Kristoffer Waldow, Constantin Kleinbeck, Arnulph Fuhrmann, Daniel Roth
{"title":"Investigating the Impact of Video Pass-Through Embodiment on Presence and Performance in Virtual Reality.","authors":"Kristoffer Waldow, Constantin Kleinbeck, Arnulph Fuhrmann, Daniel Roth","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549891","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549891","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Creating a compelling sense of presence and embodiment can enhance the user experience in virtual reality (VR). One method to accomplish this is through self-representation with embodied personalized avatars or video self-avatars. However, these approaches require external hardware and primarily evaluate hand representations in VR across various tasks. We therefore present in this paper an alternative approach: video Pass-Through Embodiment (PTE), which utilizes the per-eye real-time depth map from Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) traditionally used for Augmented Reality features. This method allows the user's real body to be cut out of the pass-through video stream and be represented in the VR environment without the need for additional hardware. To evaluate our approach, we conducted a between-subjects study involving 40 participants who completed a seated object sorting task using either PTE or a customized avatar. The results show that PTE, despite its limited depth resolution that leads to some visual artifacts, significantly enhances the user's sense of presence and embodiment. In addition, PTE does not negatively affect task performance, cognitive load, or cause VR sickness. These findings imply that video pass-through embodiment offers a practical and efficient alternative to traditional avatar-based methods in VR.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shuqi Liao, Sparsh Chaudhri, Maanas K Karwa, Voicu Popescu
{"title":"SeamlessVR: Bridging the Immersive to Non-Immersive Visualization Divide.","authors":"Shuqi Liao, Sparsh Chaudhri, Maanas K Karwa, Voicu Popescu","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549564","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549564","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The paper describes SeamlessVR, a method for switching effectively from immersive visualization, in a virtual reality (VR) headset, to non-immersive visualization, on screen. SeamlessVR implements a continuous morph of the 3D visualization to a 2D visualization that matches what the user will see on screen after removing the headset. This visualization continuity reduces the cognitive effort of connecting the immersive to the non-immersive visualization, helping the user continue on screen a visualization task started in the headset. We have compared SeamlessVR to the conventional approach of directly removing the headset in an IRB-approved user study with N = 30 participants. SeamlessVR had a significant advantage over the conventional approach in terms of time and accuracy for target tracking in complex abstract and realistic scenes and in terms of participants' perception of the switch from immersive to non-immersive visualization, as well as in terms of usability. SeamlessVR did not pose cybersickness concerns.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"X's Day: Personality-Driven Virtual Human Behavior Generation.","authors":"Haoyang Li, Zan Wang, Wei Liang, Yizhuo Wang","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549574","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549574","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Developing convincing and realistic virtual human behavior is essential for enhancing user experiences in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) settings. This paper introduces a novel task focused on generating long-term behaviors for virtual agents, guided by specific personality traits and contextual elements within 3D environments. We present a comprehensive framework capable of autonomously producing daily activities autoregressively. By modeling the intricate connections between personality characteristics and observable activities, we establish a hierarchical structure of Needs, Task, and Activity levels. Integrating a Behavior Planner and a World State module allows for the dynamic sampling of behaviors using large language models (LLMs), ensuring that generated activities remain relevant and responsive to environmental changes. Extensive experiments validate the effectiveness and adaptability of our approach across diverse scenarios. This research makes a significant contribution to the field by establishing a new paradigm for personalized and context-aware interactions with virtual humans, ultimately enhancing user engagement in immersive applications. Our project website is at: https://behavior.agent-x.cn/.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"PaRUS: a Virtual Reality Shopping Method Focusing on Contextual Information between Products and Real Usage Scenes.","authors":"Yinyu Lu, Weitao You, Ziqing Zheng, Yizhan Shao, Changyuan Yang, Zhibin Zhou","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549539","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549539","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The development of AR and VR technologies is enhancing users' online shopping experiences in various ways. However, in existing VR shopping applications, shopping contexts merely refer to the products and virtual malls or metaphorical scenes where users select products. This leads to the defect that users can only imagine rather than intuitively feel whether the selected products are suitable for their real usage scenes, resulting in a significant discrepancy between their expectations before and after the purchase. To address this issue, we propose PaRUS, a VR shopping approach that focuses on the context between products and their real usage scenexns. PaRUS begins by rebuilding the virtual scenario of the products' real usage scene through a new semantic scene reconstruction pipeline (manual operation needed), which preserves both the structured scene and textured object models in the scene. Afterwards, intuitive visualization of how the selected products fit the reconstructed virtual scene is provided. We conducted two user studies to evaluate how PaRUS impacts user experience, behavior, and satisfaction with their purchase. The results indicated that PaRUS significantly reduced the perceived performance risk and improved users' trust and expectation with their results of purchase.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Josephus Jasper Limbago, Robin Welsch, Florian Muller, Mario Di Francesco
