John Dilworth [Philosophical Psychology 23(2010), pp. 23-42] Realistic uses of Virtual Reality (VR) technology closely integrate user training on virtual objects with VR-assisted user interactions with real objects. This paper shows how the Interactive Theory of Perception (ITP) may be extended to cover such cases. Virtual objects are explained as concrete models (CMs) that have an inner genera...

The evolution of multimedia and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies can open new educational opportunities in architecture education. This paper describes an example in this educational field.

Better educational media that assist in learning have been constantly sought by researchers in the educational technology domain to enhance the outcomes of education. Virtual Reality (VR) has been identified as one of them. Proponents of VR believe that it is an excellent educational tool, which could help to improve performance and conceptual understanding on a specific range of tasks. Nonethe...

Kinect and Leap Motion sensors are commonly used for tracking applications today. However, both sensors have failure modes in particular tracking scenarios. The Kinect sensor is very sensitive to the orientation of the user with respect to the sensor and is susceptible to occlusions. The Leap Motion senor has a limited range and field of view, but is far more accurate than the Kinect. In this p...

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology to support the treatment of patients with phobia, such as the fear of flying, is getting considerable research attention. Research mainly focuses on the patient experience and the effect of the treatment. In this paper, however, the focus is on the interaction therapists have with the system. Two studies are presented in which the therapist user interf...

Today’s businesses continually search for ways to increase productivity. To achieve this goal, shorter product development cycles and shorter manufacturing times are required. In both cases, problems that may arise during development must be identified much faster. In product development, this is done using virtual prototypes that can be easily duplicated and shared between everyone involved. I...

Background: To date, a diagnosis in psychiatry is largely based on a clinical interview and questionnaires. The retrospective and subjective nature of these methods leads to recall and interviewer biases. Therefore, there is a clear need for more objective and standardized assessment methods to support the diagnostic process. The introduction of virtual reality (VR) creates the possibility to s...

Research in aircraft inspection and maintenance has revealed the criticality of human inspection performance in improving aviation safety. If we are to provide the general public with a safe and reliable air transportation system, inspection must be performed effectively, efficiently and consistently. Even though it is difficult to eliminate errors completely, continuing emphasis must be placed...

Virtual reality (VR) has become an important and useful tool in science and engineering. VR applications cover a wide range of industrial areas from product design to analysis, from product prototyping to manufacturing. The design and manufacturing of a product can be viewed, evaluated and improved in a virtual environment before its prototype is made, which is an enormous cost saving. Virtual ...

Virtual Reality (VR) interfaces to e-commerce sites have recently begun to appear on the Internet, promising to make the e-shopping experience more natural, attractive, and fun for buyers. Unfortunately, usability of these interfaces is a major and still unexplored issue. In this paper, we present the approach we are following to guarantee and increase the usability of VR stores, also providing...