University Libraries to host VR|AR Meet-Up Friday, Oct. 21, 3 p.m. - Nevada Today

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The University Libraries @One Digital Media & Technology Center volition big its yearly VR | AR Meet-Up Friday Oct. 21 astatine 3 p.m. connected the archetypal level of the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center wrong the Wells Fargo Auditorium and @Reality virtual world lab. Event organizers invitation faculty, students, postgraduate students, technology-lovers and anyone funny astir however this exertion is being utilized successful the world situation to attend.

Those incapable to articulation the lawsuit in-person are invited to articulation via Zoom. Have questions? Contact Luka Starmer.

Portrait of Daniel Fergus wearing dark, short-sleeve collared shirt.

“The Libraries started hosting the Meet-Up successful 2016 erstwhile VR was becoming a much fashionable and accessible technology,” @One Interim Director Daniel Fergus said. “At that clip determination were antithetic researchers getting into and utilizing the technology, but nary 1 had immoderate thought who was utilizing it and what world portion they were in. We organized the Meet-Up to interruption down silos, unfastened channels of connection betwixt individuals with akin interests and question ways to place interdisciplinary probe opportunities.”

The archetypal Meet-Up was much of a roundtable discussion, but the 2022 lawsuit is simply a afloat multimedia experience.

The Meet-Up volition statesman astatine 3 p.m. with a bid of lightning round, faculty-led presentations. Attendees volition person a unsocial and uncommon accidental to acquisition hands-on demonstrations of caller and emerging probe projects featuring VR | AR technologies. This volition instrumentality spot connected the archetypal level of the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center successful the Libraries @Reality lab. @Reality offers 4 reservable spaces to research and make immersive contented for Valve Index and Oculus VR platforms. Refreshments volition beryllium provided.

Faculty from 7 antithetic University departments volition enactment successful the lightning talks. They include:

EELKE FOLMER Computer Science & Engineering
PAUL R MACNEILAGE Psychology
FREDERICK C. HARRIS, JR. Computer Science & Engineering
TYLER BROWNLOW-CALKIN Art Department
CASSANDRA STEPHENS-JOHNSON English Department
JAVAD SATTERVAND Mining Engineering
PENGBO CHU Mining Engineering
NICK GAPP University Libraries
DANIEL FERGUS University Libraries
KARI BARBER Reynolds School of Journalism

Virtual Reality and world-transforming research

Professors Eelke Folmer from Computer Science & Engineering and Paul MacNeilage from Psychology volition stock their probe astatine the event. The 2 person worked unneurotic connected a National Science Foundation (NSF) task investigating the phenomenology of who is apt to get VR sickness and why? Folmer studies human-computer enactment and MacNeilage studies neuroscience and psychology.

Photo of 3 antithetic VR headsets stacked vertically successful a column.

“People utilizing VR astatine immoderate constituent volition commencement to consciousness uncomfortable, experiencing symptoms similar nausea, headaches and oculus strain,” MacNeilage said. “We inactive don’t recognize the mechanisms down this.”

Folmer and MacNeilage precocious published a insubstantial looking astatine the anticipation of grooming radical to consciousness little VR sick.

Folmer’s probe interests include, human-computer interaction, virtual world and augmented reality. MacNeilage’s probe absorption is trying to recognize the mechanisms that let humans to comprehend the satellite arsenic stationary contempt their ain movement, what helium refers to arsenic “stationarity perception.”

“The extremity of VR devices is to make the illusion of a stationary virtual environment,” MacNeilage said. “I americium aiming to recognize the neural mechanisms that govern cognition of a stationary environment. This cognition is perchance utile for guiding processing VR|AR systems of the future.”

Folmer said galore individuals acquisition VR sickness particularly erstwhile trying VR retired for the archetypal time. There is immoderate grounds that VR sickness incidence decreases owed to advances successful hardware. He besides said our probe suggests the possibility of reducing VR sickness done adaptation (i.e., repeated vulnerability to VR portion expanding the strength of optical flow).

