Virtual and augmented reality

Chromotherapy rooms (CRs) are physical spaces with colored lights able to enhance an individual's mood, well-being, and, in the long term, their health. Virtual reality technology can be used to implement CR (VRCRs) and provide higher flexibility at lower costs. However, existing VRCRs are limited to a few use cases, and they do not fully explore the potential and pitfalls of the technology. This work contributes by comparing three VRCR designs: empty, static, and dynamic. Empty is just a void but a blue-colored environment. Static adds static abstract graphics (flowers and sea texture), and dynamic adds dynamic elements (animated star particle systems, fractals, and ocean flow). All conditions include relaxing low-beta and ocean sounds. We conducted a between-subject experiment (n = 30) with the three conditions. Subjects compiled a self-perceived questionnaire and a mathematical stress test before and after the VRCR experience. The results demonstrated that the dynamic condition provided a higher sense of presence, while the self-perceived stress level was insignificant. Dynamic VR conditions are perceived as having a shorter duration, and participants declared that they felt more involved and engaged than in the other conditions. Overall, the study demonstrated that VRCRs have a non-trivial behavior and need further study of their design, especially considering their role in a future where VR will be an everyday working interface.

Keywords: color therapy , immersive virtual worlds , interaction design , stress management , user presence , wellbeing

The metaverse, driven by mixed reality (MR), is positioned as the future market, revolutionizing product exploration in virtual space. Existing literature on this subject mainly focuses on Business-To-Consumer (B2C) perspectives, leaving a gap in understanding Business-To-Business (B2B) applications, particularly in the fashion industry. This paper introduces a “Mixed Tactile Catalog” (MTC) for B2B that combines a physical, foldable cardboard booth with an MR application linked to a Head-Mounted Display (HMD). Targeting the fashion sector's need for high standards in material evaluation, the MTC allows retailers and distributors to browse garments, customize material attributes, and receive visual and tangible feedback. Evaluation through a focus group of 10 industry experts revealed positive feedback. The MTC maintains the tangibility of traditional B2B showrooms and reduces the environmental impact by minimizing transportation, samples, and waste. This innovative approach offers an efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional physical showrooms, enhancing both economic and ecological aspects.

Keywords: Clothing , Extended reality , Haptic interfaces , Industries , Metaverse , Virtual reality , Visualization

Virtual reality metaverse is candidate to be the future platform for re-tail. Nevertheless, the knowledge in designing virtual environments and their influence on products is limited in literature. Common 'brick and mortar' virtualization of shops as realistic digital twin is a reductive approach compared to more creative experiences. This work explores novel paradigms by evaluating 'anomalous environ-ments' deviated from the ordinary conception. Different anomalies are evaluated within 8 scenes promoting an existing line of futuristic-looking tracksuits. The experimentation on 42 subjects, shows that anomalous environments, especially when aligned with the product's storytelling, can increase products likeability, interest and perceived valorization.

Keywords: fashion , Metaverse , perception , product valorization , retail , storytelling , virtual environments , virtual reality

Conveying the quality of garments through media as in the physical store is demanding. This study proposes the design of a VR interface that aims to convey outerwear quality, featuring the 3D model animated through physical simulation. To measure the effectiveness of this interface, it is tested simultaneously with its corresponding desktop counterpart, with the photo gallery of the product, in a within-subject analysis on 50 users. Results show that perceived quality of products changes between the experiences. Moreover, in VR visual content was found to be more significant for the quality assessment than written information.

Keywords: outer-wear , perception , quality , user interface , Virtual reality

One key aspect of the fashion industry is the presence of small manufacturing companies and their need to present a sample collection to the reseller and find wholesalers. This Business-to-Business (B2B) activity is characterized by complex storytelling and communication methods to convey the value of the products: materials, finishes, sizes, and fit options. Usually, the showroom is used to present the garment collection, a representative of the manufacturer, and one or more resellers. Setting up a physical showroom is expensive and requires the transportation of the entire collection. During the pandemic, when physical interactions were severely limited, companies had to adopt alternative solutions by using the Internet to communicate with other companies. By the end of this period, the use of such solutions proved to be extremely convenient and practical. We present a Metaverse-based showroom, that differently from the literature focuses on B2B fashion showrooms instead of direct sales or retail. We based on the VRChat and used Head-Mounted Displays (HMD) to recreate a real-life showroom. The users are remotely seated at a shared desk in front of the catwalk. The reseller can interact with the following functions: collection presentation, fashion show participation, and material/color configuration. We conducted a user study with 10 expert subjects, simulating two remote-selling scenarios of a jacket collection from a partner company with real experienced sellers and distributors user and assessing the user experience measurement. The user test is measured with the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). The results showed positive evaluations in terms of attractivity, apprendibility, stimulation, originality, and positive outcomes regarding sustainability.

Keywords: Business-To-Business , Fashion Industry , Metaverse , Showroom , User Experience , Virtual Reality

This study proposes a ground-breaking idea at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and virtual education: the creation of an AI-powered Digital Twin instructor in a Metaverse-based classroom using Large Language Models. We aim to build a teacher avatar capable of dynamic interactions with students, tailored teaching approaches, and contextual response inside a virtual world. The research aims to address two major issues for both students and teachers: the Digital Twin can provide feedbacks to resolve doubts about course content and material; also, it can improve student management and allow teachers to answer the trickiest questions raised by students.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence , Computer education programs , Computer-assisted instruction , dialogue and pragmatics Applied computing , Discourse , Education , Natural language processing , Professional topics , Social and professional topics , Software engineering education; Computing methodologies

The demand for ethically sourced and safe products has surged, prompting industries to adopt intricate traceability systems. Blockchain technology revolutionizes traceability by ensuring data integrity and transparency in supply chains. However, complexities within supply chains often obfuscate meaningful insights for consumers. This paper explores leveraging Augmented Reality to enhance Blockchain-based traceability systems. By integrating AR, consumers can seamlessly access traceability information through QR codes, presented via optimized 3D models. This immersive approach fosters trust by visually demonstrating product quality. The architecture combines QR codes, Vuforia markers, and Blockchain, ensuring data security and immutability.

Keywords: Computer systems organization , Distributed architectures , Security and privacy , Security services , Software and its engineering , Software design engineering

Over the decades, technical documentation has moved from paper to digital, until today in which operators, through Augmented Reality (AR), have the possibility to be helped in component location and recognition for different procedures. To support these activities, AR interfaces need to be developed with instructions provided through visual assets tailored to the information to convey. For localization tasks, auxiliary models, i.e., standard geometric shapes are the most suited. In this work, we propose ADAM (Automatic Development of Auxiliary Models): an authoring tool to support designers in generating various shapes of auxiliary models in the right dimensions and without modeling them in a CAD software. Thanks to this tool, the designer has a ready-to-use database of auxiliary models to choose from reusable in different AR technical documentations. In this way, ADAM allows to significantly reduce the time spent creating each auxiliary model from scratch. We validated our tool in a user study. A focus group of expert designers were asked to implement an AR interface, using auxiliary models for a localization task, with both ADAM Tool and the current authoring practice. The results confirmed that our tool outperforms the current authoring practice in terms of time performance and user experience.

Keywords: Augmented Reality , Authoring , Auxiliary Model , CAD , Technical Documentation

This work aims to propose a virtual mirror as a tool for an Augmented Reality (AR) interface in support of operators who perform maintenance tasks, especially in blind areas with component occlusion. In the literature, it is still not clear what is the best AR solution to help workers perform maintenance tasks with occluded components. Thus, we designed an AR interface with a virtual mirror that can assist workers in identifying occluded components thanks to an additional workspace viewpoint. While physical mirrors are commonly employed in maintenance tasks to address blind spots, virtual mirrors are not yet widely adopted. Therefore, our study intends to design and evaluate a virtual mirror that simulates workers' behavior using a real one in maintenance tasks. We planned a user study to compare the real and virtual mirrors in a real maintenance context. We conducted a performance evaluation with 20 users. Findings indicated no statistically significant differences between the virtual and physical mirrors regarding completion time, accuracy, and cognitive load. Our solution makes it possible to replace a real mirror providing the same user performance but with the advantage of being able to place it without space limitations and observe additional information exploiting AR.

Keywords: Augmented Reality , Blind Area , Maintenance , Occlusion , Virtual Mirror

Extended Reality (XR) has experienced rapid growth in the past decades, proving to be a viable alternative to conventional practices in all the fields. Professional VR solutions have been developed; giving people access to virtual scenarios that are very similar to their real counterparts owing to the high level of realism reached with the latest technologies. Wearing a VR headset, the users can explore spaces they've never been before in real life, getting familiar with them without the dangers of the real-world circumstances. This principle paved the way to X-Reality development in the context of training for harmful procedures in many professional fields, and medicine makes no exception, being particularly involved in searching for novel methods to educate experts. This research explores the potential of X-Reality in medical training, proposing an innovative virtual training system to let medical personnel perceive ionizing radiation in a virtual scenario. The virtual environment was reconstructed with photogrammetry and within it users are able to fix their bad habits related to radiation exposure during an orthopedic surgery. To improve the XR system's effectiveness a short beta test was set up involving medical experts, with some interesting regarding the benefits and issues of the XR system.

Keywords: Ionizing Radiation , Orthopedic Surgery , Photogrammetry , Virtual Reality , Virtual training , X-Reality

Extended Reality (XR) applications require Photorealistic Virtual Prototypes (PVPs), usually obtained by generating a polygon-based textured model of the original CAD (Computer Aided Design). Getting PVPs requires specific rendering and texturing software tools that experienced technicians use. Automatic simplification and conversion approaches from CAD to XR exist but are almost all focused on models without textures. The paper aims to establish a semi-automatic method for creating low-poly PVPs for XR starting from 3D CAD models. The process, implemented in Blender, consists of several steps. First, starting from a high-poly model imported from a 3D mechanical CAD system, the modelling cage (a low-poly simplified version) is designed. Second, a low-poly variety of the CAD geometries are generated using Blender modifiers (i.e., shrinkwrap, subdivision surface and Boolean). Texture mapping is carried out on the cage. Then, by combining Shrinkwrap, Boolean and Subdivision Surface modifiers, the cage is projected on the CAD-imported high-poly model. Thus, it becomes a low-poly version of the same geometry. Finally, the Normal Baking process adds high-frequency details (e.g., engravings). Thanks to the generation of a UV-Mapped cage wrapping up the component, in case of local modifications to the latter, Blender semi-automatically updates the PVP. The method was used on three stock versions of a sporting rifle. With an average duration of 23 min, the proposed approach more than halved the time required with manual modelling techniques.

Keywords: 3D Modelling , Extended Reality , Texture Mapping , Virtual Prototyping

The growing importance of the human-centric perspective, emphasized by the transition to Industry 5.0, and the diffusion of the mass customization paradigm increase the need for methods and tools to support the user-centered design (UCD) and prototyping process. Key enabling technologies (KETs) of Industry 4.0 are a valid support for the pursuit of this goal. X-Reality can assist in analyzing customer needs and translating them into technical specifications by involving the customer in the design review through an immersive user experience. However, X-Reality design often lacks a human-centered approach. The proposed work aims at addressing this by using virtual simulation for the UCD of the X-Reality experience, ensuring it is immersive, safe, ergonomic, and comfortable for the user. A case study of an Italian company that produces sporting rifles, for whom developing high perceived value products is crucial, is used to demonstrate this approach. A dedicated area of the company plant was designed to host two types of X-Reality experiences to test the prototype's functionality and aesthetics with customers. They consist of a mixed reality application, which involves the use of a head-mounted display and haptic gloves, and an augmented reality application provided by a projection system.

Keywords: Ergonomics , User Experience , User-Centered Design , Virtual Simulation , X-Reality

In Industry 4.0, companies must focus on human-centred design for a competitive edge. The 4USER project aims to establish a user-centred design method using an interactive Photorealistic Virtual Prototype (PVP) based on Extended Reality (XR) technology, objectifying customer requirements into technical specifications. The PVP overcomes limitations associated with traditional physical prototypes, serving as a quality benchmark for final products. The research focuses on a case study involving the development of sports rifles, emphasising the importance of aesthetic quality. The proposed semi-automatic process in Blender enables the generation of low-poly PVPs, incorporating hyper-realistic textures and high-frequency details. In particular, the overall process is composed of the following steps: i) wooden texture generation via the Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network (WGAN); ii) model creation based on a low poly “Shrinkwrap Cage”; iii) integration of generated textures into the UV-mapped model. This approach accelerates the product development cycle, reduces costs, and facilitates efficient quality control.

Keywords: 3D Modelling , Generative Model , Texture Mapping , Virtual Prototyping

Museum institutions represent a narrative tool that can foster a renewed relationship between the community, cultural heritage and the local area. The MEDIA (Advanced Mul-timedia Digital Emotional Museum) project fits into the field of local museum heritage enjoyment and is based on research aimed at investigating visitors' cognitive and emotional processes through physiological techniques, such as electroencephalography (EEG). Through the case study of the Museum of Valdostan Craftsmanship of Tradition (MAV), this paper explores the potential related to the use of immersive digital technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), to enhance emotional response to heritage and culture and increase user engagement.

Technologies such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR-VR) are changing the way to design the models. These technologies prove useful across all design phases, yet their greatest application lies in supporting the entire life cycle of a system. They shine during maintenance operations and training sessions, effectively teaching operators intricate procedures. The Virtual Reality is a useful technology in the nuclear fusion field, where the immersive visualization scenarios can be applied in to simulate maintenance operation to be conducted in radioactive environment. This study was applied on the ITER Water-Cooled-Lead-Lithium Test-Blanket-Module (WCLL-TBM) ancillary systems. The performances of the virtual reality have been tested simulating an entire maintenance operation, focusing on three main parameters: i) time, crucial aspect in nuclear field where is important to reduce the exposition to the radioactive material; ii) obstacles identification, to avoid interference with other objects during maintenance operation; iii) ergonomic standard, to consider all ergonomic parameters like the mass of the object and the verify of a correct position of an operator in each single operation. A maintenance simulation has been developed through use of a Virtual Reality tool (HTC-VIVE pro-2).

Keywords: ITER , Maintenance , Virtual Reality

This work proposes a Mixed Reality (MR) application, designed for HoloLens 2 which enables seamless interaction between collaborative robots and human operators, regardless of their prior experience or expertise in the field of robotics. Building on the application presented in a previous work of the authors, the novel contributions are focused on a bi-directional interaction that manages the exchange of data from the robot to the human operator and, in the meantime, the flow of commands in the opposite direction. The robot-to-human flow consists of the information about the robot state (joint positions, velocities and torques), the distance from the joint limits and the planned path of the end-effector. Moreover, the human commands to the robot the desired end-point for the end-effector, than the planned path can be directly modified by moving a set of way-points displayed in the mixed reality environment. A Franka Emika Panda collaborative robot has been used to test the application.

Keywords: Cobot , Head Mounted Display , Human-Robot Interaction , Mixed Reality , Robotics

The objective of this chapter is to describe the strategic action line related to the factories for humans (LI3). In particular, this chapter proposes research and innovation priorities aimed at designing and developing new solutions to enhance the role of human resources and their skills, and contribute to their satisfaction and wellbeing; research and experimentation of new technologies for reducing physical exertion, cooperation with advanced support systems, with collaborative robots and with AI-powered technologies; mapping of knowledge generated on the job, especially implicit knowledge, in a way that is compatible with privacy requirements, introducing advantages both on the human wellbeing front—whether the individuals are users, operators or managers—and in terms of business strategies and procedures. In this regard, innovative factories will need to be increasingly inclusive, strongly geared towards the engagement and participation of individuals (users, operators and managers). These models must take a human-centric approach to look into/investigate new technologies and all the dimensions through which the new factory is defined.

Keywords: Human–machine interaction , Safety and ergonomics , Skills and competences , Training , Workers

Virtual Training (VT) is a recently available modality that uses Virtual Reality (VR) technologies to train people within simulated environments. Companies can use VT to leverage the skills of their staff by avoiding risks related to real production thanks to the digital simulation possibilities and anticipating the training phases to reduce downtime of productive systems [1]. However, the use of VR-based immersive training is still limited in industry due to the cost of equipment and the lack of skilled people able to use VR platforms to effectively implement this type of simulations. This paper deals with the application of low-cost VR equipment to develop virtual training applications. It defines a methodology to create suitable applications for smartphones to be displayed by low-cost, highly portable Google Cardboard. Such equipment could be easily used also by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that do not have large capitals to invest in traditional VR viewers but are still interested in exploring the adoption of digital tools for training. A case study is presented related to assembly of a 3D printer.

Keywords: Digital Simulation , Ergonomics , Human-centered de-sign , Virtual training , X-reality

The metaverse, powered by XR technologies, enables human augmentation by enhancing physical, cognitive, and sensory capabilities. Cultural heritage sees the metaverse as a vehicle for expression and exploration, providing new methods for heritage fruition and preservation. This article proposes a metaverse application, inspired by the events of the Italian Resistance, promoting interactions between multiple users in an immersive VR experience while safeguarding intangible cultural assets according to an edutainment approach. The virtual environment, based on Ivrea's town hall square, provides in-depth information about the partisan's life and the historical value of its actions for the city. Furthermore, the application allows users to meet in the same virtual place and engage with one another in real time through the Spatial SDK. Before the public presentation, a heterogeneous group of thirty users underwent usability and engagement tests to assess the experience on both VR headsets and smartphones. Tests revealed statistically significant evidence that there is a genuine difference in users' perceptions of usability and engagement with different devices and types of interaction. This study highlights the effectiveness of adopting XR as a supporting technology to complement the real experience of cultural heritage valorization.

Keywords: cultural heritage , digital heritage , edutainment , metaverse , virtual reality

Industries are increasingly integrating innovative technologies to enhance productivity, ensure high-quality products, and reduce costs and time. Augmented reality (AR) plays a key role in this transition, especially in supporting assembly procedures, which are major contributors to production costs and time constraints. Despite advancements, existing practices often lack effective, user-centric applications that fully address usability, user acceptance, and operator experience, particularly in complex industrial environments. This highlights the urgent need for adaptable assembly guidance solutions that offer intuitive, real-time support throughout the assembly process, from sequence definition to deployment of AR systems. This paper introduces an innovative AR assembly guidance tool (ARAGT) designed for industrial assembly in smart factories. ARAGT integrates virtual information into the physical workspace, providing real-time 3D models and assembly instructions to guide operators. Developed through a User-Centered Design (UCD) approach and refined based on user feedback, ARAGT includes functionalities such as assembly sequence definition, customization of graphical elements for clarity, and virtual annotations for issue reporting. Implemented using Unity® and the AR Foundation library, it is compatible with mobile devices, offering flexibility in diverse industrial settings. The paper presents results from a user evaluation conducted in a real facility, assessing usability and acceptance through SUS and TAM standard questionnaires. The findings suggest that ARAGT effectively addresses the challenges of increasing complexity and efficiency demands in manufacturing assembly, providing a user-centric solution aligned with the Industry 5.0 paradigm.

Keywords: Assembly guidance , Augmented Reality , Industry 5.0 , Usability , User acceptance , User-centered design