Introduction Augmented reality is a promising technology for enhancing remote medical assistance. It assists users by directly projecting the relevant virtual assistance in the real world at the right moment and at the right location. This modality is called colocalization but has not been validated in parabolic flights. Our hypothesis was that this modality is technically feasible in weightlessness and is superior to a paper checklist in assisting a caregiver during a simulated medical emergency. Methods During parabolic flight campaigns, we conducted an abdominal pain simulation scenario and sought to compare procedural assistances. Participants performed a basic medical examination using either classic cognitive aids (such as a paper checklist) or an augmented-reality device projecting visual co-localized (situated or embedded) assistance. Results Gravity variations induced technical difficulties in the nominal functioning of augmented-reality headsets due to the native accelerometers in these devices. Clinical data were not interpretable due to small sample size secondary to the technical difficulties encountered. Finally, an efficient and stable spatial tracking configuration was found during the last flight, offering future research perspectives. Conclusions Our study validated the first achievement of a stable co-localized assistance under gravity variation. The augmented-reality headset required an external tracking system based on surrounding infrared cameras and an in-flight calibration to recreate the virtual environment (spatial mapping) independently of gravity conditions. Further studies are needed to clinically validate the potential benefits of co-localized augmented reality for space medicine.

In fields like military aviation, virtual assistance is crucial to manage the overwhelming amount of information pilots deal with, reducing their workload. This study seeks to determine the key factors for effective collaboration between pilots and assistants, focusing on embodiment and communication style, which may vary based on the situation criticality. A pilot evaluation show that both embodiment and communication style should be adapted to operational context, especially critical ones (i.e. presence of VA after a loss of consciousness and task oriented communication style during combat phases).

This paper presents an extended reality (XR) application designed to raise awareness about coastal flooding risks linked to climate change. Built from open-source geospatial data and high-resolution photogrammetry surveyed by the team, the user is able to explore climate scenarios by combining global projections from the IPCC with local sea-level data. The experience offers model-scale interaction and immersive first-person navigation.

One huge advantage of Augmented Reality (AR) is its numerous possibilities of displaying information in the physical world, especially when applying Situated Analytics (SitA). AR devices and their respective interaction techniques allow for supplementary guidance to assist an operator carrying out complex procedures such as medical diagnosis and surgery, for instance. Their usage promotes user autonomy by presenting relevant information when the operator may not necessarily possess expert knowledge of every procedure and may also not have access to external help such as in a remote or isolated situation (e.g., International Space Station, middle of an ocean, desert). In this paper, we propose a comparison of two different forms of AR visualisation: An embedded visualisation and a situated projected visualisation, with the aim to assist operators with the most appropriate visualisation format when carrying out procedures (medical in our case). To evaluate these forms of visualisation, we carried out an experiment involving 23 participants possessing latent/novice medical knowledge. These participant profiles were representative of operators who are medically trained yet do not apply their knowledge every day (e.g., an astronaut in orbit or a sailor out at sea). We discuss our findings which include the advantages of embedded visualised information in terms of precision compared to situated projected information with the accompanying limitations in addition to future improvements to our proposition. We conclude with the prospects of our work, notably the continuation and possibility of evaluating our proposition in a less controlled and real context in collaboration with our national space agency.

The project is located in the field of knowledge engineering, virtual reality and digital humanities on the theme of human activity versus history and heritage of industrial cultural landscapes. Our objectives are to develop and validate virtual laboratories, cross-disciplinary research methods, collaborative methods involving institutions or other actors in cultural history, and the digital preservation and cultural facilitation of industrial trades. Our hypothesis is that a Sensory Realistic Intelligent Virtual Environment where the body is engaged results in a better retrieval of knowledge, a better elicitation, the possibility of capturing gestures and embodied knowledge, and new facilitation methods. Collaborative VR makes it possible to develop multidisciplinary research methods and innovative facilitation scenarios with a qualitative and quantitative leap forward concerning elicitation and the restitution of knowledge and know how.

Historians use spatio-temporal navigation for their models and studies of historical evolutions and events. Their findings can then be exhibited in cultural mediation centers or museums. The latter, both to facilitate the transmission of knowledge and to make their exhibitions more attractive, are now exploiting new technologies. Indeed, digital systems allow, among other things, visitors to navigate spatially and temporally in virtual reconstructions of historical environments. We propose to combine these virtual representations with a tangible interface to provide visitors with an immersive experience and engaging interactions. To do so, we have set up a co-design process involving cultural mediation actors (museum directors, historians, etc.). The result is SABLIER, a tangible interactor to navigate through space and time based on the interaction metaphors and natural affordance of an hourglass. Finally, we have conducted an evaluation of the acceptability of our interactor, whose results are positive.

