Warren Chan

Development and Evaluation of Virtual Reality Medical Training System for Anatomy Education

Medical education is a dynamic field that witnesses continuous evolution and development. The employment of Virtual Reality (VR) based visualization and training environments in the delivery of anatomy teaching transfers the learning experience from one that involves memorising the structures without a true understanding of the 3-Dimensional (3D) relations, to a process that involves a thorough understanding of the structure based on visualisation rather than memorising, which makes the learning process more efficient and enjoyable, and less time consuming. This paper describes the development of a Virtual Reality and 3D visualisation system for anatomy teaching. The developed system offers a real-time 3D representation of the heart in an interactive VR environment that provides self-directed learning and assessment tools through a variety of interfaces and functionalities. To ensure the accuracy and precision of the developed system it was evaluated by a group of medical professionals.

Evolution of a full-windshield HUD designed for current VANET communication standards

Aspects of contemporary automotive research on infotainment and safety notifications have enjoyed mainstream adoption by vehicle manufacturers either as dashboard or Head-Up Display (HUD) visual cues. Such notifications, going beyond the traditional fuel/speedometer indicators, have proven popular with drivers and exhibit great safety-enhancing potential. In previous work, we proposed a HUD design which showed substantial promise towards aiding driver reactions under low visibility conditions. In this paper, we present an evolution of the original design which aims to improve on it both in terms of efficiency and cost. Alongside the new HUD design we present a newly developed medium-fidelity driving simulator that can make use of real road-traffic traces and improve on realism by considering wireless communication limitations. We use the new simulator to evaluate our HUD design and show that it compares favourably with our past efforts.

Interactive Virtual Reality Shopping and the Impact in Luxury Brands

This paper investigates the impact of human-computer interaction in virtual reality online shopping interface on the consumer experience. In particular, it measures the effectiveness of visualising a three dimensional photorealistic item, the real-time interactivity with the product and the real-time, fully interactive product customization service. The proposed VR system employs a sophisticated approach of interaction with primary objective to simplify and improve the user experience during online shopping. The proposed interface was evaluated through a preliminary questionnaire designed to simulate the typical decision making process prior to a luxury object purchase. The paper presents the outcomes of this usability trial on a group of ten luxury brands customers, the challenges involved in the HCI design are discussed, the visual components of the interface are presented in addition to an analysis of the system evaluation. Adhering to the derived feedback, our future plan of work entails additional development of the interactive tools with a view to further enhance the system usability and user experience. Furthermore we aim to introduce more object choices and customisation covering a larger group of luxury brands.

Early Notification Warning System for Prototype Head-Up Display: Development and Evaluation of Traffic Congestion and Sharp Turn Warnings

This paper presents the design and development of a prototype Head-Up Display (HUD) interface that offer early notification warnings of potential collisions under unfavourable weather and traffic conditions. In this work we particularly focus our effort in the embedment of traffic congestion and sharp turn visual warnings in a working prototype interface. In turn we present the results of a large scale evaluation of the system on a group of forty users, which contrasted the use of the proposed HUD against a typical HDD. Finally the paper offers suggestions for further research and a tentative plan for future work.

The Design Considerations of a Virtual Reality Application for Heart Anatomy and Pathology Education

Anatomy and pathology of the human body are complex subjects that cannot be elucidated easily to the medical students through traditional description and illustration methods. The proposed interactive system aims to present clear information on demand. For enhancing further the three-dimensional understanding of the anatomical information, a virtual reality environment was developed in order to accommodate different 3D models of the human body. In this case we opted for the heart model as it presents a unique section of the body that can produce motion and sound. The produced model was further simplified for use by patients who wish to understand better the generic anatomy and typical pathologies of the heart. Additionally the paper presents the data results of the system evaluation performed by ten users. The derived results although promising, highlighted some benefits and drawbacks of the proposed system that we aim, to improve in the near future. Finally the paper concludes with a plan of future work which will entail further interactivity through audio incorporation and gesture recognition.

A Semantic Web-Based Approach for Generating Parametric Models Using RDF

Semantic-rich 3D parametric models, like Building Information Models (BIMs) are becoming the main information source during the entire lifespan of an asset. The use of BIM in existing buildings has been hampered by the challenges surrounding the limitations of existing technologies for developing retrofit models. Some progress has been recently made in generating non-parametric models from the Point Cloud Data (PCD). However, a proper fully developed parametric model is still some way away. In this paper, challenges are addressed by reviewing the state-of-the-art before presenting our approach. The aim of our approach is to apply the Semantic Web Technologies for generating parametric models using PCD as primary data. The Semantic Web as a set of standards and technologies is used for providing an appropriate framework for storing, sharing, and reusing the semantics of information on the web. Building elements are recognized in PCD, and the concept of Resource Description Framework (RDF) as a Semantic Web technology and a standard model for interchanging the data on the web is then used to markup detected elements. The RDF data is then standardized to Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) as an open standard building data model to generate the parametric model of the asset utilizing BIM software that supports IFC. Some parts of this ongoing research are performed manually, and the future work is to implement the process automatically. Primary results are quite promising and should be of interest to the modeling of all kinds of assets, in particular, Historical Building Information Modelling (HBIM).

Employment of Semantic Web Technologies for Capturing Comprehensive Parametric Building Models

Building Information Modelling is a well-known acronym in the construction industry. BIM process is more than modelling buildings, and it provides the opportunity to drive efficiency and effectiveness to the information management of build projects. Accordingly, Building Information Models (BIMs), typically known as semantic three-dimensional parametric models, are fast becoming the comprehensive information source in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC), and Facility Management (FM). The use of BIM in existing buildings has been hampered by the challenges and limitations surrounding the available technologies. The most popular and commonly used approach for generating models is to manually generate 3D artefacts utilizing point measurements extracted from range-based technologies (typically 3D laser scanning). In the recent past, several studies have been carried out to make the retro t BIM development process as effective and efficient as possible by developing different methods for mapping 3D models using Point Cloud Data (PCD) as the main source of information. However, an appropriate fully generated parametric model is still some way away. In this paper, we review the-state-of-the-art to address the research gap and challenges involved in generating parametric models before outlining the proposal of our approach. In this research, we employ Semantic Web technologies to capture parametric models. Elements are first recognized in PCD, and corresponding geometric information extracted from PCD are then tagged with Universally Unique Identifiers (UUIDs). Tags are then linked with the generated Resource Description Framework (RDF) data for each element. The core and challenging part of this research is the standardization process where RDF as a serialization is translated to Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) as a data model. The generated IFC format is then utilized to capture corresponding models. The primary results are very promising and should be of interest to the modelling of all kinds of building components, particularly historical building information modelling (HBIM).

Development and Heuristic Evaluation of Semi-immersive Hand-Gestural Virtual Reality Interface for Luxury Brands Online Stores

This paper introduces HCI design approach for an online shopping gestural-based interface. The proposed semi-immersive Virtual Reality (VR) interface aims to elevate the user experience in such indirect environment, where effective delivering of functional yet distinguishable experience effectively is crucial. The system comprises product customisation and personalization service, in which the product is visualized in a three-dimensional highly interactive manner.

Asynchronous Telemedicine Diagnosis of Musculoskeletal Injuries through a Prototype Interface in Virtual Reality Environment

Telehealth provides a much needed option for remote diagnosis and monitoring of various pathologies and patients. Remote provision of health care can offer a two fold support for the medical system and the patients. Primarily it could serve isolated locations and secondly it could monitor a large number of outpatient cases directly on their homes instead of the hospital premises. However in specific cases direct communication and visual data acquisition can be a major obstacle. To this end we have developed a prototype system that could enable the medical practitioners to have real-time diagnosis through 3D captured visual and motion data. This data are recreated in a Virtual Reality environment in the hospital facilities offering a unique system for remote diagnosis. This paper presents the design considerations and development process of the system and discusses the preliminary results from the system evaluation. The paper concludes with a tentative plan of future work which aims to offer the medical practitioners and the patient with a complete interface which can acquire gait data and thus analyse a large variety of musculoskeletal pathologies.