| Llobera J (2010), "Simulacions Immersives, Certeses Sentides" Vol. 2010 Arts Santa Mònica - Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicació de la Generalitat de Catalunya. |
| Abstract: Aquest llibre recull els textos de les reflexions que van tenir lloc en l'encontre internacional «Noves fronteres de la ciència, l'art i el pensament» celebrat a Barcelona l'any 2009 |
BibTeX:
@inproceedings{Llobera:Simulacions:2010,
author = {Joan Llobera},
editor = {Arts Santa Mònica - Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicació de la Generalitat de Catalunya},
title = {Simulacions Immersives, Certeses Sentides},
publisher = {Arts Santa Mònica - Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicació de la Generalitat de Catalunya},
year = {2010},
volume = {2010}
}
|
| Llobera J (In preparation), "Stories in Immersive Technologies". Thesis at: EVENT-LAB - Facultat de Psicologia - Universitat de Barcelona. |
| Abstract: How can we use immersive and interactive technologies to develop narratives taking advantage of the fact that within immersive virtual environments people tend to respond realistically to virtual situations and events? Stories in such a media would allow the participant to contribute to the story and interact with the virtual characters while the narrative plot would not change, or change only up to how it was decided a priori. Participants in such a narrative would be able to freely interact within the virtual environments and yet still be aware of the main thrust of the stories presented. How can we preserve the 'respond as if it is real' phenomenon induced by these technologies, but also develop an unfolding narrative in this environment? In other words, can we develop a story, conserving the structure, its psychological and cultural richness and the emotional and cognitive involvement it supposes, in an interactive and immersive audiovisual space? This work develops a new two part approach and a novel computational story model and shows experimentally people respond and interact realistically while being aware of the story plot. |
BibTeX:
@phdthesis{Llobera:Stories:2010,
author = {Joan Llobera},
title = {Stories in Immersive Technologies},
school = {EVENT-LAB - Facultat de Psicologia - Universitat de Barcelona},
year = {In preparation}
}
|
| Llobera J (2004), "L'illusion de Continuité Auditive. Une Étude MEG". Thesis at: IRCAM - CNRS. |
| Abstract: EN FRANÇAIS: Dans une scène sonore typique, un auditeur doit traiter simultanément un grand nombre de sources superposées. Néanmoins, il est capable d'organiser cette scène en flux, groupements perceptuels liés à la représentation mentale des sources. Il a depuis longtemps été démontré par des expériences psychophysiques que même si un flux est masqué par un autre son pendant une durée de temps brève, il conservera sa cohérence perceptive. Ce phénomène est appelé illusion de continuité auditive. Cette étude vise a étudier les bases neuronales de cette illusion en combinant psychophysique et imagerie cérébrale par magnétoencéphalographie (MEG). Un ensemble de sons a été étudié où la manipulation d'un paramètre physique permettait d'obtenir des sons similaires mais provoquant ou ne provoquant pas l'illusion. Les sons consistent en un bruit modulé en amplitude, interrompu par un bruit non modulé. Les auditeurs entendent la modulation comme continue. Des expériences psychophysiques ont permis de montrer qu'un intervalle de silence de durée suffisante après le bruit non modulé permet de casser la continuité illusoire. L'imagerie cérébrale montre que la réponse MEG habituellement associée à la présence de stimuli modulés en amplitude, la réponse stationnaire ou ASSR, n'est pas reconstruite pendant l'illusion. En revanche, l'illusion apparaît corrélée à l'activité gamma précoce. Celle-ci est définie comme une activité évoquée qui se produit entre 30 et 80 ms après la stimulation, entre 35 et 57 Hz. Dans cette expérience, elle est liée avec le début du bruit modulé après l'intervalle de silence. Sous l'hypothèse que l'organisation de la scène sonore se réalise d'abord par la ségrégation des flux puis par la caractérisation des attributs perceptifs de ceux-là , l'activité gamma serait liée à l'attribution d'un flux aux nouveaux évènements sonores. EN CATALÀ: |
BibTeX:
@mastersthesis{Llobera:Illusion:2004,
author = {J Llobera},
title = {L'illusion de Continuité Auditive. Une Étude MEG},
school = {IRCAM - CNRS},
year = {2004}
}
|
| Llobera J, Blom KJ and Slater M (submitted), "Telling Stories within Immersive Virtual Environments", Leonardo Journal. |