In emergency medical procedures, positive and trusting interactions between followers and leaders are imperative. That interaction is even more important when a virtual agent assumes the leader role and a human assumes the follower role. In order to manage the human-computer interaction, situational leadership is employed to match the human follower to an appropriate leadership style embodied by the agent. Situational leadership was used to create 33 utterances indicative of the four different leadership styles. A participant evaluation was then carried out in order to examine (1) whether perceptions of leader trust and motivation vary dependent on both readiness level and utterance syntax and (2) whether follower ability and willingness are affected by the leader’s speech. We found that general perceptions of leadership behavior influenced follower performance and that the leader’s speech influences followers’ ability. Finally, we demonstrate how the results of this study are implemented in a virtual agent system.

Over the past decades the urban night landscapes have been associated with over-lighting, which has become the norm. Arguably, lighting systems play a major role in the city life (feeling of safety, development of a night time economy and various night practices). But the urge for reducing energy consumption and protecting biodiversity must be considered while designing public lighting, without compromising the feeling of safety. In this paper, researchers from Urban Planning, Psychology and Computer Science were gathered by the transdisciplinary research program “Noz Breizh". They are proposing an exploratory approach to use Virtual Reality to test different lighting intensities for studying its impact on the feeling of safety of pedestrians. As a first result we observed a logarithmic relation between the feeling of safety and the light intensity.

We propose a virtual medical assistant to guide both novice and expert caregivers through a procedure without the direct help of medical professionals. Our medical assistant uses situational leadership to handle all interaction with a caregiver, which works by identifying the readiness level of the caregiver in order to match them with an appropriate style of communication. The agent system (1) obtains caregiver behavior during the procedure, (2) calculates a readiness level of the caregiver using that behavior, and (3) generates appropriate agent behavior to progress the procedure and maintain a positive interaction with the caregiver.

In order to present the results of their work to the general public, historians of science and technology represent technical systems, the activities associated to them and their temporal evolutions in Virtual Reality. The immersed user can then navigate spatially to observe the studied technical systems and temporally according to 2 time scales to observe the temporal evolution of these systems. The different concepts and scales of navigation make this task complex. We therefore propose a model for representing time in an activity model and a tangible user interface allowing a user to navigate spatially and temporally within a Virtual Environment.

In a medical emergency in which an amateur caregiver is separated from medical experts by space and/or time, a virtual assistant could be useful in order to guide the caregiver through the required procedure successfully. A successful procedure is one that preserves and improves the health of the patient and maintains a positive interaction between the caregiver and the assistant. Regardless of whether the caregiver is experienced in the tasks in the procedure, the assistant must be able to guide them through each step. To manage the interaction between the assistant and caregiver, we employ situational leadership. We propose an agent system for (1) obtaining caregiver behavior during the procedure, (2) assigning a follower style to the caregiver, (3) determining the appropriate leadership style for the assistant, and (4) generating appropriate agent behavior to progress the procedure and maintain a positive interaction with the caregiver.

The PRISME model introduced in this article is part of ongoing research in ergonomics on the design and manufacture of industrial operator platforms. The underlying research objective is based on new advances in Mixed Reality when used as an intermediate stage within the simulation process. While using Virtual Environments as such a way holds great potential in cutting down production costs, it also requires user interactions to be fit-to-use to each specific line of work. PRISME is introducing an innovative solution to this issue by proving an automatic link (removing the need for domain-specific adaptations) between operator tasks and interactions with their platform. This research will be presented in two stages: a generic typology of interactors allowing to represent the majority of tangible and MR devices will be followed by an interaction model based on MASCARET's activity description meta-model syntax. Finally, an aeronautical use case will validate the model by simulating the standard operations performed by an airplane controller.

The PRISME model introduced in this article is part of ongoing research On VR and AR for ergonomics and the design of industrial operator platforms. In this context, PRISME is an innovative solution by proving an automatic link (removing the need for domain-specific adaptations) between operator tasks and interactions with their platform. This research will be presented in two stages: a generic topology of interactors in Mixed and Tangible reality followed by an interaction model based on MASCARET’s activity description meta-model syntax. Finally, an aeronautical use case will validate the model by simulating the standard operations performed by an airplane controller.

In a medical environment, coordination between medical staff is imperative. In cases in which a human doctor or medical coordinator is not present, patient care, particularly from non-experts, becomes more difficult. The difficulty increases when care is completed at a remote site, for example, on a manned mission to Mars. Communication capability from medical experts on Mars is limited. To address this problem, a medical assistant remote system is proposed to act as a coordinator between the humans present and the remote medical experts. A virtual agent assuming such a role will accept feedback from both, running the situation without errors and additional stress. Leadership styles will be employed by the agent to develop trust and perception of competence among its followers. Additionally, prediction of behaviour and situational changes by both medical professionals and by the agent are necessary in order to combat a 10-minute latency affecting communication between Earth and Mars.