Browsing by Author "Paes D"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    A sequence analysis of behaviors in immersive virtual reality for indoor earthquake and post-earthquake evacuation
    (1/06/2022) Feng Z; González VA; Spearpoint M; Thomas J; Trotter M; Cabrera-Guerrero G; Paes D
    Behavioral sequence analysis (BSA) gives insights to understand and model individual behaviors. The present study uses BSA for a virtual earthquake. The virtual earthquake drill was facilitated by a head-mounted display (HMD)-based immersive virtual reality (IVR) system. Eighty-three participants experienced a full earthquake and post-earthquake evacuation in a virtual hospital building. Concurrent verbal protocol analysis (VPA) and retrospective video analysis of the footage of participants’ in-IVR behaviors have been conducted to identify the behavioral sequence of participants. As a result, behavioral transition diagrams are generated, showing the progression of behaviors exhibited in the virtual earthquake drill. A variety of behavioral paths for each individual participant is presented using a visual analytics approach. The behavioral transition diagrams and behavioral paths expose the full picture of human behaviors in an earthquake emergency, which are vital to developing behavior-oriented strategies for earthquake emergencies.
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    Gamification for air quality education: A systematic literature review
    (Elsevier B.V., 2025-01-09) Daemei AB; Lovreglio R; Feng Z; Paes D; Miller C
    Air quality is crucial to our health and well-being, as poor air quality can lead to serious health problems such as asthma, allergies, and other respiratory conditions. Educating people about air quality is key to improving awareness and taking action to reduce its negative effects. Gamification offers a creative and engaging way to deliver educational content by incorporating game elements into the learning experience. However, despite its potential, there has been no review of how gamification has been used for air quality education. Thus, this review aims to fill that gap by systematically examining how gamification is applied to air quality education in the built environment. We explored a range of games and applications used to educate the public on air quality. To guide our analysis, we used the Octalysis framework, which focuses on game elements that motivate and engage users. Following the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, we identified 19 relevant papers published between 2009 and 2023. From these, we developed 8 research questions to guide the review process and analyzed the game elements using the Octalysis framework. Our findings show that most studies focus on residential buildings, with a key focus on raising awareness of the health impacts of air pollution and managing asthma. Notably, many of these studies target children, who are more vulnerable to air pollution. We also introduce the first taxonomy for gamification in air quality education, providing a clear structure for future game development in this area. Finally, the review highlights the need to explore other educational topics that could benefit from gamification, and how this approach could improve both indoor and urban air quality, as well as reduce energy consumption.
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    Investigating the relationship between three-dimensional perception and presence in virtual reality-reconstructed architecture.
    (Elsevier B.V., 2023-01-13) Paes D; Irizarry J; Billinghurst M; Pujoni D
    Identifying and characterizing the factors that affect presence in virtual environments has been acknowledged as a critical step to improving Virtual Reality (VR) applications in the built environment domain. In the search to identify those factors, the research objective was to test whether three-dimensional perception affects presence in virtual environments. A controlled within-group experiment utilizing perception and presence questionnaires was conducted, followed by data analysis, to test the hypothesized unidirectional association between three-dimensional perception and presence in two different virtual environments (non-immersive and immersive). Results indicate no association in either of the systems studied, contrary to the assumption of many scholars in the field but in line with recent studies on the topic. Consequently, VR applications in architectural design may not necessarily need to incorporate advanced stereoscopic visualization techniques to deliver highly immersive experiences, which may be achieved by addressing factors other than depth realism. As findings suggest that the levels of presence experienced by users are not subject to the display mode of a 3D model (whether immersive or non-immersive display), it may still be possible for professionals involved in the review of 3D models (e.g., designers, contractors, clients) to experience high levels of presence through non-stereoscopic VR systems provided that other presence-promoting factors are included.
