN: 978-3-030-04109-0. @inbook{Norouzi2019, title = {A Systematic Review of the Convergence of Augmented Reality, Intelligent Virtual Agents, and the Internet of Things}, author = {Nahal Norouzi and Gerd Bruder and Brandon Belna and Stefanie Mutter and Damla Turgut and Greg Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Norouzi-2019-IoT-AR-Final.pdf}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-04110-6_1}, isbn = {978-3-030-04109-0}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-10}, booktitle = {Artificial Intelligence in IoT}, pages = {37}, publisher = {Springer}, abstract = {In recent years we are beginning to see the convergence of three distinct research fields: Augmented Reality (AR), Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs), and the Internet of Things (IoT). Each of these has been classified as a disruptive technology for our society. Since their inception, the advancement of knowledge and development of technologies and systems in these fields was traditionally performed with limited input from each other. However, over the last years, we have seen research prototypes and commercial products being developed that cross the boundaries between these distinct fields to leverage their collective strengths. In this review paper, we resume the body of literature published at the intersections between each two of these fields, and we discuss a vision for the nexus of all three technologies.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inbook} } In recent years we are beginning to see the convergence of three distinct research fields: Augmented Reality (AR), Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs), and the Internet of Things (IoT). Each of these has been classified as a disruptive technology for our society. Since their inception, the advancement of knowledge and development of technologies and systems in these fields was traditionally performed with limited input from each other. However, over the last years, we have seen research prototypes and commercial products being developed that cross the boundaries between these distinct fields to leverage their collective strengths. In this review paper, we resume the body of literature published at the intersections between each two of these fields, and we discuss a vision for the nexus of all three technologies. |
2018 |
|
 | Myungho Lee; Nahal Norouzi; Gerd Bruder; Pamela J. Wisniewski; Gregory F. Welch The Physical-virtual Table: Exploring the Effects of a Virtual Human's Physical Influence on Social Interaction Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the 24th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, pp. 25:1–25:11, ACM, New York, NY, USA, 2018, ISBN: 978-1-4503-6086-9, (Best Paper Award). @inproceedings{Lee2018ac, title = {The Physical-virtual Table: Exploring the Effects of a Virtual Human's Physical Influence on Social Interaction}, author = {Myungho Lee and Nahal Norouzi and Gerd Bruder and Pamela J. Wisniewski and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lee2018ab.pdf}, doi = {10.1145/3281505.3281533}, isbn = {978-1-4503-6086-9}, year = {2018}, date = {2018-11-28}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 24th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology}, journal = {Proceedings of the 24th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology}, pages = {25:1--25:11}, publisher = {ACM}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, series = {VRST '18}, abstract = {In this paper, we investigate the effects of the physical influence of a virtual human (VH) in the context of face-to-face interaction in augmented reality (AR). In our study, participants played a tabletop game with a VH, in which each player takes a turn and moves their own token along the designated spots on the shared table. We com- pared two conditions as follows: the VH in the virtual condition moves a virtual token that can only be seen through AR glasses, while the VH in the physical condition moves a physical token as the participants do; therefore the VH’s token can be seen even in the periphery of the AR glasses. For the physical condition, we designed an actuator system underneath the table. The actuator moves a magnet under the table which then moves the VH’s phys- ical token over the surface of the table. Our results indicate that participants felt higher co-presence with the VH in the physical condition, and participants assessed the VH as a more physical entity compared to the VH in the virtual condition. We further ob- served transference effects when participants attributed the VH’s ability to move physical objects to other elements in the real world. Also, the VH’s physical influence improved participants’ overall experience with the VH. We discuss potential explanations for the findings and implications for future shared AR tabletop setups.}, note = {Best Paper Award}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } In this paper, we investigate the effects of the physical influence of a virtual human (VH) in the context of face-to-face interaction in augmented reality (AR). In our study, participants played a tabletop game with a VH, in which each player takes a turn and moves their own token along the designated spots on the shared table. We com- pared two conditions as follows: the VH in the virtual condition moves a virtual token that can only be seen through AR glasses, while the VH in the physical condition moves a physical token as the participants do; therefore the VH’s token can be seen even in the periphery of the AR glasses. For the physical condition, we designed an actuator system underneath the table. The actuator moves a magnet under the table which then moves the VH’s phys- ical token over the surface of the table. Our results indicate that participants felt higher co-presence with the VH in the physical condition, and participants assessed the VH as a more physical entity compared to the VH in the virtual condition. We further ob- served transference effects when participants attributed the VH’s ability to move physical objects to other elements in the real world. Also, the VH’s physical influence improved participants’ overall experience with the VH. We discuss potential explanations for the findings and implications for future shared AR tabletop setups. |
