IMET: International Conference on Interactive Media, Smart Systems and Emerging Technologies

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Adapting Haptic Feedback for Guided Meditation
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Douillet, Yoann; Collaud, Romain; Groves, Emily; Sonderegger, Andreas; Duchêne, Cedric; Henchoz, Nicolas; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
Technology supporting meditation is a multimillion-dollar market that continues to grow. There is also strong academic interest to understand and improve the impact technology can have for the user experience of practitioners. However, little work investigates how to modulate haptic feedback to accommodate individual requirements without using biomarkers. In collaboration with a cognitive neuroscience laboratory, we investigated interactions between users and a haptic meditation device through two design research studies. Preliminary evaluations with 20 participants showed a preference for digital over analog interfaces for parametrization of the haptic meditation device. The final study with 21 participants found that the hedonic and pragmatic preferences depend on both the experience of a user and their age. The work gives new insights into designing interfaces for haptic meditation which allow for parametrization of haptic feedback parameters, as well as a variety of options for the parameterization approach.
AnywhereXR - Laying the Foundation for Open Source Embodied Digital Twin Applications
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Klippel, Alexander; Knuiman, Bart; Zhao, Jiayan; Wallgrün, Jan Oliver; Garzon, Sebastian; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
Despite recent developments in immersive technologies and data processing through AI, there are still substantial limitations in creating widespread opportunities for embodied digital twins for communication and visualization of physical environments. Open spatial data and particularly 3D spatial data do exist but this does not mean that we can now automatically or semiautomatically create immersive experiences from the existing data, at least not with high fidelity. The goal should be that anyone, not just high-end tech companies, is in the position to create experiential 3D environments for any place on earth. To move a small step closer to this goal, we are discussing the development of a framework that will allow for the creation of embodied digital twins for any place in the Netherlands by only requiring the location's GPS coordinates as input. While the results are not perfect yet, we consider these efforts essential in advancing the democratic use of embodied digital twins and aim to create a widely accessible infrastructure.
Balancing Gameplay Elements and Interactive Digital Storytelling in Virtual Reality applications of War Heritage
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Rizvic, Selma; Boskovic, Dusanka; Mijatovic, Bojan; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
War or Dark Heritage is challenging for digital presentation as it involves tragic events and the loss of human lives. Due to the same considerations, the importance of commemorating such a heritage is paramount. Virtual Reality offers tremendous possibilities for immersive experiences of war heritage. In the use case of the Battle on Kozara VR application, we will show how a combination of Interactive Digital Storytelling and gameplays can result in an educational and attractive immersive presentation of a battle from WWII, very important for the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. User experience evaluation of museum visitors will show if we have obtained the right balance between heavy and tragic historical facts and challenging tasks for users to introduce them to the lives of Battle participants and enable them to relive the Battle themselves.
Collaborative VR: Solving Riddles in the Concept of Escape Rooms
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Ioannou, Afxentis; Lemonari, Marilena; Liarokapis, Fotis; Aristidou, Andreas; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
The recent state of VR technology enables users to have quick and easy access to multiple VR functionalities, prompting researchers to explore various aspects of user experiences in virtual environments. In this work, we study alternative means of user communication in collaborative virtual environments (CVEs). We are especially interested in how users manage to convey messages to each other while not being able to see, hear, or text one another. We aim to understand how users choose to utilize the tools provided to them in virtual environments and report their feedback i.e., how this affects engagement level, performance, etc. The objective of our work is to be able to determine the effects of integrating alternative means of communication in users' experience in VR; to examine this, we choose a case study of a collaborative VR escape room. We carry out a user study to evaluate our hypotheses on the effects of nontraditional communication means when performing computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). We find that players manage to complete their tasks similarly to real-life scenarios, even when not allowing for traditional ways of interpersonal interactions. Through our user survey, we also conclude that it is worth integrating this communication option in other applications as well, which poses further questions as to what is the full potential of incorporating several alternative functionalities that people subtly use in real-life, in VR.
Collision Free Simplification for 2D Multi-Layered Shapes
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Gong, Xianjin; Parakkat, Amal Dev; Rohmer, Damien; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
We propose a simplification-aware untangling algorithm for 2D layered shapes stacked on each other. While the shape undergoes simplification, our approach adjusts the vertex positions to prevent collision with other layers while simultaneously maintaining the correct relative ordering and offsets between the layers. The method features a field-based representation of the shapes and extends the concept of "implicit untangling" by incorporating interleaved shape preservation through a parameterized shape-matching technique. Our approach can be plugged on top of any existing vertex-decimation approach, leveraging its localized nature to accelerate the field evaluation. Furthermore, our method can seamlessly handle an arbitrary number of stacked layers, making it a versatile solution for stacked garment simplification.