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    Optical see-through augmented reality fire safety training for building occupants
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-03-15) Paes D; Feng Z; King M; Khorrami Shad H; Sasikumar P; Pujoni D; Lovreglio R
    Fire safety training is crucial to increase building occupants' chances of surviving a fire emergency. Traditional training methods, such as lectures using video presentations, have limitations that can hinder learning performance. This article describes the development and testing of an alternative training solution using Augmented Reality (AR) technology. Through a controlled between-subject experiment, the AR-based fire safety training method was compared against a conventional video-based one based on participants' knowledge acquisition and retention, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy. Results suggest that the AR system was well-designed and as effective as the traditional method in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention and overall learning experience. However, it was found to be superior in terms of intrinsic motivation gain and self-efficacy retention. These findings demonstrate the potential of AR-based training methods to enhance building occupants' safety and provide directions for future developments and research in the field.
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    Prototyping and testing a virtual reality counterterrorism serious game for active shooting
    (Elsevier B.V., 2022-09-28) Lovreglio R; Daphney-Chloe N; Rahouti A; Paes D; Feng Z; Shipman A
    An active shooting emergency requires an effective strategy to increase the chances of survival of the attacked population. Educational environments are one of the most common locations of such events. To reduce the impact of these disasters, several emergency plans have been developed and put in place. Traditionally, these emergency plans are taught to occupants using non-interactive videos, drills, etc. However, these conventional methods present many limitations regarding trainees' knowledge acquisition, engagement and self-efficacy. To overcome them, this paper presents the prototype of an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) Serious Game (SG) for counterterrorism training. A user-centred evaluation of the proposed training SG was conducted with 32 participants. The experiment aimed to investigate the impact of the proposed tool on participants' knowledge regarding the safest actions to take in case of an active shooter attack. Participants' intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy levels were also assessed before and after the VR-based training. Findings indicate that participants’ knowledge, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy significantly increased immediately after the training.
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    Video see-through augmented reality fire safety training: A comparison with virtual reality and video training
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-12-10) Domgue K LI; Paes D; Feng Z; Mander S; Datoussaid S; Descamps T; Rahouti A; Lovreglio R
    Safety training is crucial to mitigate the risk of damage when a disaster occurs and can play a vital role in enhancing community response. Augmented Reality (AR) is an emerging technology for safety training that holds great pedagogical potential. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of AR training in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention, as well as self-efficacy enhancement. We developed a new video see-through AR training tool on a tablet to teach users about operating a fire extinguisher to put out a fire following the PASS procedure: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep (PASS). The AR training tool was tested with 60 participants. Test results were systematically compared with findings from the literature investigating Virtual Reality (VR) and video-based safety training. The findings indicate that, directly after the training, AR outperformed traditional video training in terms of knowledge retention, long-term self-efficacy, and quality of instructions. However, the AR experience was not as effective as the VR experience in all these areas, but the AR group had a smaller decrease in knowledge over time. These findings suggest that the AR-based training approach offers benefits in long-term memory recall.
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    Virtual reality for safety training: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis
    (Elsevier B.V., 2023-11-18) Scorgie D; Feng Z; Paes D; Parisi F; Yiu TW; Lovreglio R
    Unsafe behaviour in the workplace and disaster events can lead to serious harm and damage. Safety training has been a widely studied topic over the past two decades. Its primary aim is to save lives and minimise damage but requires regular refreshers. New digital technologies are helping in the process of enhancing safety training for better knowledge acquisition and retention. Among them, Virtual Reality (VR) can provide an engaging and exciting training experience, and there is a need to evaluate its application and effectiveness in safety training. This study aims to investigate VR safety training solutions applied to various industries (excluding medical and military applications), such as construction, fire, aviation, and mining. This was achieved by systematically reviewing 52 articles published between 2013 and 2021 to answer nine research questions. Fourteen domains were examined, with construction and fire safety training being the most prevalent since 2018. Findings reveal that only a small percentage (9.6 %) of the studies explicitly adopted theories while developing and testing VR applications. Additionally, this review highlights a critical need for long-term retention measurements, as only 36 % of studies provided such data. Finally, the two meta-analyses proposed in this work demonstrate that VR safety training outperforms traditional training in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention.