Browsing by Author "Antunes, Alexandre Fernandes"
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- Anatomy of a Hug in Virtual RealityPublication . Deusdado, Leonel; Antunes, Alexandre FernandesOver time, there has been an increase in research on how to improve emotional state rehabilitation processes, and it is notable that the use of technology has had a positive result, with increasing accuracy. Serious Games (SG) for Virtual Reality (VR) are extremely beneficial in this regard, and the use of haptic devices as a tool for researchers and medical teams is increasing in popularity. The current study aims to conduct an initial investigation into the use of a haptic vest to see if haptic touch can aid in emotional conditioning, which may result in improved disease and phobia rehabilitation, and whether different interactions with virtual scenarios, such as a virtual hug, can increase immersiveness. The investigation seeks to discover the most effective ways to convey a virtual to physical hug using the haptic device. Previous research has revealed a high level of participant interest, as well as increased immersion in SGs realism, leading to additional research and implementation.
- Automatic annotation of heart rate sequencesPublication . Lopes, Júlio Castro; Vieira, João; Antunes, Alexandre Fernandes; Deusdado, Leonel; Lopes, Rui PedroHeart Rate (HR) measurement is one of the most effective ways to determine whether a person is stressed or not. The analysis of a series of HR measurements can help determine whether the HR decreased, increased dramatically, or remained consistent during that time period. With this in mind, an automatic annotator that can automatically label HR sequences, determining these three possible states, is an ideal solution because it eliminates the need for a human to do it manually. This paper presents a web-based application that, given a .csv file containing Heart Rate successive measurements and their respective time stamps, can label sequences of any size that the user specifies. This opens up the possibility of training Machine Learning models with this data and classifying whether the user is in a stressful situation or not, in real time. Although further refinements will be made, our annotator proved to be robust and consistent in its annotation performance.
- Measuring vital signs for virtual reality health applicationPublication . Deusdado, Leonel; Lopes, Rui Pedro; Antunes, Alexandre Fernandes; Lopes, Júlio CastroSmart devices are extremely useful nowadays and incorporate a variety of tools. Their advanced technology allows them to multitask on the same device, being because of this and due to the convenience, agility, and accuracy they bring, they are becoming increasingly popular. Taking advantage of this, it is possible to use this technology to assist in many areas and for a variety of objectives. In areas such as the health sector, new devices are increasingly being used to aid in the treatment of patients in a preventiveway, such as with degenerative mental diseases. This research explores the use of a smartwatch to capture heart rate, store it in a database, and display it on a web page, all in real time. The future significance of such a development is based on its connection with another segment of research that attempts to employ virtual reality to aid in the treatment of schizophrenia with a serious game, being able to perceive schizophrenics’ body behavior for health analysis.
- Measuring vital signs for virtual reality health applicationPublication . Deusdado, Leonel; Lopes, Rui Pedro; Antunes, Alexandre Fernandes; Lopes, Júlio CastroSmart devices are extremely useful nowadays and incorporate a variety of tools. Their advanced technology allows them to multitask on the same device, being because of this and due to the convenience, agility, and accuracy they bring, they are becoming increasingly popular. Taking advantage of this, it is possible to use this technology to assist in many areas and for a variety of objectives. In areas such as the health sector, new devices are increasingly being used to aid in the treatment of patients in a preventive way, such as with degenerative mental diseases. This research explores the use of a smartwatch to capture heart rate, store it in a database, and display it on a web page, all in real time. The future significance of such a development is based on its connection with another segment of research that attempts to employ virtual reality to aid in the treatment of schizophrenia with a serious game, being able to perceive schizophrenics’ body behavior for health analysis. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.
- Suitability of dynamic environments in virtual reality for schizophrenia therapiesPublication . Deusdado, Leonel; Antunes, Alexandre Fernandes; Lopes, Rui Pedro; Neto, Jecé Xavier PereiraSerious Games (SG) have a significant positive impact on a wide range of purposes. Serious virtual games focused on the rehabilitation of schizophrenia are able to bring improvements to patients who require constant and individualized rehabilitation. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that has no cure and requires intensive rehabilitation for symptoms relief. Virtual Reality (VR) has gained acceptance in the medical field for a variety of rehabilitation by virtue of its immersiveness and versatility. Virtual environments can assist this process, seeking to contemplate important topics for their daily lives, facilitating the understanding of their situation and difficulties. To achieve more effective results, a virtual scenario must be dynamic and suitable to each patient. Nonplayable Character (NPC), which in this work can be human-like or pet-like representations, tasks, varied and objective interactions, and the ambiance all play an important role in determining the expected result. The work described in this paper approaches previously mentioned topics by investigating the contribution of previous works in this context for approaching multiple elements that control the dynamic environment, bringing new modalities and research for the development of a SG for VR focused on the rehabilitation of schizophrenia by facilitating schizophrenics’ daily lives.
- Virtual reality and educational tourism - study casePublication . Antunes, Alexandre Fernandes; Pereira, Ana I.; Lopes, Rui Pedro; Andrade, Mauren Louise Sguario Coelho deVirtual reality is a growing technology that offers a variety of immersive experiences, due to increased investment and scientific research over the years. By wearing virtual reality glasses, the viewer disconnects from the real world and begins to have immersive experiences, allowing for intense and enjoyable entertainment. The tourism industry is one of the most profitable, providing the country with economic power, great visibility, and diverse new investments. Despite going through difficult times, tourism has not been shaken and has grown significantly in recent years, demonstrating the human desire to visit new places or revisit those they already know. By combining both areas, a new range of possibilities emerges, allowing for the development of content that enables educational tourism, as well as the creation of 360-degree videos, which allow people to share their culture to the world in a new format for most people, making it interesting to be studied and applied. In addition, the incorporation of 3D objects is one of the most widely considered applications for virtual reality, because the possibilities for interaction are limitless. This means highlighting a people’s history by displaying and allowing interaction with cultural objects and scenarios for educational tourism and cultural heritage. The current project aims to use virtual reality in tourism to teach about the culture of Bragança, Portugal. Share traditions, events, locations, and the history of the lifestyles of people who live in this region. A 360-degree video was created to promote important representations of the region’s fascinating culture, with the goal of reaching as many people as possible through digital media. Major video edits were required for such production, ranging from illumination and color corrections to object removal, scene reconstruction, and stabilization, with the goal of characterizing the old moments without technological objects in the scene and preparing quality content for exposure. Tests for the project with the video revealed that most people are very interested in all of the topics mentioned, owing to the fact that most of them are unfamiliar to this type of technology. Despite the fact that some of them were a little scared or nauseated by the new experience, the tests were mostly positive and demonstrated the developed product’s high market appeal.
- Virtual reality haptic device for dental illness treatmentPublication . Deusdado, Leonel; Antunes, Alexandre FernandesSchizophrenia is a mental disorder that alters mental functioning and can cause hallucinations, mental disorientation, and a variety of other symptoms, which results in a separation of schizophrenics from society. Despite the fact that the condition has been known about for a long time, there is still an urgent need for research and testing to develop better therapies. Virtual reality (VR) has had interesting outcomes when used to treat illnesses, and it is gradually emerging as a viable technical choice for the healthcare sector due to its immersion, which offers better and more intense user experiences. Once linked to a serious game, it can introduce the user to a number of situations that, when combined with medical assistance, aid in their rehabilitation and treatment. The use of haptic devices enhances VR immersion by enabling users to comprehend virtual environments with greater nuance, which increases their level of believing in the new environment they are in. When used in conjunction with VR, it can improve the efficacy of the treatment, making its use viable for the treatment of psychic diseases. The goal of this research is to develop haptic vest interactions using a three-dimensional virtual testing scenario to support and improve the use of VR for rehabilitation and therapy for schizophrenia. The established functionalities can be applied to a further serious game with the same focus.
- Virtual reality haptic device for mental Illness treatmentPublication . Deusdado, Leonel; Antunes, Alexandre FernandesSchizophrenia is a mental disorder that alters mental functioning and can cause hallucinations, mental disorientation, and a variety of other symptoms, which results in a separation of schizophrenics from society. Despite the fact that the condition has been known about for a long time, there is still an urgent need for research and testing to develop better therapies. Virtual reality (VR) has had interesting outcomes when used to treat illnesses, and it is gradually emerging as a viable technical choice for the healthcare sector due to its immersion, which offers better and more intense user experiences. Once linked to a serious game, it can introduce the user to a number of situations that, when combined with medical assistance, aid in their rehabilitation and treatment. The use of haptic devices enhances VR immersion by enabling users to comprehend virtual environments with greater nuance, which increases their level of believing in the new environment they are in. When used in conjunction with VR, it can improve the efficacy of the treatment, making its use viable for the treatment of psychic diseases. The goal of this research is to develop haptic vest interactions using a three-dimensional virtual testing scenario to support and improve the use of VR for rehabilitation and therapy for schizophrenia. The established functionalities can be applied to a further serious game with the same focus.
- VR serious game to treat schizophreniaPublication . Antunes, Alexandre Fernandes; Deusdado, LeonelThe present work aims to optimize and produce scenarios of a serious game, and improve its immersiveness, enabling the capture of feedbacks, by configuring sensors that can monitor the user of the application for changes in the game in real time, making it possible to have better control over the player’s experience. With this, progressing research into the improvements of virtual reality when applied to the treatment of people with schizophrenia.
- VR serious game to treat schizophreniaPublication . Antunes, Alexandre Fernandes; Deusdado, Leonel