Artefact 6

The final artefact created was done using direct x10 graphics from the game engine crysis. I used the same setup as the previous artefact with the headset and head tracking but hopefully the use of better graphics would prove to be more immersive.
Using the games editor, sandbox 2, I created an environment with a large tower in it. The screen shots below show the editor. One thing about the editor that really standouts from others is the fact that all the editing is rendered in real time, just how you would see it in the game. It allows the editor to see what the environment will actually look like rather than having to keep testing it in the engine. The environment allows a very large amount of freedom. It allows users to pick up certain objects, climb ladders, swim in water, drive vehicles etc. This wide range of features can allow a practitioner to edit the environment to meet a whole variety of different fears without having to completely model and texture every item. The weather and daylight system within the editor mimic real life very accurately and could also be used in the treatment of fears. E.g. the dark. There could be a few improvements to create a more polished system for example having a higher resolution headset would be great to show more detail and removing the arms/weapons of the character would ideally give a better sense of presence.

Direct x10 provides the ability to use some fairly unique features such as motion blur. when the headset is moved the background blurs as it moves. The environment is ultra realistic and couldn't really be matched by a dedicated environment built just for VRET purposes.

artefact 5

Following on from my last artefact, I decided to keep the software and environment pretty similar and upgraded the hardware side of things. I managed to get hold of the universities old VR headset. It only has a resolution of 600x800 which was not as good as i had hoped but was adequate for what i wanted to test. The headset didn't come with motion tracking so once again i retrofit the gyroscopic mouse to it so that head movement would be interpreted by the game engine.

The first test failed to work as the resolution of the pc was set too high for the headset. so this was lowered and the headset display worked. having the display only at 600x800 pixels, a great deal of quality and clarity is lost.

i used a bluetooth keyboard as another input device to control forward and backward movement however this became quite tricky without being able to see the keys. a better option would have been to possibly use a game pad or joystick.

The benefits of this set up mean that not much room is need for it to function. it is relatively cheap to pick up a headset (around £100 for one from ebay) and is very simple to use. just plug and play. An additional monitor can be used so the practitioner can monitor the patients moves during the therapy and guide them as to what to do.


however using the headset can cause some negative effects. while trying the method out, after about 3 mins i became a bit motion sick and had to remove the headset in order to get back to normal.

Artefact 4

With this being the 4th artefact, i wanted to try and create an environment that was more interactive with the user. After discovering that the universities VR headset did not have motion tracking i set about trying to use a gyroscopic mouse to transfer head movements to the environment.
As all my previous artefacts were not real time environments i had to go about in making a real time world. There are a number of ways to do this but i decided to use computer game engines as a basis. This is a much easier alternative to trying to create them using max and would benefit a physiologist's as games are very cheap compared to 3d software and often have editors bundled with them for free. I have chosen to use the game "armed assault" because it comes with a great level editor and is very realist in its look and feel unlike many "spacey" type games around.

To create the head tracking device, i used a hat to mount the gyroscopic mouse to using electrical tape. the trigger button also had to be tapped down to enable tracking.

For the environment, i created a variety of locations with the idea to stimulate the fear of heights in mind. I created one with a lighthouse like the other artefact, a mobile phone mast and also just some high cliffs/mountains.

The environment was then viewed on a 42" plasma screen. Theses are becoming widely available nowadays and have great quality.

Artefact 3

For my third artefact I intended to create a 3d video in stereo to be viewed using anaglyph glasses. This method was chosen as it is a cheaper alternative to using stereo shutter glasses which can be costly.

However i could not find a method to batch process the 6000 frames from my walk through. This process would involve filtering the left and right frames and then embedding them on top of each other but slightly offset.

This artefact was also textured with vray materials. i just used an old brick texture for the light house and grass for the terrain. As with the last artefact the scene was still the same, with vray sun providing the lighting.

From the last artefact, it was decided that something was needed to provide a sense of scale within the scene. i decided to add trees so that the scale of the light house can really be felt.

