Health
31 Jan 2024
Patients in palliative care often receive psychological therapy to help cope with stress. Researchers have now shown that the short-term effectiveness of a novel intervention, Flourishing-Life-of-Wish Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy, in improving the physical and emotional well-being of patients is double that of standard-of-care coaching in diaphragmatic breathing.
Environment
14 Sep 2023
By Deborah Pirchner, Frontiers science writer Image: Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, it’s impossible to cover all of them. Here are just five amazing papers you may have missed. Polar bear identity and sex can be established from paw prints The recent loss of sea ice is forcing polar bears – one of the Arctic’s biggest predators – to spend more time on land closer to human settlements. To prevent potential human-animal conflicts and to protect the species, polar bear populations must be monitored and managed. More often than not, this is a costly and difficult endeavor, in part because of the remote regions the bears inhabit. Now, a team of researchers in the US has developed a method to keep track of polar bears that might make scientist less reliant on having to capture the bears to get data. Writing in Frontiers in Conservation Science, they investigated the use of environmental DNA – cells which the animals shed when walking – collected from paw-prints in the snow to identify individual polar bears and their sex. They sampled 13 polar […]
Robotics and AI
10 May 2023
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
05 Jul 2022
By Peter Rejcek, science writer Image: YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock.com Most people consume too much salt in their diet, leading to high blood pressure and other health issues. Researchers have discovered a novel way to enhance the saltiness, and even potentially the savoriness, of low-sodium food using electrical stimulation of the tongue through a chopstick-shaped utensil. The concept has applications in other fields, such as stimulating taste as part of a virtual reality experience. An estimated 2.5m deaths each year could be prevented globally if individuals cut back their salt consumption to the recommended daily intake of less than five grams, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Now, Japanese researchers may have found a healthier way for people to enjoy the full flavor of salty foods while still adhering to a low-sodium diet. Scientists at Meiji University and Kirin, a Japanese food and beverage company, have developed a chopstick-like device that uses a weak electrical charge to stimulate how the tongue experiences saltiness. The research is published in the journal Frontiers in Virtual Reality. Previous studies have described how introducing a weak electrical current to the tongue can affect the charged ions that make up sodium chloride to either inhibit or […]
Featured news
17 Jun 2022
By Conn Hasting, science writer Colorful virtual reality cityscape. Image credit: A. Batistatou, F. Vandeville, and Y.N. Delevoye-Turrell Urban environments can be drab and stressful, but introducing vegetation or colorful designs could improve the wellbeing of city dwellers. A new study investigated the potential of these simple interventions using a virtual reality simulation. It found that green vegetation was pleasurable for volunteers, whereas colorful designs increased curiosity and fascination. The virtual methods could be useful for urban planners in testing new methods to improve wellbeing. Drab urban environments tend to increase our stress, whereas nature can soothe the soul, but how do you get the best of both? One option is to increase color and vegetation in cities, but finding the best approach can be tricky. A new study in Frontiers in Virtual Reality tested the effects of vegetation and colorful patterns in an urban environment. Employing virtual reality, the study found that green vegetation caused volunteers to walk more slowly, while also increasing their heartrate, indicating a pleasurable experience. Meanwhile, colorful patterns increased alertness, fascination and curiosity. The study illustrates the potential of simple interventions to improve the lives of urbanites, and also the power of virtual reality […]
Robotics and AI
17 May 2022
Image: Shutterstock.com Online Seminar Series 25th May – 22nd June 2022 This seminar series is presented by field chief editor of the Frontiers in Virtual Reality journal, Prof Mel Slater and members of the GuestXR European Project. By now we are likely to have come across horror stories from ‘the metaverse‘ about how easy it is to encounter abuse, racism, misogyny, and have an overall unpleasant experience. On the other hand, social virtual environments have been studied for many years and there is evidence about how people behave in virtual meetings. GuestXR is carrying out research towards how to make immersive virtual meetings realize the goals of the participants. Normally virtual meetings have a purpose, even if that is entertainment, and GuestXR has the ambitious aim of intervening in such meetings to make them fit for their purpose. In this seminar series, partners from the GuestXR project will speak about their early work on these issues, covering a review of virtual meetings (‘collaborative virtual environments’), the utility of agent based models for social modeling, what we can learn from the neuroscience of interpersonal interaction, the role of deep learning for virtual humans, and reflections on the ethical aspects. Scheduled seminars TitleSpeakerDateTimeRegisterThe Affordances and Problems of Meeting in Virtual RealityMel […]
Earth science
08 Feb 2022
By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager A newly born desert tortoise. Image: K. Kristina Drake/ USGS. At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a worldwide audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, many often fly under the radar. Now, as part of new series each month, Frontiers will highlight just some of those amazing papers you may have missed. 1: Too hot to nest? In a hot summer, one tortoise can switch from nesting to developing eggs internally Researchers from Australia and South Africa published an article in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution identifying what may be a novel reproductive strategy in Chersina angulate tortoises that has the potential to enhance the resilience of species to global warming. After observing a captive colony of in Cape Town, South Africa and checking back through historical data, Gerald Kuchling of The University of Western Australia and Margaretha Hofmeyr of the University of Western Cape found that local ambient temperature altered how females deposited their last clutch of eggs. Periods of unusual heat may result in females switching from depositing their eggs in a nest to develop(oviposition), to growing the egg in their body […]
Featured news
21 Apr 2021
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 […]
Featured news
16 Apr 2021
Virtual humans can train people in leadership: Frontiers in Virtual Reality
Robotics and AI
05 May 2020
The Editorial board of Frontiers in Virtual Reality is pleased to present a series of virtual seminars on virtual and augmented reality.