Paulo Noriega

Using Virtual Reality to Assess User Experience

Objective: The aim of this article is to discuss how user experience (UX) evaluation can benefit from the use of virtual reality (VR). Background: UX is usually evaluated in laboratory settings. However, considering that UX occurs as a consequence of the interaction between the product, the user, and the context of use, the assessment of UX can benefit from a more ecological test setting. VR provides the means to develop realistic-looking virtual environments with the advantage of allowing greater control of the experimental conditions while granting good ecological validity. Method: The methods used to evaluate UX, as well as their main limitations, are identified. The current VR equipment and its potential applications (as well as its limitations and drawbacks) to overcome some of the limitations in the assessment of UX are highlighted. Results: The relevance of VR for UX studies is discussed, and a VR-based framework for evaluating UX is presented. Conclusion: UX research may benefit from a VR-based methodology in the scopes of user research (e.g., assessment of users’ expectations derived from their lifestyles) and human–product interaction (e.g., assessment of users’ emotions since the first moment of contact with the product and then during the interaction). Application: This article provides knowledge to researchers and professionals engaged in the design of technological interfaces about the usefulness of VR in the evaluation of UX.

Determinants of sleepiness at work among railway control workers

In the last two decades the control of the Portuguese railway network has become much more centralized in three centres, there integrating the functions of route flow management, electrical control and signalling. This study aimed to investigate the influence of work and individual determinants in sleepiness among railway control workers, namely socio-demographic factors, work ability, psychosocial factors, shiftwork characteristics, fatigue perception, and sleep. Sleepiness by shift was associated with quality of sleep, job satisfaction, fatigue perception, quantitative demands, and age. The results indicate a high prevalence of sleepiness during the night shift and show the relevance of the quality of sleep as a predictor in the three models of sleepiness for morning, afternoon and night shifts. This study, done at the major Portuguese railway control centre, alerted managers to the importance of schedule planning as well as sleepiness prevention plans and makes these results a reference for future research.

Can Virtual Reality Increase Emotional Responses (Arousal and Valence)? A Pilot Study

Emotions in the context of UX are generally evaluated in regard to product appearance and sensorial experience. The use of virtual reality can be a way to study UX in consumer products. We want to evaluate if we could increase emotional responses using a virtual reality immersive system. For that purpose, we used the GAPED picture database and compared valence and arousal ratings of GAPED and those obtained using virtual reality. Results showed that arousal was higher in virtual reality for all images, and valence was negatively extreme for images of living creatures usually associated with phobias (spiders and snakes). Nonetheless being this is a pilot study, we conclude that there is a tendency for Virtual Reality to increase emotional responses.

Are Emergency Egress Signs Strong Enough to Overlap the Influence of the Environmental Variables

This paper aims to explore the strength of environmental variables (i.e., corridor width and brightness), in directing people to indoor locations during emergency situations. The existence of contradictory information was manipulated by inserting posted signs pointing to the opposite direction to the one suggested by the environmental variables. A Virtual Reality-based methodology was used to collect participants’ directional choices. Sixty-four participants had to find a specific room as quickly as possible in a virtual hotel in which they navigated through 12 corridor intersections (two-forced-choices). Two experimental conditions were considered (i.e., Signs and No-signs conditions) according to the exit signs availability. Results indicated that for the first decision point in an emergency situation with signs, 65.6% of the participants preferred to follow the wider corridor instead of the exit sign direction. Percentages of choices favoring the path opposite to that posted by the sign decreased along the escape route suggesting that with the repeated exposure to an exit sign people increased their compliance with it.

Evaluating Emotional Responses to the Interior Design of a Hospital Room: A Study Using Virtual Reality

Many studies have shown the ability of interior design elements (e.g., artwork, nature, home elements) to elicit positive emotions on hospital users thereby enhancing the healing process. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether such elements can affect users’ emotional responses during a VR experience. In this study we explored the influence of interior design elements (i.e., landscape poster, painting, plant and home chair), on the participants’ emotional responses after being exposed to 3D virtual hospital rooms. We used a short version of Zipers scales, developed by Zuckerman, to explore participants’ emotional responses regarding 28 rooms, resulting from all the possible combinations of the identified elements plus a neutral and a negative room. Our sample included 30 university students. The results show that the more elements present in the hospital room the more positive the emotional response. The landscape and artwork elements emitted positive responses, whereas the home chair did not.