{"title":"Don't They Really Hear Us? A Design Space for Private Conversations in Social Virtual Reality.","authors":"Josephus Jasper Limbago, Robin Welsch, Florian Muller, Mario Di Francesco","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549844","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549844","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Seamless transition between public dialogue and private talks is essential in everyday conversations. Social Virtual Reality (VR) has revolutionized interpersonal communication by creating a sense of closeness over distance through virtual avatars. However, existing social VR platforms are not successful in providing safety and supporting private conversations, thereby hindering self-disclosure and limiting the potential for meaningful experiences. We approach this problem by exploring the factors affecting private conversations in social VR applications, including the usability of different interaction methods and the awareness with respect to the virtual world. We conduct both expert interviews and a controlled experiment with a social VR prototype we realized. We then leverage the outcomes of the two studies to establish a design space that considers diverse dimensions (including privacy levels, social awareness, and modalities), laying the groundwork for more intuitive and meaningful experiences of private conversation in social VR.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bruno Caby, Guillaume Bataille, Florence Danglade, Jean-Remy Chardonnet
{"title":"Environment Spatial Restitution for Remote Physical AR Collaboration.","authors":"Bruno Caby, Guillaume Bataille, Florence Danglade, Jean-Remy Chardonnet","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549533","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The emergence of spatial immersive technologies allows new ways to collaborate remotely. However, they still need to be studied and enhanced in order to improve their effectiveness and usability for collaborators. Remote Physical Collaborative Extended Reality (RPC-XR) consists in solving augmented physical tasks with the help of remote collaborators. This paper presents our RPC-AR system and a user study evaluating this system during a network hardware assembly task. Our system offers verbal and non-verbal interpersonal communication functionalities. Users embody avatars and interact with their remote collaborators thanks to hand, head and eye tracking, and voice. Our system also captures an environment spatially, in real-time and renders it in a shared virtual space. We designed it to be lightweight and to avoid instrumenting collaborative environments and preliminary steps. It performs capture, transmission and remote rendering of real environments in less than 250ms. We ran a cascading user study to compare our system with a commercial 2D video collaborative application. We measured mutual awareness, task load, usability and task performance. We present an adapted Uncanny Valley questionnaire to compare the perception of remote environments between systems. We found that our application resulted in better empathy between collaborators, a higher cognitive load and a lower level of usability, remaining acceptable, to the remote user. We did not observe any significant difference in performance. These results are encouraging, as participants' observations provide insights to further improve the performance and usability of RPC-AR.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ning Chen, Yiran Shen, Tongyu Zhang, Yanni Yang, Hongkai Wen
{"title":"EX-Gaze: High-frequency and Low-latency Gaze Tracking with Hybrid Event-frame Cameras for On-Device Extended Reality.","authors":"Ning Chen, Yiran Shen, Tongyu Zhang, Yanni Yang, Hongkai Wen","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549565","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549565","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The integration of gaze/eye tracking into virtual and augmented reality devices has unlocked new possibilities, offering a novel human-computer interaction (HCI) modality for on-device extended reality (XR). Emerging applications in XR, such as low-effort user authentication, mental health diagnosis, and foveated rendering, demand real-time eye tracking at high frequencies, a capability that current solutions struggle to deliver. To address this challenge, we present EX-Gaze, an event-based real-time eye tracking system designed for on-device extended reality. EX-Gaze achieves a high tracking frequency of 2KHz, providing decent accuracy and low tracking latency. The exceptional tracking frequency of EX-Gaze is achieved through the use of event cameras, cutting-edge, bio-inspired vision hardware that delivers event-stream output at high temporal resolution. We have developed a lightweight tracking framework that enables real-time pupil region localization and tracking on mobile devices. To effectively leverage the sparse nature of event-streams, we introduce the sparse event-patch representation and the corresponding sparse event patches transformer as key components to reduce computational time. Implemented on Jetson Orin Nano, a low-cost, small-sized mobile device with hybrid GPU and CPU components capable of parallel processing of multiple deep neural networks, EX-Gaze maximizes the computation power of Jetson Orin Nano through sophisticated computation scheduling and offloading between GPUs and CPUs. This enables EX-Gaze to achieve real-time tracking at 2KHz without accumulating latency. Evaluation on public datasets demonstrates that EX-Gaze outperforms other event-based eye tracking methods by striking the best balance between accuracy and efficiency on mobile devices. These results highlight EX-Gaze's potential as a groundbreaking technology to support XR applications that require high-frequency and real-time eye tracking. The code is available at https://github.com/Ningreka/EX-Gaze.