Fotios Liarokapis

The herbert virtual museum

In recent years, virtual reality and augmented reality have emerged as areas of extreme interest as unique methods for visualising and interacting with digitalmuseum artefacts in a different context, for example, as a virtualmuseum or exhibition, particularly over the Internet. Modern cultural heritage exhibitions have evolved from static to dynamic exhibitions and challenging explorations. This paper presents two different applications developed for the Herbert Museum and Art Gallery that make the users experience more immersive, engaging, and interactive. The first application utilizes mobile phone devices in order to enrich the visitors experience in the museum, and the second application is a serious game for cultural heritage and in particular for museum environments focusing on the younger visitors.

Comparing interaction techniques for serious games through brain-computer interfaces:a user perception evaluation study

This paper examines the application of commercial and non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG)-based brain-computer (BCIs) interfaces with serious games. Two different EEG-based BCI devices were used to fully control the same serious game. The first device (NeuroSky MindSet) uses only a single dry electrode and requires no calibration. The second device (Emotiv EPOC) uses 14 wet sensors requiring additional training of a classifier. User testing was performed on both devices with sixty-two participants measuring the player experience as well as key aspects of serious games, primarily learnability, satisfaction, performance and effort. Recorded feedback indicates that the current state of BCIs can be used in the future as alternative game interfaces after familiarisation and in some cases calibration. Comparative analysis showed significant differences between the two devices. The first device provides more satisfaction to the players whereas the second device is more effective in terms of adaptation and interaction with the serious game.

EEG correlates of video game experience and user profile in motor-imagery-based brain---computer interaction

Through the use of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs), neurogames have become increasingly more advanced by incorporating immersive virtual environments and 3D worlds. However, training both the user and the system requires long and repetitive trials resulting in fatigue and low performance. Moreover, many users are unable to voluntarily modulate the amplitude of their brain activity to control the neurofeedback loop. In this study, we are focusing on the effect that gaming experience has in brain activity modulation as an attempt to systematically identify the elements that contribute to high BCI control and to be utilized in neurogame design. Based on the current literature, we argue that experienced gamers could have better performance in BCI training due to enhanced sensorimotor learning derived from gaming. To investigate this, two experimental studies were conducted with 20 participants overall, undergoing 3 BCI sessions, resulting in 88 EEG datasets. Results indicate (a) an effect from both demographic and gaming experience data to the activity patterns of EEG rhythms, and (b) increased gaming experience might not increase significantly performance, but it could provide faster learning for ‘Hardcore’ gamers.

Examining User Experiences in a Mobile Augmented Reality Tourist Guide

This paper presents a mobile augmented reality guide for cultural heritage. The main focus of this research was to examine user experiences in a mobile augmented reality tourist guide. Real-time tracking was performed using either computer vision techniques or sensors technologies (i.e. GPS and gyroscopes). The main features of the AR touristic application were evaluated with 30 healthy volunteers (15 males and 15 females). Results showed that users found the sensor approach easy to use and intuitive. The majority reported fast adaptation to the AR application. As far as gender differences are concerned, females were more satisfied with the AR experience compared to males and also reported higher temporal demand. Overall, feedback showed that AR technology has all the potential to be used for tourist guides since it is easy to use and intuitive.

Brain-Computer Interfaces - A Survey on Interactive Virtual Environments

This paper provides an overview of electroencephalography (EEG) based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and their present and potential uses in virtual environments and games. By reviewing relevant publications in the last 6 years, a cross-section of BCI research is given with respect to virtual environments providing insight into opportunities of future research.

EEG-based BCI and video games: a progress report

This paper presents a systematic review of electroencephalography (EEG)-based brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) used in the video games, a vibrant field of research that touches upon all relevant questions concerning the future directions of BCI. The paper examines the progress of BCI research with regard to games and shows that gaming applications offer numerous advantages by orienting BCI to concerns and expectations of a gaming application. Different BCI paradigms are investigated, and future directions are discussed.

Creative thinking experimentations for entrepreneurship with a disruptive, personalised and mobile game-based learning ecosystem

Based on an unprecedented need of stimulating creative capacities towards entrepreneurship to university students and young researchers, this paper introduces and analyses a smart learning ecosystem for encouraging teaching and learning on creative thinking as a distinct feature to be taught and learnt in universities. The paper introduces a mashed-up authoring architecture for designing lesson-plans and games with visual learning mechanics for creativity learning. The design process is facilitated by creativity pathways discerned across components. Participatory learning, networking and capacity building is a key aspect of the architecture, extending the learning experience and context from the classroom to outdoor (co-authoring of creative pathways by students, teachers and real-world entrepreneurs) and personal spaces. We anticipate that the smart learning ecosystem will be empirically evaluated and validated in future iterations for exploring the benefits of using games for enhancing creative mindsets, unlocking the imagination that lies within, practiced and transferred to multiple academic tribes and territories.

Investigating the effect of user profile during training for BCI-based games

Since brain-computer interface (BCI) systems have moved outside the laboratory settings, their use in virtual reality and games promised to offer a more compelling experience to the user. BCI for entertainment yields interesting applications with the main purpose to create positive experiences that enrich our lives. However, the main challenge in the use of BCIs lies in the lack of reliability and satisfactory performance that inexperienced users have. To evaluate such systems, not only user experience but also user profile (e.g., gender, role etc.) needs to be considered, helping us understand how a BCI system can better enhance the brain-to-game interaction. This paper illustrates the importance of gender, individual role (i.e., user profession), and time of use when interacting with a BCI game, with a total of 34 participants. Furthermore, we present the effect of reported workload and loss of self-consciousness during the game play on performance. Finally, we highlight the need for considering user profile in BCI research, and we show how this information could benefit BCI by improving the selection of suitable mental tasks.

BrainChat - A Collaborative Augmented Reality Brain Interface for Message Communication

This paper presents BrainChat, an augmented reality based multiuser concept for brain-computer interfaces. The goal is to provide seamless communication based only on thoughts. A working prototype is presented, which demonstrates two-person textual communication based on non-invasive brain computer interfaces. Design choices are discussed and directions for future work are provided, considering the relevant research directions in Brain-Computer Interfaces based on Electroencephalography.

Preface to the special issue on VS-Games 2015

The following special issue is dedicated to game technologies for serious applications. It is based on the best papers received for the Seventh International Conference on Virtual Worlds and Games for Serious Applications (VS-Games 2015) which took place in Skovde, Sweden, from 16 to 18 September 2015. The conference had 48 submissions from which these nine papers were chosen in terms of both their quality and their potential for a strong journal paper. The papers were revised significantly, and all had content added. They were subsequently reviewed by an international panel of experts whose comments benefited the finally accepted versions over two rounds of additional reviews.