Christopher J. Headleand

Sketching Designs Using the Five Design-Sheet Methodology

Sketching designs has been shown to be a useful way of planning and considering alternative solutions. The use of lo-fidelity prototyping, especially paper-based sketching, can save time, money and converge to better solutions more quickly. However, this design process is often viewed to be too informal. Consequently users do not know how to manage their thoughts and ideas (to first think divergently, to then finally converge on a suitable solution). We present the Five Design Sheet (FdS) methodology. The methodology enables users to create information visualization interfaces through lo-fidelity methods. Users sketch and plan their ideas, helping them express different possibilities, think through these ideas to consider their potential effectiveness as solutions to the task (sheet 1); they create three principle designs (sheets 2,3 and 4); before converging on a final realization design that can then be implemented (sheet 5). In this article, we present (i) a review of the use of sketching as a planning method for visualization and the benefits of sketching, (ii) a detailed description of the Five Design Sheet (FdS) methodology, and (iii) an evaluation of the FdS using the System Usability Scale, along with a case-study of its use in industry and experience of its use in teaching.

The Implementation and Validation of a Virtual Environment for Training Powered Wheelchair Manoeuvres

Navigating a powered wheelchair and avoiding collisions is often a daunting task for new wheelchair users. It takes time and practice to gain the coordination needed to become a competent driver and this can be even more of a challenge for someone with a disability. We present a cost-effective virtual reality (VR) application that takes advantage of consumer level VR hardware. The system can be easily deployed in an assessment centre or for home use, and does not depend on a specialized high-end virtual environment such as a Powerwall or CAVE. This paper reviews previous work that has used virtual environments technology for training tasks, particularly wheelchair simulation. We then describe the implementation of our own system and the first validation study carried out using thirty three able bodied volunteers. The study results indicate that at a significance level of 5 percent then there is an improvement in driving skills from the use of our VR system. We thus have the potential to develop the competency of a wheelchair user whilst avoiding the risks inherent to training in the real world. However, the occurrence of cybersickness is a particular problem in this application that will need to be addressed.

A Cost-Effective Virtual Environment for Simulating and Training Powered Wheelchairs Manoeuvres

Control of a powered wheelchair is often not intuitive, making training of new users a challenging and sometimes hazardous task. Collisions, due to a lack of experience can result in injury for the user and other individuals. By conducting training activities in virtual reality (VR), we can potentially improve driving skills whilst avoiding the risks inherent to the real world. However, until recently VR technology has been expensive and limited the commercial feasibility of a general training solution. We describe Wheelchair-Rift, a cost effective prototype simulator that makes use of the Oculus Rift head mounted display and the Leap Motion hand tracking device. It has been assessed for face validity by a panel of experts from a local Posture and Mobility Service. Initial results augur well for our cost-effective training solution.

Template based evolution

This paper describes a novel approach to multi-agent simulation where agents evolve freely within their environment. We present Template Based Evolution (TBE), a genetic evolution algorithm that evolves behaviour for embodied situated agents whose fitness is tested implicitly through repeated trials in an environment. All agents that survive in the environment breed freely, creating new agents based on the average genome of two parents. This paper describes the design of the algorithm and applies it to a model where virtual migratory creatures are evolved to survive the simulated environment. Comparisons made between the evolutionary responses of the artificial creatures and observations of natural systems justify the strength of the methodology for species simulation.

How the Perceived Identity of a NPC Companion Influences Player Behavior

This paper explores how the perceived identity of a Non-Player Character NPC effects a players behaviour in computer games. We explore whether the players will change their behaviour towards a synthetic in-game companion if it assumes different identities. Specifically, will the players change their behaviour if they interact with an identical artificial intelligence, assuming a guise of a human or robot companion. To investigate this question we developed a top-down, 2D on-line game where the player is given the objective of surviving successive waves of hostile opponents. As a secondary objective the player is asked to protect a unarmed male, female or robot companion. The intention is to explore whether the player is more protective over a known NPC assuming either a human or non-human identity. The results of our study indicate that superficially changing the identity of an AI companion can have a dramatic influence over the players behaviour. The players in this study are shown to be significantly more protective to human rather than robot companions, despite the underlying AI being identical. Moreover, our results highlight further differences between the male and female companions.

