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Our research presented here tries to bridge the gap between technology-oriented lab work and the praxis of introducing VR technology into difficult to deploy-to contexts—in our case prisoners with high learning needs. We have developed a prototypical immersive VR application designed for delivering low-level literacy and numeracy content to illiterate adults. This development has been taken to the commercial sector and is currently under product development. The target population for the application are those currently held in a correctional facility, but who have the motivation and determination to educate themselves. In this paper we discuss the current lifecycle of this project including the development, initial tests, and an exploratory study we conducted. We conclude with a discussion of logistical issues, potential research opportunities, and current outcomes.

Recent improvements of Virtual Reality (VR) technology have enabled researchers to investigate the benefits VR may provide for various domains such as health, entertainment, training, and education. A significant proportion of VR system evaluations rely on perception-based measures such as user pre-and post-questionnaires and interviews. While these self-reports provide valuable insights into users' perceptions of VR environments, recent developments in digital sensors and data collection techniques afford researchers access to measures of physiological response. This work explores the merits of physiological measures in the evaluation of emotional responses in virtual environments (ERVE). We include and place at the center of our ERVE methodology emotional response data by way of electrodermal activity and heart-rate detection which are analyzed in conjunction with event-driven data to derive further measures. In this paper, we present our ERVE methodology together with a case study within the context of VR-based learning in which we derive measures of cognitive load and moments of insight. We discuss our methodology, and its potential for use in many other application and research domains to provide more in-depth and objective analyses of experiences within VR.

Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) has shown to be effective in general training and learning applications, but whether it has potential in understanding and learning complex topics is not well researched. In addition, the role of users’ expertise in VR-based learning is not really understood. Here we present findings from our purpose-designed immersive VR system and investigation on whether experts with theoretical knowledge in a certain domain can develop deep non-verbal comprehension beyond pure understanding. Mathematically educated experts as well as non-experts are asked to interact with four-dimensional cubes projected into three-dimensional VR space (hypercubes)—an intentional task not found in real life. In the first of two studies, we validate the feasibility of the principle subject matter, apparatus, and proposed measurements with 22 participants. This study is based on a seminal study proposal from the 1970’s. We use the results of this first study to inform a second study based on a philosophical thought experiment known as Mary’s Room. With 70 participants we investigate experience, interaction, and prior knowledge, in an immersive VR learning environment. We can show that both experts and non-experts benefit from the immersive interaction with hypercubes. Both groups develop a non-verbal comprehension of this theoretical construct. Surprisingly though, experts, with prior theoretical knowledge, benefit stronger. Our findings have implications for immersive VR learning environments and open a future research space on the importance of and relationships between immersive VR, interaction, understanding, comprehension, and constructivist learning.

Virtual and augmented reality, and other forms of mixed reality (MR), have become a focus of attention for companies and researchers. Before they can become successful in the market and in society, those MR systems must be able to deliver a convincing, novel experience for the users. By definition, the experience of mixed reality relies on the perceptually successful blending of reality and virtuality. Any MR system has to provide a sensory, in particular visually coherent, set of stimuli. Therefore, issues with visual coherence, that is, a discontinued experience of a MR environment, must be avoided. While it is very easy for a user to detect issues with visual coherence, it is very difficult to design and implement a system for coherence. This article presents a framework and exemplary implementation of a systematic enquiry into issues with visual coherence and possible solutions to address those issues. The focus is set on head-mounted display-based systems, notwithstanding its applicability to other types of MR systems. Our framework, together with a systematic discussion of tangible issues and solutions for visual coherence, aims at guiding developers of mixed reality systems for better and more effective user experiences.

A proposal was first made in 1971 for a study attempting to investigate radical constructivism as a valid learning theory, though the study was never formally conducted. This work describes our Virtual Reality interactive four-dimensional Hypercube system used as our investigative medium, and our initial implementation of the historic study proposal for validation. Our lessons learned are leading to further experimentation and investigation into learning applications in Virtual Reality.

Virtual reality has been used intensively to study embodiment and body perception, in particular for research purposes in psychological domains. Virtual avatars are used to resemble users' appearance and to implement interactively simulated behaviour. To make this a realistic and believable experience users should feel embodiment, i.e. ownership, agency, and self-location/presence. State-of-the-art capture and display technologies allow for extending virtual reality embodiment to the realm of augmented reality for higher efficacy—instead of seeing a virtual reality body one would see a captured, 3D representation of their own body naturally controlled by their real body movements within the context of the present real environment. However, it is unclear whether users would experience embodiment with their augmented reality avatar and whether findings from virtual reality targeting body perception can be replicated. Here we present an augmented reality system comprising a 3D point cloud capturing system (Microsoft Kinect) and an optical see-through head-mounted display (Microsoft HoloLens), both connected to a purpose-developed application displaying a user's body in a virtual 3D mirror embedded into the real environment. In a study with 24 participants, we evaluated embodiment and body weight perception as a proof of concept. This is based on a similar study conducted in Virtual Reality. Our findings show that users experience ownership and agency with the mirrored body and that body weight perception in virtual and augmented reality systems is similar.

Providing portable and affordable virtual reality systems for upper limb stroke rehabilitation is still a challenge.

We present a novel interface approach which combines 2D video-based AR with a partial voxel model, allowing for more convincing interactions with 3D objects and worlds. It enables users in a hand-controlled interface (a) to interact with a virtual environment (VE) and at the same time (b) allows for correct mutual occlusions between interacting fingers and the VE. A Leap Motion Controller is used to track the users' fingers and a webcam overlay allows for an augmented view.Our "VoxelAR" concept can be applied in modified ways to any video see-through AR system; we demonstrate our approach in a physical rehabilitation application scenario. Our prototype implementation and our work-in-progress findings are presented.

We present a first version of a 3D power wheel chair (PWC) simulator to be used to assess whether a person is able to drive a real PWC. The project is in its very early stage but might lead to a comprehensive virtual assessment suite in the future.