From virtual to augmented reality in financial trading: a CYBERII application

Digital media technology is becoming an integral part of our daily activities, with widespread penetration in various application domains including arts, medicine, education, and commerce. In this paper, we discuss the horizon of emerging digital media technologies in electronic financial trading with reference to a novel application drawing expertise from two important fields of study, namely: digital media (video and image) processing and augmented reality. The application implements technology developed within the scope of the CYBERII project. It features the user insertion in a virtual world of financial indicators for exploration and apprehension. This insertion aims at augmenting the user's perception of the financial market activity and at equipping him/her with concrete information for analysis and dissemination. The insertion of a human in a virtual world of financial indicators serves in reflecting realism through a closer correspondence with real experience, and in extending the power of computer-based technology to better reflect abstract experience. The paper presents an ergonomic study that considers the potential utility and usability of Augmented Reality (AR) in finance. In order to justify the outcome of this ergonomic study, the paper has to clearly describe the technology under study (CYBERII) and its implementation in finance. This ergonomic study is based on a comparative analysis of the use of Augmented Reality (AR) technology with a counterpart Virtual Reality (VR) technology for the same application. This comparative analysis highlights an added value in the shift from the use of Virtual Reality (VR) to Augmented http://artis.imag.fr/Projects/Cyber-II/ Reality (AR) in electronic financial trading. This added value is gained from augmented realism and less constrained interaction. The paper discusses the challenges and rewards of emerging digital media technologies in meeting the needs of electronic commerce applications, in particular electronic financial trading, in terms of the realism of rendering, portability, and widespread usability. It motivates further ergonomic studies involving the evaluation of utility and usability of augmented reality technologies, including the CYBERII technology, in the field of electronic commerce.