Using Virtual Reality to Examine Hazard Perception in Package Design

Informing users about the correct hazard level associated with products can be one of the most important measures to help promote user safety while they handle hazardous household chemicals. The aim of this paper is to present pilot study’s results about the effectiveness of using a VR-based methodology to examine the influence of a container’s features (e.g., shapes) on the users’ perception of hazardousness. Previous works have mostly used 2D drawings for this type of study. Issues which may compromise the quality of future experiments: e.g., adequacy of VR devices, interaction quality, simulator-sickness, procedure and quality of the instruments (i.e., questionnaires) are discussed. Despite the fact that the key experiment has not yet been completed, very promising results have been obtained, suggesting that the VR simulator and the methodology adopted may provide a successful evaluation of the packages’ hazardousness.

Applications and Interface Requirements to Engage the Citizens to Share Information in a Smart City Project

Today the cities are faced with new challenges provoked by the displacement of population to the urban areas. Cities have started to find for information and communication technologies solutions that enable high-quality and more efficient urban services. In this context, this study aims to propose a strategy to create the interfaces for a project related with smart cities. Considering that an interface acceptance by the users is important for its success, we develop a survey based in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM and adapted TAM2) and Motivational Model (MM), to understand their preferences to use different types of interfaces. The sample consisted of 225 Portuguese (107 male and 118 female, min = 18; max = 65 years old. The main results show the age is an important factor concerning their interface preferences and motivations to share information. These results demonstrate the need to develop different applications, one for younger adults that integrate all services and several applications for older adults, grouping one or more services, with different interfaces and rewards mechanisms.

Evaluation of the Relationship Between Virtual Environments and Emotions

This study describes the emotional responses to the use of virtual reality (VR) environments. Namely the relation between different environments and axial emotional dimensions: valence, arousal and dominance. To better understand this relation, were also evaluated presence, concentration, relaxation. We evaluated the experience of 146 participants in three virtual environments: Helix® (a roller coaster experience); Yana® (a beach sunset/sunrise experience); Surge® (an abstract environment transformation experience). Helix® proved to be a facilitator of presence and arousal. Surge® results are like the Helix® except that levels of relaxation are lower. Yana® is a facilitator of dominance but levels of arousal and presence was the lowest of the three. The presence was positively related with arousal. Relaxation had a negative relation with arousal and presence. The emotional appraisals were different for each environment. These results are useful in developing virtual environments to model emotional experience.

Can the Context Stigmatize the Assistive Technology? A Preliminary Study Using Virtual Environments

Some studies report that aesthetics of Assistive Technologies (AT) as well as the emotional reactions that occurs when it is observed and used have great impact on stigmatization. In this scope, and based on the fact that the context influences the User Experience (UX) with AT, we are interested in investigate if the context influences the stigmatization of an AT, in particular a traditional wheelchair. It was developed a questionnaire with semantic variables related to aesthetic and emotional reactions, used by 46 university students when interact with two virtual environments with a wheelchair: a garden environment with people and other with the wheelchair only. We did not identify statistically significant differences between the two contexts for emotional and aesthetics variables. This preliminary study points the need to develop more studies related with the influence of the participant population, the characteristics of context and the need to have a narrative to avoid different interpretations of the situation.

A Pilot Study Using Virtual Reality to Investigate the Effects of Emergency Egress Signs Competing with Environmental Variables on Route Choices

Emergencies (e.g., fire egress) into complex buildings are stressful situations which can provoke unexpected, undesired and sometimes unsafety behaviors in the users. Thus, the main objective of this pilot study was to investigate the relative influence of new technology-based exit signs, when compared to the conventional static ISO-type counterparts, in the users’ wayfinding behavior during an emergency egress. A critical situation was designed in which the environmental variables and exit signs, at the 12 decision points, were giving conflicting directional information. Thirty participants were randomly assigned to the two groups (i.e., Static signs and dynamic signs), and their route-choices in the 12 decision points displaced along a route into a virtual hotel were collected using a Virtual Reality-based methodology. Findings suggest that for the group exposed to static ISO-type exit signs, the reliance on environmental variables decreased along the egress route, and for the first intersection about 73% of participants preferred to follow by the direction which was the opposite of that posted on the egress sign. However, when technology-based signs were used, the influence of the environmental variables was weak from the first decision point to the end, as suggested by a compliance rate with the exit signs reaching almost 98% along the entire route.