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- Hovercraft telemanipulation virtual models and interface designPublication . Noronha, Hildegardo José QuintalA control system was designed to allow humans to manually drive an, usually automatic, two wheeled hovercraft. The size, the mass and the way of driving this vehicle proves to be an issue for the everyday, untrained person to achieve. During this thesis several control layouts were designed with the objective of creating an intuitive and easy way of driving such a vehicle. At the end two where usertested using a simulation (also developed during this thesis) of the said hovercraft set against obstacles similar to those expected to be encountered on its real environment. The two layouts are just slightly apart in performance but numerous issues were found that can be used to redesign a better control layout. This means that no definitive winner was found but a foundation for a better design was indeed found.
- A multimodal tablet-based interface for designing and reviewing 3D engineering modelsPublication . Campos, Pedro; Noronha, HildegardoThe usage of multimodal user interfaces has revolutionized many different activities. However, most of the interactive technologies deployed in real world engineering contexts are still difficult to use, especially when engineering teams need to collaboratively visualize and review large-scale 3D CAD (Computer-Aided Design) models. This is the case of the oil platform industry, which necessarily involves the review and manipulation of large CAD models. In this paper we present a novel solution, based on multitouch and accelerometer input, which was designed and evaluated in close cooperation with researchers and engineers of a large oil industry company. We evaluated two different conditions: using multitouch-only input and using multitouch coupled with accelerometer-based input. Statistical analysis of quantitative data suggests that the second condition is faster and less error-prone than simply using multitouch-only input. Additionally, qualitative data showed that users perceive the multitouch-only interface as being more accurate, but more difficult to understand and use.
- Collaborative 3d visualization on large screen displaysPublication . Mendes, Daniel; Sousa, Maurício; Araújo, Bruno; Ferreira, Alfredo; Noronha, Hildegardo; Campos, Pedro; Soares, Luciano; Raposo, Alberto; Jorge, JoaquimLarge Scale Displays, besides their visualization capabilities, can provide a great sense of immersion to a geographically distributed group of people engaging in collaborative work. This paper presents a system that uses remotely located wall sized displays, to o↵er immersive, interactive collaborative visualization and review of 3D CAD models for engineering applications.
- Harnessing virtuality in the real world: a transversal approachPublication . Noronha, Hildegardo José Quintal; Campos, Pedro Filipe PereiraThis thesis explores a range of Virtual Reality-related technologies in order to solve problems and expand the State-of-the-Art in the fields of Remote Collaboration, Virtual Reality, and Ocean Awareness. It also explores and harnesses the power of supporting technologies, mostly, the Internet-of-Things. The line that separates our lives from Virtuality is becoming more and more blurred. With the rapid expansion of Virtual Reality, new problems arise, both from a technical and theoretical point-of-view. This thesis explores Virtual Reality from a low-level, ”cold metal” side - such as tracking - and a high-level, ”warm feelings” side - such as emo tions. With Virtuality in mind, this thesis tries to improve Remote Collaboration based on a real-world problem of working engineers that need to cooperate in real-time en gineering endeavors while not being present in the same physical space. It explores Gamification and a mix of Augmented and Virtual Reality to improve the experience quality of remote working. Finally, this thesis takes an approach to Ocean Awareness with the help of holography, green building, and the Internet-of-Things in order to build public displays that rely on data that is collected from the marine fauna, transport it, and display it in near-real-time. This thesis also presents and discusses a set of lessons learned during these ex periments and outlines a set of design recommendations for these contexts. It has a direct impact on the industries that depend on remote collaboration as well as indus tries that need novel ways to persuade users such as ocean awareness and human well-being and improves the State-of-the-Art in Virtual Reality
- LoRaquatica: Studying Range and Location Estimation using LoRa and IoT in Aquatic SensingPublication . Radeta, Marko; Ribeiro, Miguel; Vasconcelos, Dinarte; Noronha, Hildegardo; Nunes, Nuno JardimWhile ubiquitous computing remains vastly applied in urban environments, their applications in ocean environment remain scarce due to the limitations in range and cost of current radio technology. This hinders environmental telemetry in the oceans and other remote areas. In this study, we explore the usage of IoT and Long Range Radio Communication (LoRa) in ocean environments. We study the maximum distance for LoRa and a potential location estimation based on the same technology using the passive RSSI analysis. Using three coastal based nodes and a node mounted on a sea vessel, we report a maximum range of 83.6km. We also achieve a location error within a radius of 3.4km (4% of maximum distance) in the sea. These results support marine biologist expeditions, allowing them to use low cost, long-lasting and easy to deploy solutions for tracking marine objects and species in open ocean, providing them data in near real-time. We discuss the findings from used models, outlining limitations, and providing a scenario for future ubiquitous IoT applications for tracking sea objects.