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Virtual Reality Impacts on Novice Programmers' Self-efficacy.","authors":"Nanlin Sun, Wallace S Lages","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549567","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549567","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Virtual Reality has been used to improve motivation and help in the visualization of complex computing topics. However, few studies directly compared immersive and non-immersive environments. To address this limitation, we developed Abacus, a programming environment that can run in both immersive and non-immersive modes. We conducted a between-subjects study (n=40), with twenty participants assigned to the desktop mode and twenty participants assigned to the VR mode. Participants used a block-based editor to complete two programming tasks: a non-spatial procedural task, and a spatial 3D math task. We found that VR led to higher gains in self-efficacy and that the gain was significant for participants with lower initial levels of experience and spatial skills.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of Proprioceptive Attenuation with Noisy Tendon Electrical Stimulation on Adaptation to beyond-Real Interaction.","authors":"Maki Ogawa, Keigo Matsumoto, Kazuma Aoyama, Takuji Narumi","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549562","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549562","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Virtual reality (VR) enables beyond-real interactions (BRI) that transcend physical constraints, offering effective user experiences like extending a hand to grasp distant objects. However, adapting to novel mappings of BRI often reduces performance and the sense of embodiment. To address this, we propose using noisy tendon electrical stimulation (n-TES) to decrease proprioceptive precision. Previous studies have suggested that attenuating proprioceptive precision is crucial for sensory-motor adaptations. Thus, we hypothesize that n-TES, which has been shown to reduce proprioceptive precision and induce visual-dependent perception in VR, can enhance user adaptation to BRI. We conducted a user study using go-go interaction, a BRI technique for interacting with distant objects, to assess the effects of n-TES. Given the individual variability in n-TES response, participants first underwent a proprioceptive precision test to determine the optimal stimulation intensity to lower the proprioceptive precision from 5 levels (σ = 0.25 - 1.25 mA). Reaching tasks using a 2x2 within-participants design evaluated the effects of go-go interaction and n-TES on performance, subjective task load, and embodiment. Results from 24 participants showed that go-go interaction increased reaching time and task load while decreasing the sense of embodiment. Contrary to our hypothesis, n-TES did not significantly mitigate most of these negative effects of go-go interaction, except that perceived agency was higher with n-TES during go-go interaction. The limited effectiveness of n-TES may be due to participants' habituation or sensory adaptation during the tasks. Future research should consider the adaptation process to BRI and investigate different BRI scenarios.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effective VR Intervention to Reduce Implicit Bias towards People with Physical Disabilities: The Interplay between Experience Design and Individual Characteristics.","authors":"Hyuckjin Jang, Jeongmi Lee","doi":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549532","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549532","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent studies utilized virtual reality (VR) as an \"empathy machine\" to mitigate bias towards various social groups. However, studies addressing bias against physical disabilities remain scarce, with inconsistent results based on VR experience design. Moreover, most studies assumed the universal effects of VR simulation on bias reduction, ignoring the potential moderating effects of individual characteristics. This study investigated how experience design components and individual characteristics moderate VR simulation's effect on changes in bias towards physical disabilities. We designed a VR wheelchair experience, manipulating the situational context (negative, neutral) and whole-body avatar visualization (visible, invisible). Participants' implicit and explicit bias levels were assessed to examine the changes according to VR design components and individual characteristics (gender, preexisting bias level). Results indicated that following the VR intervention, implicit bias was reduced in the group with higher preexisting bias but rather increased in the group with lower preexisting bias. In addition, gender interacted with avatar visualization such that male participants' implicit bias was reduced with invisible avatars but increased with visible avatars. Explicit bias, in contrast, was reduced regardless of conditions, suggesting the potential response bias in self-report measures. These findings underscore the importance of considering the complex interplay between experience design and individual characteristics in understanding VR's efficacy as an empathy-inducing tool. This study provides insights and guidelines for developing more effective VR interventions to alleviate implicit bias towards physical disabilities.</p>","PeriodicalId":94035,"journal":{"name":"IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143598490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}