| Abstract: Portraying an unfolding story within an immersive virtual environment (IVE) is difficult: in an IVE, participants can pay attention to and interact with whatever they want within the immersive simulation. Moreover, the decisions taken by virtual characters must appear consistent with their personality and motivations, but also take into account the participants actions, whenever relevant. Finally, the result of the interactions should satisfy a pre- established plot. In this article, we introduce a new two-part approach that addresses the dilemma between freedom of action and narrative. |
BibTeX:
@article{llobera_leonardo,
author = {Joan Llobera and Kristopher J. Blom and Mel Slater},
title = {Telling Stories within Immersive Virtual Environments},
journal = {Leonardo Journal},
year = {submitted}
}
|
| Llobera J, González-Franco M, Pérez-Marcos D, Valls-Solé J, Slater M and Sánchez-Vives MV (submitted), "Virtual Reality for Chronic Pain Alleviation: A Case Study", Experimental Brain Research. |
| Abstract: The study of body representation and ownership has been a very active research area in recent years. The induction of the illusion of ownership of fake body parts or even virtual arms and bodies (reviewed in Slater et al. 2009) has been a useful tool for the understanding of the brain processing of body representation. The induction of the ownership illusion is generally based on providing synchronous sensory correlations across different modalities, for example, visual-tactile in the classical rubber hand illusion which is a major inspiration for this body of work(Botvinick and Cohen 1998). However, the illusion of ownership of a virtual body has rarely otherwise been used for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Here we propose a method that exploits ownership of a virtual body in combination with a brain computer interface and physiological measures to complement neurological assessment. A male patient presenting a fixed posture dystonia featuring a permanently closed left fist participated in a case study in which he was presented with an alternate body representation that he experienced from a first person perspective position as substituting his own real body. This was achieved through a wide field-of-view, head tracked stereo head-mounted display. The posture of the virtual hand of this body was arranged to have a posture similar to his corresponding real hand. After inducing virtual hand ownership by correlated visual-tactile stimulation, the virtual hand would open either automatically or its opening was controlled by a brain computer interface. The case study also involved a motor task to evaluate the movement of the hand. Five healthy subjects were used as a control group. The effect of induced body ownership on electromyography activity and performance suggests that virtual body ownership on a patient can be exploited for diagnostic purposes. |
BibTeX:
@article{llobera_EBR,
author = {Joan Llobera and Mar González-Franco and Daniel Pérez-Marcos and Josep Valls-Solé and Mel Slater and Maria V. Sánchez-Vives},
title = {Virtual Reality for Chronic Pain Alleviation: A Case Study},
journal = {Experimental Brain Research},
year = {submitted}
}
|
| Llobera J and Slater M (2011), "A method for automated Decision Making", july, 2011. (EP11075169) |
| Abstract: This patent describes a method by which situated agents can be programmed to fulfill an arbitrary complex plan in a coordinated way. With such method, we combine the best of 2 existing approaches in artificial intelligence: fast reactivity and context adaptation as situated agents have, together with the achievement of complicated plans involving long term goals. This enables the practical development of interactive stories in immersive virtual reality, as well as other scientific and industrial applications. |
BibTeX:
@patent{patent_llobera,
author = {Joan Llobera and Mel Slater},
title = {A method for automated Decision Making},
year = {2011},
number = {EP11075169}
}
|
| Llobera J, Spanlang B, Ruffini G and Slater M (2010), "Proxemics with Multiple Dynamic Characters in an Immersive Virtual Environment", ACM Transactions on Applied Perception. Vol. 10: 1. October |
