Summaries
Merging Virtual Objects with the Real World:
This paper covers an experiment done to enhance ultrasound imagery by over laying synthetic internal objects on real objects. Previous work had been done in this field and one of the main points studied is how to get the 2d scans and then how to translate the 2d scans into 3d models. A problem they found when trying to overlay internal objects on real objects was that the internal objects looked pasted on top of the real objects instead of inside of them. To fix this problem they created a shadow box to put the internal objects in, however the shadow boxes sides would block some of the internal objects. Also like with most HMD the researchers had problems with lag, tracking, graphics, and display resolution.
Designing Interactive Theme Park Rides:
This paper explores the necessary components that make up a interactive theme park ride. One of the challenges with having the ride interactive is that to make the ride feel real the guests need to feel like they are in control and in a sandbox game environment giving full control can let users go to boring places. To overcome this challenge the designers put in mechanisms to attract the guests to the interesting parts of the game and to alter physics so the game is fun to play in 5 minutes. Another aspect that the designers considered is the need to make it a cooperative game since most guests come in groups and for the guests to feel that they got their moneys worth the designers incorporated the real experience of running around the ship.
Virtual Environments for Treating the Fear of Heights:
This paper details the experiments done to test using virtual environments for treating the fear of heights or acrophobia. Graded exposure is the method that was used in the therapy and consisted of exposing subjects to gradually taller and taller heights as the treatment progressed. Physical platforms were constructed to give tactile feedback to the subjects when they were being treated and were very useful because it allowed the observers to see when the handrails on the platforms were grabbed. The testers programmed three different scenarios for the use in treatment of subjects: A glass elevator inside a hotel, a series of balconies attached to a tall building, and three different height bridges in a canyon. The subjects were selected then screened to see if they had any afflictions that would not do well in a virtual environment HMD, in one of the treatment sessions a subject vomited but this was attributed to motion sickness from the HMD not acrophobia. During treatment subjects were asked various questions on their discomfort level and physical symptoms throughout the treatment sessions. The experiments found that applying virtual reality to exposure therapy of acrophobia successful and definite possibilities of wider applicability for virtual reality exposure treatment for anxiety.
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