Towards Crowd-Sourced Parameter Optimisation for Procedural Animation

Procedural animation systems are capable of synthesizing vivid organic character motion automatically. However, these systems can consist of hundreds of interlinked parameters, yielding a very large search space of potential animations and emergent behaviours. Parametrised Animation is also notoriously difficult to automatically optimise, as the resultant motion or behaviour can be subtle, complex and subjective. We describe a web-based simulation that enables multiple users to interactively rate the animation of a randomly generated population of virtual creatures based on a prescribed criteria. A record of each individual rating is stored and used to seed subsequent generations, thereby guiding the system towards exhibiting a desired type of motion or behaviour. We start by introducing issues inherent to procedural animation techniques and survey related work. We then describe our prototype implementation that allows multiple users to interactively shape the parameters of a snake-like animation system in real-time. We conclude by discussing the next steps of our research, including the optimisation of procedurally animated dolphins.

Does the Perceived Identity of Non-player Characters Change How We Interact with Them?

Although there have been studies demonstrating that users will respond favorably to synthetic companions and team-mates in computer games, there has been little research into how a players behavior may change when a known non-player character (NPC) assumes a human identity or persona. This is a common scenario in modern computer games, where players interact with NPCs assuming the guise of human characters. To explore this question, an online game was developed in which a human player had a primary objective of surviving against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. As a secondary objective, the player was tasked with protecting an unarmed NPC companion which assumed either a human, or non-human identity, but with identical underlying Artificial Intelligence. The intention was to explore whether the human player would be more or less protective of a synthetic companion simply due to the identity assumed. The results of the study demonstrate that players behavior does change based on identity, and clearly indicates that the player was more protective of the companion assuming a human identity. Furthermore, the results show that this phenomenon extends beyond simple human and non-human identities, and that the specific persona, or gender of the NPC may influence the players empathy towards it.

The Influence of Virtual Reality on the Perception of Artificial Intelligence Characters in Games

Virtual Reality is a technology which is quickly leaving the laboratory and being placed in the hands of the consumer. With many large hardware manufacturers and games development studios investing heavily in the future of the technology, we are starting to see the first VR-based games become available. But will the consumerization of VR hardware change how games developers consider Artificial Intelligence? In this study, we begin by discussing how the perception of an AI-based character may change how a user interacts with it. Based on this survey, we ask the following question: “Do AI characters appear more or less human-like though Virtual Reality, as opposed to typical monitor-based viewing mediums?” We conduct a study where 16 participants play two games (a First Person Shooter (FPS), and a racing game), both played through VR and a monitor (4 games in total). In this study, the participants are told that they will play two games against another human participant, and two against an AI driven character and that they must make a judgement on what they are playing against for each game. However, they actually play against identical AI characters in both viewing instances of the two games. The results show a clear split in assessment for the two games; when the racing game was played through VR, the participants concluded that their opponent was Human; however, when played through the monitor, they concluded they were playing against an AI. However, the opposite trend is apparent when the participants played the FPS game. We conclude the VR does change the way we perceive AI characters; however this change in perception needs to be further investigated.

Benchmarking Grammar-Based Genetic Programming Algorithms

The publication of Grammatical Evolution (GE) led to the development of numerous variants of this Grammar-Based approach to Genetic Programming (GP). In order for these variants to be compared, the community requires a rigorous means for benchmarking the algorithms. However, GP as a field is not known for the quality of its benchmarking, with many identified problems, making direct comparisons either difficult or impossible in many cases. Aside from there not being a single, agreed-upon, benchmarking test, the tests currently utilised have shown a lack of standardisation. We motivate the following research by identifying some key issues with current benchmarking approaches. We then propose a standardised set of metrics for future benchmarking and demonstrate the use of these metrics by running a comparison of three Grammar-Based Genetic Programming methods. We conclude the work by discussing the results and proposing directions for future benchmarking.

Manipulating Reality?: Designing and Deploying Virtual Reality in Sensitive Settings

Virtual reality (VR) is now being designed and deployed in diverse sensitive settings, especially for therapeutic purposes. For example, VR experiences are used for diversional therapy in aged care and as therapy for people living with conditions such as phobias and post-traumatic stress. While these uses of VR offer great promise, they also present significant challenges. Given the novelty of VR, its immersive nature, and its impact on the users sense of reality, it can be particularly challenging to engage participants in co-design and predict what might go wrong when implementing these technologies in sensitive settings. This workshop provides a forum for researchers working in this emerging space to share stories about their experiences of designing and evaluating VR applications in settings such as aged care or mental health therapy. The workshop will develop a manifesto for good practice, outlining co-design strategies and ethical issues to consider when designing and deploying VR in sensitive settings.