Virtual reality (VR) nature immersion is an increasingly popular field of research due to its potential to help people who do not have access to real nature. There are many questions surrounding how virtual forests can be designed to effectively reduce stress and restore attention. Many of these questions relate solely to visual aspects, but more recent literature has started exploring multisensory experiences. In these experiences, senses are treated as additive; however, certain results from the current literature may indicate that there are more complex, cross-sensory interactions occurring. For example, adding sound to visuals can increase stress reduction potential, but certain natural sounds can feel threatening if they are out of place within the virtual nature scene. Overall, cross-sensory interactions in VR nature environments (VNEs) are underexplored and challenge our current understanding of multisensory VNEs, and future explorations of these interactions are essential for designing optimal VNEs for stress reduction.
Assessing learning in virtual reality (VR) environments typically relied on traditional pre-post content retention tests, revealing little about the process of learnng within such immersive environments. Multimodal data from player activity in VR is promising to better measure le…
LLM-based agents have rapidly improved at operating individual digital environments such as mobile applications, desktop systems, and smart homes. However, real-world user goals often span multiple devices: information may come from a phone, be processed on a desktop, and the res…
With the proliferation of Virtual Reality (VR) markets, VR applications are rapidly expanding in scale and complexity, thereby driving an urgent need for assuring VR software quality. Different from traditional mobile applications and computer software, VR testing faces unique ch…
People who have interacted with simulated worlds and simulated objects in extended reality (XR) often have a sense that they can 'feel' the objects being simulated despite them not being physical. Our sense of touch is essential for how we 'feel' the physical world, however, ther…
Bowed string instruments demand fine-grained bodily coordination that is typically taught through visual demonstration, creating persistent barriers for musicians with blindness and low-vision (BLV). To understand these challenges and explore new design opportunities, we conducte…
Computerized gait analysis (CGA) serves as an essential diagnostic tool for evaluating neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and neurological disorders in children, from cerebral palsy to muscular dystrophy. By enabling objective and comprehensive gait analysis, CGA supports timely cli…