 | Nahal Norouzi; Kangsoo Kim; Jason Hochreiter; Myungho Lee; Salam Daher; Gerd Bruder; Gregory Welch A Systematic Survey of 15 Years of User Studies Published in the Intelligent Virtual Agents Conference Inproceedings In: IVA '18 Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents, pp. 17-22, ACM ACM, 2018, ISBN: 978-1-4503-6013-5/18/11. @inproceedings{Norouzi2018c, title = {A Systematic Survey of 15 Years of User Studies Published in the Intelligent Virtual Agents Conference}, author = {Nahal Norouzi and Kangsoo Kim and Jason Hochreiter and Myungho Lee and Salam Daher and Gerd Bruder and Gregory Welch }, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/p17-norouzi-2.pdf}, doi = {10.1145/3267851.3267901}, isbn = {978-1-4503-6013-5/18/11}, year = {2018}, date = {2018-11-05}, booktitle = {IVA '18 Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents}, pages = {17-22}, publisher = {ACM}, organization = {ACM}, abstract = {The field of intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) has evolved immensely over the past 15 years, introducing new application opportunities in areas such as training, health care, and virtual assistants. In this survey paper, we provide a systematic review of the most influential user studies published in the IVA conference from 2001 to 2015 focusing on IVA development, human perception, and interactions. A total of 247 papers with 276 user studies have been classified and reviewed based on their contributions and impact. We identify the different areas of research and provide a summary of the papers with the highest impact. With the trends of past user studies and the current state of technology, we provide insights into future trends and research challenges.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } The field of intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) has evolved immensely over the past 15 years, introducing new application opportunities in areas such as training, health care, and virtual assistants. In this survey paper, we provide a systematic review of the most influential user studies published in the IVA conference from 2001 to 2015 focusing on IVA development, human perception, and interactions. A total of 247 papers with 276 user studies have been classified and reviewed based on their contributions and impact. We identify the different areas of research and provide a summary of the papers with the highest impact. With the trends of past user studies and the current state of technology, we provide insights into future trends and research challenges. |
 | Salam Daher; Jason Hochreiter; Nahal Norouzi; Laura Gonzalez; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch Physical-Virtual Agents for Healthcare Simulation Inproceedings In: Proceedings of IVA 2018, November 5-8, 2018, Sydney, NSW, Australia, ACM, 2018. @inproceedings{daher2018physical, title = {Physical-Virtual Agents for Healthcare Simulation}, author = {Salam Daher and Jason Hochreiter and Nahal Norouzi and Laura Gonzalez and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IVA2018_StrokeStudy_CameraReady_Editor_20180911_1608.pdf}, year = {2018}, date = {2018-11-04}, booktitle = {Proceedings of IVA 2018, November 5-8, 2018, Sydney, NSW, Australia}, publisher = {ACM}, abstract = {Conventional Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) focus primarily on the visual and auditory channels for both the agent and the interacting human: the agent displays a visual appearance and speech as output, while processing the human’s verbal and non-verbal behavior as input. However, some interactions, particularly those between a patient and healthcare provider, inherently include tactile components.We introduce an Intelligent Physical-Virtual Agent (IPVA) head that occupies an appropriate physical volume; can be touched; and via human-in-the-loop control can change appearance, listen, speak, and react physiologically in response to human behavior. Compared to a traditional IVA, it provides a physical affordance, allowing for more realistic and compelling human-agent interactions. In a user study focusing on neurological assessment of a simulated patient showing stroke symptoms, we compared the IPVA head with a high-fidelity touch-aware mannequin that has a static appearance. Various measures of the human subjects indicated greater attention, affinity for, and presence with the IPVA patient, all factors that can improve healthcare training.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Conventional Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) focus primarily on the visual and auditory channels for both the agent and the interacting human: the agent displays a visual appearance and speech as output, while processing the human’s verbal and non-verbal behavior as input. However, some interactions, particularly those between a patient and healthcare provider, inherently include tactile components.We introduce an Intelligent Physical-Virtual Agent (IPVA) head that occupies an appropriate physical volume; can be touched; and via human-in-the-loop control can change appearance, listen, speak, and react physiologically in response to human behavior. Compared to a traditional IVA, it provides a physical affordance, allowing for more realistic and compelling human-agent interactions. In a user study focusing on neurological assessment of a simulated patient showing stroke symptoms, we compared the IPVA head with a high-fidelity touch-aware mannequin that has a static appearance. Various measures of the human subjects indicated greater attention, affinity for, and presence with the IPVA patient, all factors that can improve healthcare training. |
| Nahal Norouzi; Luke Bölling; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch Augmented Rotations in Virtual Reality for Users with a Reduced Range of Head Movement Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the 12th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2018), pp. 8, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-7049-1548-0. @inproceedings{Norouzi2018b, title = {Augmented Rotations in Virtual Reality for Users with a Reduced Range of Head Movement}, author = {Nahal Norouzi and Luke Bölling and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch }, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ICDVRAT-ITAG-2018-Conference-Proceedings-122-129.pdf}, isbn = {978-0-7049-1548-0}, year = {2018}, date = {2018-09-04}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 12th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2018)}, pages = {8}, abstract = {A large body of research in the field of virtual reality (VR) is focused on making user interfaces more natural and intuitive by leveraging natural body movements to explore a virtual environment. For example, head-tracked user interfaces allow users to naturally look around a virtual space by moving their head. However, such approaches may not be appropriate for users with temporary or permanent limitations of their head movement. In this paper, we present techniques that allow these users to get full-movement benefits from a reduced range of physical movements. Specifically, we describe two techniques that augment virtual rotations relative to physical movement thresholds. We describe how each of the two techniques can be implemented with either a head tracker or an eye tracker, e.g., in cases when no physical head rotations are possible. We discuss their differences and limitations and we provide guidelines for the practical use of such augmented user interfaces.