- Physical and physiological characterization of custom-made virtual reality exergames: a pilot studyPublication . França, Cíntia; Noronha, Hildegardo; Freitas, Eva; Campos, Pedro; Ornelas, Rui T.; Gouveia, Élvio R.; França, Cíntia; Noronha, Hildegardo; Campos, Pedro Filipe Pereira ; Ornelas, Rui; Gouveia, Élvio RúbioThe continuous growth of the older adult population demands an urgent need to provide innovative ways to stimulate physical activity and promote functional health. This study presents FitFest, a custom-made virtual reality (VR) designed to deliver a complete physical activity (PA) session for older adults. A pilot study involving seven older adults (67.0 ± 3.8 years) was conducted, comprising 18 user testing sessions of two VR exergames: Wine Fest and Flower Fest. PA intensity and heart rate (HR) were measured. The rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and the participants’ rating of the system’s usability were also registered. Overall, sessions involved mostly sedentary behavior (56.5 ± 20.4%) and light PA (42.1 ± 19.3%), with an average of 436.7 steps and 92.1 bpm. Wine Fest elicited less sedentary behavior (53.6 ± 22.1% vs. 62.8 ± 16.2%), higher light PA intensity (44.7 ± 20.4% vs. 36.4 ± 17.0%), and a higher step count (503.0 ± 345.4 vs. 291.0 ± 143.1) than the Flower Fest, although not significantly. Tasks requiring cardiovascular effort and strength were rated as more physically demanding. Most participants found the system user-friendly and showed interest in continued use, though technical support was essential due to limited familiarity with VR. The findings suggest FitFest has potential to promote light PA in older adults, highlighting the importance of usability and support in tech-based interventions.
- A mobile system for collaborative design and review of large scale virtual reality modelsPublication . Campos, Pedro; Campos, Pedro Filipe Pereira ; Gouveia, Duarte; Noronha, Hildegardo; Noronha, Hildegardo; Jorge, Joaquim; Jorge, JoaquimSeveral tools and research prototypes have been developed with the goal of improving the visualization, manipulation, design and review of 3D virtual reality models. However, most of the interactive technologies deployed in real world engineering contexts are still difficult to use. We present a novel virtual reality system specifically designed to support the needs of engineering teams working at oil platforms. CEDAR (Collaborative Engineering Design And Review) is based on multitouch and accelerometer input, and was designed and evaluated in close cooperation with researchers and engineers of a large oil industry company. The system allows the navigation, reviewing and annotation of 3D CAD (Computer-Aided Design) models in a mobile, collaborative context.
- The impact of virtual reality nature environments on calmness, arousal and energy: a multi-method studyPublication . Noronha, Hildegardo; Campos, PedroVirtual Reality is the current media's epitome of Immersiveness, Presence and Suspension of Disbelief. Both research and gaming industry communities have been building on this in order to exhaustively research and explore feelings of high-adrenaline, scariness, panic and other visceral and instinctive feelings. We take the opposite approach and try to prove that Virtual Reality can also be used to induce feelings of relaxation and soothingness effectively and strongly. Therefore, it could be used to improve the mental health of people who cannot be exposed to situations that induce said feelings. In our experiments, we found that Virtual Reality can be used to induce a strong sense of Calmness and to reduce the sense of Arousal and Energy, with a high degree of significance, having an effect with short-duration exposures. We also found hints that Virtual Reality may have an effect in the circadian cycle's regulation by exposing the subjects to a virtual sunset.
- How much sample rate is actually needed? Arm tracking in virtual realityPublication . Noronha, Hildegardo; Campos, PedroThere are plenty of studies dealing with the delays and other relations between head movements and visual response on Virtual Reality setups using head mounted displays. Most of those studies also present some consequences of deviating from those values. Yet, the rest of the human body remains relatively unmapped. In this paper, we present the data found during our research about vision-arm coordination. This data can be used to help build better and more efficient human computer interfaces, especially those that rely on a virtual avatar with a body and have resource restriction like battery or bandwidth. We tested body tracking Sample Rates ranging from 15 Hz up to 120 Hz (corresponding to total latencies ranging from 37 ms to 95.4 ms) and found out no significant user performance differences. We did, however, find that a small percentage of users are, indeed, capable of noticing the changes in Sample Rate. Based on the found results, we advise that, if one is trying to save battery, bandwidth or processor cycles, a low body tracking Sample Rate could be used with no negative effects on user performance.
- Don’t forget to take Some time to yourself: the effect of mobile phone reminders on self-care subdomains of informal caregiversPublication . Peres, Beatriz; Noronha, Hildegardo; Campos, PedroThe lives of informal caregivers can get so busy and overwhelmed that they stop caring for themselves. A simple daily mobile phone reminder may be enough to restore some of their self-care. In this study, we explore the effects of reminders in the lives of informal caregivers, specifically in the Mindful Self-Care Scale subdomains. We found positive effects in the Supportive Relationships and the Mindful Relaxation subdomains with medium effects. Despite not being statistically significant, the Mindful Awareness and the Self Compassion and Purpose subdomains have low enough p-values for us to argue that they may create positive effects if coupled with extra call-to-action features. This should be explored in future studies. The Supportive Structure subdomain seems to have no relation or be affected in any relevant way by the reminders.