| Abstract: An experiment was carried out to examine the impact on electrodermal activity of people when approached by groups of 1 or 4 virtual characters to varying distances. It was premised on the basis of proxemics theory that the closer the approach of the virtual characters to the participant, the greater the level of physiological arousal. Physiological arousal was measured by the number of skin conductance responses within a short time period after the approach, and the maximum change in skin conductance level 5s after the approach. The virtual characters were each either female or a cylinder of human size, and 1 or 4 characters approached each subject a total of 12 times. Twelve male subjects were recruited for the experiment. The results suggest that the number of skin conductance responses after the approach and the change in skin conductance level increased the closer the virtual characters approached towards the participants. Moreover, these response variables were inversely correlated with the number of visits, showing a typical adaptation effect. There was some evidence to suggest that the number of characters who simultaneously approached (1 or 4) was positively associated with the responses. Surprisingly there was no evidence of a difference in response between the humanoid characters and cylinders on the basis of these physiological data. It is suggested the similarity in this quantitative arousal response to virtual characters and virtual objects might mask a profound difference in qualitative response, an interpretation supported by questionnaire and interview results. Overall the experiment supported the premise that people exhibit heightened physiological arousal the closer they are approached by virtual characters. |
BibTeX:
@article{Llobera:Proxemics:2010,
author = {J Llobera and B Spanlang and G Ruffini and M Slater},
title = {Proxemics with Multiple Dynamic Characters in an Immersive Virtual Environment},
journal = {ACM Transactions on Applied Perception},
year = {2010},
volume = {10: 1. October}
}
|
| Llobera J, Spanlang B, Ruffini G and Slater M (2009), "Proxemics with Multiple Dynamic Virtual Characters", In Real Actions in a Virtual Environment (RAVE).
[BibTeX] |
BibTeX:
@inproceedings{Llobera:Proxemics:2009,
author = {Joan Llobera and Bernhard Spanlang and Giulio Ruffini and Mel Slater},
title = {Proxemics with Multiple Dynamic Virtual Characters},
booktitle = {Real Actions in a Virtual Environment (RAVE)},
year = {2009}
}
|
| de la Peña N, Weil P, Llobera J, Giannopoulos E, Pomes A, Spanlang B, Friedman D, Sanchez-Vives MV and Slater M (2010), "Immersive Journalism: Immersive Virtual Reality for the first Person Experience of News", In Real Actions in a Virtual Environment (RAVE). |
BibTeX:
@inproceedings{Pena:Immersive:2010,
author = {Nonny de la Peña and Peggy Weil and Joan Llobera and Elias Giannopoulos and Ausias Pomes and Bernhard Spanlang and Doron Friedman and Maria V. Sanchez-Vives and Mel Slater},
title = {Immersive Journalism: Immersive Virtual Reality for the first Person Experience of News},
booktitle = {Real Actions in a Virtual Environment (RAVE)},
year = {2010}
}
|
| de la Peña N, Weil P, Llobera J, Giannopoulos E, Pomes A, Spanlang B, Friedman D, Sanchez-Vives MV and Slater M (2010), "Immersive Journalism: Immersive Virtual Reality for the First Person Experience of News", Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments., August, 2010. Vol. 19(4), pp. 291-301. |
| Abstract: This paper introduces the concept, and discusses the implications of Immersive Journalism, that is the production of news in a form in which people can gain first person experiences of the events or situation described in news stories. The fundamental idea of Immersive Journalism is to allow the participant, typically represented as a digital avatar, to actually enter a virtually recreated scenario representing the news story. The sense of presence obtained through an immersive system (whether a Cave, head-tracked head-mounted displays (HMD) and online virtual worlds, such as video games and online virtual worlds) affords the participant unprecedented access to the sights and sounds, and possibly feelings and emotions that accompany the news. The paper surveys current approaches to interactive journalism, theoretical background supporting claims regarding avatar experience in immersive systems, and describes a specific demonstration: giving participants the experience of being in an interrogation room in an offshore prison. |
BibTeX:
@article{Pena:Immersive:2010a,
author = {Nonny de la Peña and Peggy Weil and Joan Llobera and Elias Giannopoulos and Ausias Pomes and Bernhard Spanlang and Doron Friedman and Maria V. Sanchez-Vives and Mel Slater},
title = {Immersive Journalism: Immersive Virtual Reality for the First Person Experience of News},
journal = {Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments},
year = {2010},
volume = {19},
number = {4},
pages = {291-301}
}
|