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } A large body of research in the field of virtual reality (VR) is focused on making user interfaces more natural and intuitive by leveraging natural body movements to explore a virtual environment. For example, head-tracked user interfaces allow users to naturally look around a virtual space by moving their head. However, such approaches may not be appropriate for users with temporary or permanent limitations of their head movement. In this paper, we present techniques that allow these users to get full-movement benefits from a reduced range of physical movements. Specifically, we describe two techniques that augment virtual rotations relative to physical movement thresholds. We describe how each of the two techniques can be implemented with either a head tracker or an eye tracker, e.g., in cases when no physical head rotations are possible. We discuss their differences and limitations and we provide guidelines for the practical use of such augmented user interfaces. |
 | Nahal Norouzi; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch Assessing Vignetting as a Means to Reduce VR Sickness During Amplified Head Rotations Inproceedings In: ACM Symposium on Applied Perception 2018, pp. 8, ACM 2018, ISBN: 978-1-4503-5894-1/18/08. @inproceedings{Norouzi2018, title = {Assessing Vignetting as a Means to Reduce VR Sickness During Amplified Head Rotations}, author = {Nahal Norouzi and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch }, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/19-32-norouzi-1.pdf}, doi = {10.1145/3225153.3225162}, isbn = {978-1-4503-5894-1/18/08}, year = {2018}, date = {2018-08-10}, booktitle = {ACM Symposium on Applied Perception 2018}, pages = {8}, organization = {ACM}, abstract = {Redirected and amplified head movements have the potential to provide more natural interaction with virtual environments (VEs) than using controller-based input, which causes large discrepancies between visual and vestibular self-motion cues and leads to increased VR sickness. However, such amplified head movements may also exacerbate VR sickness symptoms over no amplification. Several general methods have been introduced to reduce VR sickness for controller-based input inside a VE, including a popular vignetting method that gradually reduces the field of view. In this paper, we investigate the use of vignetting to reduce VR sickness when using amplified head rotations instead of controller-based input. We also investigate whether the induced VR sickness is a result of the user's head acceleration or velocity by introducing two different modes of vignetting, one triggered by acceleration and the other by velocity. Our dependent measures were pre and post VR sickness questionnaires as well as estimated discomfort levels that were assessed each minute of the experiment. Our results show interesting effects between a baseline condition without vignetting, as well as the two vignetting methods, generally indicating that the vignetting methods did not succeed in reducing VR sickness for most of the participants and, instead, lead to a significant increase. We discuss the results and potential explanations of our findings.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Redirected and amplified head movements have the potential to provide more natural interaction with virtual environments (VEs) than using controller-based input, which causes large discrepancies between visual and vestibular self-motion cues and leads to increased VR sickness. However, such amplified head movements may also exacerbate VR sickness symptoms over no amplification. Several general methods have been introduced to reduce VR sickness for controller-based input inside a VE, including a popular vignetting method that gradually reduces the field of view. In this paper, we investigate the use of vignetting to reduce VR sickness when using amplified head rotations instead of controller-based input. We also investigate whether the induced VR sickness is a result of the user's head acceleration or velocity by introducing two different modes of vignetting, one triggered by acceleration and the other by velocity. Our dependent measures were pre and post VR sickness questionnaires as well as estimated discomfort levels that were assessed each minute of the experiment. Our results show interesting effects between a baseline condition without vignetting, as well as the two vignetting methods, generally indicating that the vignetting methods did not succeed in reducing VR sickness for most of the participants and, instead, lead to a significant increase. We discuss the results and potential explanations of our findings. |
![[POSTER] Fear of falling and eye movement behavior in young adults and older adults during walking: A case study](https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Thiamwong2018aa10.jpg) | Ladda Thiamwong; Nahal Norouzi; Gregory Welch [POSTER] Fear of falling and eye movement behavior in young adults and older adults during walking: A case study Inproceedings In: 39th Annual Southern Gerontological Society Meeting, Buford, GA USA, 2018. BibTeX | Links: @inproceedings{Thiamwong2018aa, title = {[POSTER] Fear of falling and eye movement behavior in young adults and older adults during walking: A case study}, author = {Ladda Thiamwong and Nahal Norouzi and Gregory Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Thiamwong2018aa.pdf}, year = {2018}, date = {2018-04-11}, booktitle = {39th Annual Southern Gerontological Society Meeting}, address = {Buford, GA USA}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } |
