This article outlines experimental work investigating the way that people encode vertical as well as horizontal spatial information from exploration of virtual environments (VEs). We present two studies using simple multi level VEs that provide novel evidence for a vertical asymmetry in spatial memory, where downward spatial judgments are more accurate than upward spatial judgements. The effect...

Traditional computer applications in civil engineering are mainly for analysis, design and construction of buildings and other structures, which are basic components of social infrastructures. No doubt computer technology has been promoting productivities in the engineering aspect, but few successful efforts have been made in solving social and human related problems, such as disaster mitigatio...

Electrical systems design and installation represent a minimum of 8-10 percent of the total construction cost. As such they must be properly designed and installed to avoid any cost overruns. The design of the system is the responsibility of the engineer, while its installation is the responsibility of the builder. It is not uncommon that there is a ‘disconnect’ between designers and builders. ...

Understanding how humans explore virtual environments is crucial for many applications, such as developing compression algorithms or designing effective cinematic virtual reality (VR) content, as well as to develop predictive computational models. We have recorded 780 head and gaze trajectories from 86 users exploring omnidirectional stereo panoramas using VR head-mounted displays. By analyzing...

This work presents a Computer-Based Training (CBT) tool that relies on an integration of Virtual Reality (VR) and Case-Based Reasoning (CBR). It is an application that handles past cases represented in Virtual Reality (VR) and aims at providing a framework for the development of computer-based instructional applications, d prototype has been developed as part of this research and is used to pro...

In this paper, we present a study, conducted over eight social phobic subjects, whose aim is to evaluate the efficiency and flexibility of virtual reality as a therapeutic tool in the confines of a social phobia behavioral therapeutic program. Our research protocol, accepted by the ethical commission of the cantonal hospices’ psychiatry service, is identical in content and structure for each pa...

The use of Information and Communication Technologies, such as virtual reality, has been employed in the treatment of anxiety disorders with the goal of augmenting exposure treatment, which is already considered to be the first-line treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To evaluate the efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) in the treatment of PTSD, we performed a sy...

BACKGROUND Pre-session administration of d-cycloserine (DCS) has been found to augment exposure therapy outcomes in a variety of anxiety disorders. To be able to enhance learning only for successful exposure sessions, it would be beneficial to have the option of administering DCS after rather than before the session, a strategy encouraged by pre-clinical work. We believe the present study is th...

OBJECTIVE This preliminary study endeavored to evaluate the use of virtual reality (VR) enhanced exposure therapy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) consequent to the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001. METHOD Participants were assigned to a VR treatment (N = 13) or a waitlist control (N = 8) group and were mostly middle-aged, male disaster workers. All pa...

Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has been shown to be effective in treatment of anxiety disorders. Yet, there is lack of research on the extent to which interaction between the individual and virtual humans can be successfully implanted to increase levels of anxiety for therapeutic purposes. This proof-of-concept pilot study aimed at examining levels of the sense of presence and anxiety ...