Exploring the Impact of Synthetic Data Generation on Texture-based Image Classification Tasks
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Yordanov, Borislav; Harvey, Carlo; Williams, Ian; Ashley, Craig; Fairbrass, Paul; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
In this study, we introduce a novel pipeline for synthetic data generation of textured surfaces, motivated by the limitations of conventional methods such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models in our specific context. We also investigate the pipeline's role in an image classification task. The primary objective is to determine the impact of synthetic data generated by our pipeline on classification performance. Using EfficientNetV2-S as our image classifier and a dataset of three texture classes, we find that synthetic data can significantly enhance classification performance when the amount of real data is scarce, corroborating previous research. However, we also observe that the balance between synthetic and real data is crucial, as excessive synthetic data can negatively impact performance when sufficient real data is available. We theorize that this might stem from imperfections in the synthetic data generation process that distort fine details essential for accurate classification, and propose possible improvements to the synthetic data generation pipeline. Furthermore, we acknowledge the potential limitations of our study and provide several promising avenues for future research. This work illuminates the advantages and potential drawbacks of synthetic data in image classification tasks, emphasizing the importance of high-quality, realistic synthetic data that complements, rather than undermines, the use of real data.
FictionalWorlds, Real Connections: Developing Community Storytelling Social Chatbots through LLMs
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Sun, Yuqian; Wang, Hanyi; Chan, Pok Man; Tabibi, Morteza; Zhang, Yan; Lu, Huan; Chen, Yuheng; Lee, Chang Hee; Asadipour, Ali; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
We address the integration of storytelling and Large Language Models (LLMs) to develop engaging and believable Social Chatbots (SCs) in community settings. Motivated by the potential of fictional characters to enhance social interactions, we introduce Storytelling Social Chatbots (SSCs) and the concept of story engineering to transform fictional game characters into "live" social entities within player communities. Our story engineering process includes three steps: (1) Character and story creation, defining the SC's personality and worldview, (2) Presenting Live Stories to the Community, allowing the SC to recount challenges and seek suggestions, and (3) Communication with community members, enabling interaction between the SC and users. We employed the LLM GPT-3 to drive our SSC prototypes, ''David" and ''Catherine," and evaluated their performance in an online gaming community, ''DE (Alias)," on Discord. Our mixed-method analysis, based on questionnaires (N=15) and interviews (N=8) with community members, reveals that storytelling significantly enhances the engagement and believability of SCs in community settings.
IMET 2023: Frontmatter
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
Integrating Julia Code into the Unity Game Engine to Dive into Aquatic Plant Growth
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Lewerentz, Anne; Manke, Nico; Schantz, David; Sarmento Cabral, Juliano; Mammen, Sebastian von; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
Ecologists use process-based ecological models to predict biodiversity, but their complex results can be challenging to com- municate. This challenge can be addressed through interactive visual simulations, which are easy to create with sophisticated game engines such as Unity. However, mechanistic models are increasingly written in the Julia programming language and Unity does not support its integration. In this paper, we present a Julia-Unity plugin that allows direct coupling of Julia and Unity codes. It was developed in a user-centred, iterative manner. The given use case of an immersive, interactive simulation of a macrophyte growth model was tailored to public outreach and science communication. The resulting, rather versatile plugin is a novel tool that features immersive visualisations of Julia-coded simulation models, ecological or otherwise. Due to the features of a game engine, they are particularly apt to engage a wider audience, facilitate collaboration and interdisciplinary work, and enable the exploration of complex systems.
Investigating Crowdsourced Help Facilities for Enhancing User Guidance
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Babu, Sooraj K.; Brandner, Tobias; Truman, Samuel; Mammen, Sebastian von; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
We present two help facilities aimed at addressing the challenges faced by users new to a software. Software documentation should ideally familiarise with the overall functionality, navigate through the concrete workflows, and opportunities for customisation. Large degrees of freedom in the use and vast basic scopes, however, often make it infeasible to convey this information upfront. Rather, it needs to be broken into helpful bits and pieces which are delivered at appropriate times. In order to address this challenge, we have designed two concrete help facilities, i.e. tooltips and tips-of-the-day, to feature crowdsourced information. In this paper, we present the results of a formative study to implement early proofs-of-concept for the open-source game authoring platform Godot. To support further research, we have made the code base publicly available on GitHub.
Investigating Students' Motivation and Cultural Heritage Learning in a Gamified Versus Non-gamified VR Environment
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Souropetsis, Markos; Kyza, Eleni A.; Nisiotis, Louis; Georgiou, Yiannis; Giorgalla, Varnavia; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
This empirical study investigated how the use of a gamified versus a non-gamified Virtual Reality (VR) learning environment impacted student motivation and learning outcomes in the context of a virtual visit at a cultural heritage site. For this purpose, we adopted an experimental research design to analyse the experience of 46 undergraduate university students; 23 of them used a gamified version of the VR learning environment, while 23 of them used the same VR environment without the gamification elements. Data were collected using pre and post learning assessments, motivation questionnaires, as well as individual semistructured interviews. The data analyses showed that students who experienced the gamified VR learning environment had greater learning gains and perceived competence, as compared to their counterparts who used the VR environment without the gamification elements. The findings of this research contribute to the principled design of VR environments to optimize students' knowledge acquisition and learning experience.
Organ Donation Training using VR: ODT-VR
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Vallespí Monclús, Pau; Álvarez, Brian; Monclús, Eva; Fairén, Marta; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
Organ transplantation has become very important for treating organ diseases and new technologies have been developed to increase the donor pool. Virtual Reality (VR) has been proven to be a valuable tool for training in medical education. This paper presents a VR application designed to simulate the medical protocol needed for the management of a deceased organ donation process called Uncontrolled Donation after Circulatory determination of Death (uDCD). Results from an explorative study on five medical experts in the area are presented, and future opportunities for improvement are discussed in the paper.
Programmatic Design and Architecture of an Immersive Laser Laboratory
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Müller, Andreas; Müller, Stefan; Brixner, Tobias; Mammen, Sebastian von; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
femtoPro provides an immersive laser laboratory experience for training, experimentation and analysis. In this paper, we present its programmatic design and architecture driven by requirements such as: accurate (non-)linear optics calculations, real-time performance on virtual reality (VR) headsets, easy authoring capabilities of pedagogical ''quests'', as well as natural user interactions and effective, multisensory feedback. We elaborate on how we tackle these challenges considering frontend components and the simulation backend. Notable features encompass an incremental, graph-based laser path solver algorithm with caching capabilities, a volumetric pulse shape renderer with accurately mapped color and transparency, an intuitive interaction system that translates coarse hand motions into precise adjustments, a comprehensive interface for configuring, conducting, and analyzing complex experiments with double precision accuracy including time-series measurements with moving platforms, and a generally flexible, modular architecture achieved through event-based communication, dynamic binding, and other state-of-the-art coding principles. Most of our proposed solutions should be directly applicable to similar immersive science laboratories, independently of their concrete domain.
A Real-time Voice Interface for Intelligent Wheelchairs
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Moschopoulos, Spyridon; Fudos, Ioannis; Koritsoglou, Kyriakos; Tatsis, Giorgos; Tzovaras, Dimitrios; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
This paper reports on the development of a real-time voice interface for navigation purposes of electric wheelchairs. To this end, we employ a convolutional neural network trained and fine-tuned using a small dataset that consists of Greek commands. Furthermore, the study explores a highly quantized version of the network to achieve computational efficiency while maintaining high accuracy on an edge device. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the model in accurately detecting keywords in real time with minimal misclassifications.
Recognizing User Behavior from Interactions for Adaptive Consumer Information Systems
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Lengauer, Stefan; Bedek, Michael A.; Kupfer, Cordula; Shao, Lin; Albert, Dietrich; Schreck, Tobias; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
Consumer Information Systems, which experience widespread application, benefit substantially from adapting the conveyed information to specific user needs, by addressing various impairments such as color blindness, deficient preknowledge, and/or graph illiteracy. Ideally, to allow for an unperturbed exploration process, the system automatically recognizes and responds to the need for adaptation. While it has been shown that users' interactions with a system can be leveraged to this end, there exists no generalized taxonomy covering all possible interactions/processes and how they relate to each other. This paper garners different interactions, defined in the literature, and classifies them regarding complexity and inter-dependencies in a 'processes landscape'. Using this landscape, we outline a concept how low-level interactions (e.g., 'Clicking', 'Typing') can be combined with context-sensitive ones (e.g., 'Hovering') to estimate high-level behavior such as 'Reading' or 'Exploring'. Knowledge of the latter allows a system to intervene and adapt in a reasonably manner.
ReInHerit a Museum: Enhancing Museum Experience and Broadening Audience Participation Through an Immersive Performance using Media-Art, and Augmented Reality
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Papadas, Stefanos; Papapetrou, Andreas; Frangoudes, Fotos; Polydorou, Alexis; Gavriel, Christodoula; Kyriakou, Niki; Neokleous, Kleanthis; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
This paper delves into the immersive performance, ''ReInHerit a Museum'' held at the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation. Through exploration and analysis of the conceptual framework and the audience's interaction with an augmented-realitybased mobile application, it examines the ways in which artistic expressions blended with elements from emerging technologies aimed to enhance visitors' experiences and engage a broader audience. By integrating interactive sound installations, live music performers, augmented reality, real-time generated visuals, and projection mapping, visitors immersed in a multisensory environment that deepens their understanding and emotional connection with cultural heritage. The performance, aimed to break away from traditional modes of spectatorship and encourage active participation and interaction, blending the limits between observer and participant. All the material and documentation for the performance are made available for open access.
RESenv: A Realistic Earthquake Simulation Environment based on Unreal Engine
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Sun, Yitong; Wang, Hanchun; Zhang, Zhejun; Diels, Cyriel; Asadipour, Ali; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
Earthquakes have a significant impact on societies and economies, driving the need for effective search and rescue strategies. With the growing role of AI and robotics in these operations, high-quality synthetic visual data becomes crucial. Current simulation methods, mostly focusing on single building damages, often fail to provide realistic visuals for complex urban settings. To bridge this gap, we introduce an innovative earthquake simulation system using the Chaos Physics System in Unreal Engine. Our approach aims to offer detailed and realistic visual simulations essential for AI and robotic training in rescue missions. By integrating real seismic waveform data, we enhance the authenticity and relevance of our simulations, ensuring they closely mirror real-world earthquake scenarios. Leveraging the advanced capabilities of Unreal Engine, our system delivers not only high-quality visualisations but also real-time dynamic interactions, making the simulated environments more immersive and responsive. By providing advanced renderings, accurate physical interactions, and comprehensive geological movements, our solution outperforms traditional methods in efficiency and user experience. Our simulation environment stands out in its detail and realism, making it a valuable tool for AI tasks such as path planning and image recognition related to earthquake responses. We validate our approach through three AI-based tasks: similarity detection, path planning, and image segmentation.
Towards Continual Reinforcement Learning for Quadruped Robots
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Minelli, Giovanni; Vassiliades, Vassilis; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
Quadruped robots have emerged as an evolving technology that currently leverages simulators to develop a robust controller capable of functioning in the real-world without the need for further training. However, since it is impossible to predict all possible real-world situations, our research explores the possibility of enabling them to continue learning even after their deployment. To this end, we designed two continual learning scenarios, sequentially training the robot on different environments while simultaneously evaluating its performance across all of them. Our approach sheds light on the extent of both forward and backward skill transfer, as well as the degree to which the robot might forget previously acquired skills. By addressing these factors, we hope to enhance the adaptability and performance of quadruped robots in real-world scenarios.
Unraveling the Tales of Aurora - An Imaginative Serious Games Approach
(The Eurographics Association, 2023) Wagner, Jennifer; Winter, Simon; Höhl, Wolfgang; Pelechano, Nuria; Liarokapis, Fotis; Rohmer, Damien; Asadipour, Ali
This demo paper develops a game concept titled "Tales of Aurora". This serious strategy game introduces the concept of chemical elements and compounds, biological processes and comprehensive life-cycle dependencies to a younger audience. Instead of high-level real-life knowledge we focussed on gaming fun, magic and imagination. This game incorporates a unique crafting system that teaches chemical compounds. Four basic elements are represented by seven imaginative plants. We enhance player identification, motivation and engagement by introducing an evolving animal companion named "Aurora". "Aurora" has the ability to transform based on consumed compounds. The game is divided into two phases. By day the player cultivates and places specific plants. At night the farm gets attacked by increasingly stronger enemies. The game therefore implements a counter-based combat system that requires players to apply their learned knowledge effectively, further captivating and engaging them throughout the learning experience.

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