Because I couldn't provide the walk through in stereo i couldn't really test the artefact correctly. In theory this method would be a cheap alternative to my previous stereo artefact as the anaglyph glasses are extreamly cheap to buy and are so simple. If there was an easy method to batch process the images it would be a great deal easier to produce videos.

Artefact 2

For my second artefact I have chosen to create a 3d video in stereo to be viewed using stereoscopic glasses to give the impression of 3D. This method was chosen to hopefully increase the sense of presence within the virtual environment.

I used the same model as my first artefact in order to compare results between the two. The artefact was still left without any textures however a Vray sun and environment was added to illuminate the scene. The animation was also rendered using the Vray renderer.

One of the criticisms from the last artefact was that the animation was too quick and did not follow realistic motion of a person. For this artefact i decided to slow down the pace of the camera so it was more like walking. The climb up the ladder was also slowed down and i made the camera look down half way up to provoke the feeling of being high up.The camera was also slightly distorted to give a wider field of vision, that more similar to the human eye.



My artefact was tested on 7 people who each watched the animation using the stereoscopic display and then filled out a sense of presence questionnaire.

The results show that compared to the first artefact, this one was more compelling and distracted the user from the outside world better. However the use of shutter glasses were slightly distracting to the user. The environment is still not interactive so low marks were scored on that part of the questionnaire.

Artefact 2

Just "bought" VRAY for 3Ds Max 2008 and had a play with it. its an amazing renderer. I am only scratching the surface on the level of detail that can be produced with this plug in. i followed one or two tutorials on line and set up my lighthouse scene with a Vray sun and environment map.






I will be created a stereoscopic video to test out my artefact. need to slow the camera down to make it more like the view from a person walking. Shouldn't take too long to do. Render times with Vray are pretty quick too.

artefact 1

The first artefact in my research is a relatively basic scene created in 3ds max. A simple terrain was created using a single plane with a displace modifier and a height map. By using a height map, a natural looking landscape could be made. The light house was then made using a cylinder and extruding various parts upwards. The doorways were created using the Boolean tool and then the bridge tool to join up the open edges. I decided to use a skylight as it gives a realistic look and is simple to implement, however increases rendering time. No textures or colours were used in the scene. This scene could prove a little challenging to create or modify with the idea in mind that a psychologist could be making and using this method to treat phobic patients. The final artefact is a short video to try and encourage a feeling of being high up in order to expose patients to their fears. This video will be shown on a large projector and tested by 5 people who will then fill out a questionnaire.

Research Project artefacts

My research project will be focusing on the implementation of VR environments for use within the field of psychological exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is used to gradually introduce a patient to their feared stimuli so that they become accustomed to it and hopefully curing the phobia. I will be trying a variety of methods to create similar environments and seeing which methods are not only the most immersive but also give the greatest sense of presence. Many people mistake these for being the same however they are defined differently.

# Immersion refers to the objective level of sensory fidelity a VR system provides.
# Presence refers to a user’s subjective psychological response to a VR system

I will create a variety of levels of immersion with my artefacts to see how this relates to the users sense of presence.

Along with this i will all take into account which methods are easiest to create. The idea being that a psychologist can create and edit the environments themselves to suit individual patients fears.

View Questionnaire

lighthouse

I just created a simple scenario for one of my first artifacts. it is made in ARMA: armed assault. i will make more maps with greater heights in them.

IR head tracking

Ive been looking into head mounted displays and tracking with the game ARMA which i will be using in my research project. i found this interesting video of a fella using a monitor and IR tracking. it looks as if a head mounted display would work alot better but its still cool that head movement can be mirrored in the game engine.

Video

Chris is.....

worried about his research project. im not the best at writing as you can probably tell, so doing this is pretty daunting seeing as it affects my degree grade.
anyone know owt about virtual reality exposure therapy?? no... didn't think so :s