Folmer and MacNeilage noticed successful respective idiosyncratic studies that immoderate users are highly delicate to VR sickness and hoping to research grooming solutions that tin assistance this population. With the expanding popularity of VR and VR progressively being utilized for work, acquisition and socialization, it is important to marque definite everyone has access.

Decreasing VR sickness symptoms

In their probe study, Folmer and MacNeilage had subjects play VR successful an abstract situation with small optical travel arsenic a mode to present the technology. Over the people of the study, the researchers accrued the spot of the optical travel to assistance further desensitize those subjects experiencing VR sickness symptoms.

“Our probe demonstrated that with daily, timed and repetition vulnerability to VR, VR sickness symptoms bash decrease,” Folmer said. “In our survey we manipulated the spot of the optic travel users were experiencing successful VR gradually implicit clip to amp-up their tolerance and trim their lawsuit of VR sickness symptoms.”

MacNeilage said VR sickness is chiseled from question sickness, but determination are immoderate overlaps.

“People with question sickness thin to bash amended if they are controlling the movement,” helium said. “For example, if idiosyncratic knows they get question sickness they whitethorn privation to thrust the car to negociate their sickness, versus passively sitting successful the rider spot and getting car sick portion idiosyncratic other does the driving.”

MacNeilage said he’s trying to recognize the perceptual measurement of sensitivity – quantify the sensitivity to conflict, and look astatine the factors impacting the sensitivity and whether the users movements are progressive oregon passive.

“Sensitivity is champion erstwhile users fixate connected a existent entity alternatively than prosecute a moving object,” helium said. “I similar to survey factors specified arsenic the characteristics of the ocular country – is it a people oregon good country and the relation peripheral imaginativeness plays versus the relation cardinal imaginativeness plays. We cognize arsenic you widen the ocular tract question sensitivity increases.”

Supporting the field community

Folmer, who runs the Virtual and Augmented Reality Interaction Core facilty connected campus, and MacNeilage who runs the Self Motion lab connected campus, privation module and students to scope retired to them for concern and probe opportunities.

Portrait of Eelke Folmer wearing a achromatic v-neck long-sleeve top.

“I anticipation to interact with caller module astatine the Meet-Up,” Folmer said. “I americium funny successful knowing module needs to effort and assistance make the applications desired to make caller knowledge, physique caller products and further probe crossed campus. The Core installation exists to enactment module and their endeavors.”

MacNeilage said helium is often looking for the tiny percent of the colonisation who endure from terrible VR sickness. He said those who are astir delicate are the astir apt to effort VR lone to beryllium wholly repelled by it. He argues that it is hard to accommodate to the exertion if a archetypal measurement isn’t taken.

“Ironically capable we tin larn the astir from individuals who are astir sensitive,” helium said. “These are besides the astir hard probe subjects to enlistee for studies. I anticipation to invited those susceptible to VR sickness to my Self Motion lab. These individuals person a singular accidental to marque a meaningful lend to the larger assemblage of research.”

MacNeilage said due to the fact that VR is indispensable successful immoderate fields it is simply a exertion that should beryllium embraced.

“It’s an accessibility issue,” helium said. “People who person problems utilizing VR – they are precluded from participating successful definite activities. I anticipation our enactment and probe tin assistance unfastened doors for everyone to clasp and acquisition VR.”

About the University Libraries

The University Libraries clasp intelligence enquiry and innovation, nurture the accumulation of caller knowledge, and foster excellence successful learning, teaching and research. During each world year, the Libraries welcomes much than 1.2 cardinal visitors crossed its web of 4 libraries: the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, the DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library, the Savitt Medical Library and the Prim Library astatine the University of Nevada, Reno astatine Lake Tahoe. Visitors checked-out much than 80,000 items and completed much than 2 cardinal database searches.

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