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20 news posts in AR/VR

Featured news

11 Jun 2024

How older people explore new spaces could suggest cognitive decline and dementia

Aging people commonly show a decline in navigation ability, and this has generally been attributed to worsening spatial memory. But now, researchers from the US have shown for the first time that this decline is partly driven by changes in typical exploration behavior by middle age. In a maze learning task, middle-aged people were less efficient explorers than young people. This discovery could have applications in the clinical diagnosis and therapy of cognitive decline and dementia.

Health

12 May 2023

Tackling the Obesity Crisis with VR

Approximately 69 billion euros is spent on healthcare issues related to dealing with overweight or obese patients in Europe every year. Obesity increases the likelihood of physical illnesses and mental health issues such as: diabetes, coronary artery and stress and depression. Moreover, according to WHO, 50% of the adult population is overweight (23% of women and 20% of men being classified as obese). Current treatments for obesity have limited effectiveness. Treatments for obesity focus on trying to change the patient’s behaviour, predominantly with respect to diet and exercise. However, these treatments have been shown to be largely ineffective with most patients failing to lose weight in the medium to long term. Telemedicine has been proposed as an alternative to this, with some Virtual Reality solutions beginning to penetrate the market. However, these solutions are essentially the same lifestyle behaviour change treatments in a VR environment instead of in reality. Over time, the patient returns to their previous weight. SeminarHostRegistration linkTackling the Obesity Crisis with VR: Introduction to the study of obesityPilar Lusilla Palacioshttps://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qckvhEetSRyEixNVyl4mvwTackling the Obesity Crisis with VR: Technical solutions to the representation of bodiesElena Álvarez de la Campahttps://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k5X-YFO7Qj2-ZdF27BPdLgTackling the Obesity Crisis with VR: ConVRSelf and the idea of using […]

Robotics and AI

10 May 2023

Frontiers in Virtual Reality Seminar Series 3: Fostering inclusion and social interaction in XR

Online Seminar Series Inclusion, accessibility, and social interaction in virtual and augmented reality environments is key to ensure the success of the deployment of this technology at a public scale. Although immersive environments offer fantastic opportunities for creativity, learning, and social interaction, there is a risk of abusive behavior and exclusion of people with special needs. The GuestXR European project embraces artificial intelligence, together with neuroscience and social psychology research to increase harmony and improve the participants’ experience in shared 3D virtual or augmented reality spaces. This seminar series, organized by Frontiers in Virtual Reality journal and partners from the GuestXR project, will start with a webinar on the features of an innovative XR technology for meeting with participants around the world. The series of online series will follow on with sessions on the research and advancements on haptic technologies and 3D audio techniques to support social interactions and inclusion in XR environments. Finally, we will delve into advanced multisensory features to improve accessibility to VR environments by publics with special needs. Speakers Bio: SeminarDate AbstractRegistration linkSEMINAR 1. A Shared XR System with Full Body Avatars and AI Agent Integration for Enhanced Inclusivity17 May 2023, 16.00h CESTIn this webinar, we will discuss an innovative […]

Featured news

28 Oct 2021

For less than $10, anyone can now get up close and explore single cells in VR

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager 3D rendered medically accurate illustration of a cancer cell (not representative of what’s seen using singlecellVR). Image: SciePro/Shutterstock A team of scientists has developed a free, open-access VR program that allows anyone to interact with single-cell datasets using a headset costing less than $10. Previous tools used to view single-cell data visualizations in VR have been limited to the most expensive hardware, costing upwards of $2,500. The team’s findings have been published in Frontiers in Genetics. While often thought of as being limited to expensive hardware for dedicated gamers, virtual reality (VR) has become a lot more affordable in recent years with entry-level hardware – such as Google Cardboard – costing less than $10. With this headset, anyone with a smartphone can place their device into the headset and view VR content through its large screen. With the barrier to entry now greatly reduced, scientists and engineers are trying to figure out ways of bringing VR to the masses and, potentially, using it to unlock breakthrough discoveries. One such team of researchers from some of the US’s top medical centers and institutions has now published a paper in Frontiers in Genetics documenting a VR […]

Featured news

21 Apr 2021

Researchers’ VR walking simulator feels surprisingly close to the real thing

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Image: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com Researchers in Japan have developed a virtual reality platform that mimics the sensation of walking by stimulating their feet, all while sitting motionlessly. During testing, participants experiencing a digital world through a first-person perspective found it enhanced the simulation of walking. However, those who saw themselves from a third-person perspective felt it impaired the sensation of movement. Despite virtual reality (VR) technology being more affordable than ever, developers have yet to achieve a sense of full immersion in a digital world. Among the greatest challenges is making the user feel as if they are walking.   Now, researchers from the Toyohashi University of Technology and The University of Tokyo in Japan have published a paper to the journal Frontiers in Virtual Reality describing a custom-built platform that aims to replicate the sensation of walking in VR, all while sitting motionlessly in a chair. “Walking is a fundamental and fun activity for human in everyday life. Therefore, it is very worthy to provide a high-quality walking experience in a VR space,” says Yusuke Matsuda. Matsuda is a project assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Toyohashi University of […]

<p>Researcher trying the Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience, a new virtual reality science education tool, with coral animation still in background.</p> <p>Credit info: Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab</p>

Climate action

06 Feb 2019

Virtual reality field trips to inspire climate action

Stanford researchers took a virtual reality experience into a variety of educational settings, including high school classrooms, to test the impact on awareness and understanding of ocean acidification; Frontiers in Psychology

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