Virtual Reality as a Research Tool

Virtual Reality (VR) technology provides researchers with tools to rapidly prototype test environments that immerse subjects into an experience, while providing data on eye gaze, pupil dilation and other reactive measures. The ability to rapidly iterate scenarios without the limitations of managing a physical location offers new ways to think about the design of a research study. Costs and capabilities of VR equipment and authoring tools are rapidly improving, bringing these technologies within reach for research teams. During this 90-minute session researchers from Yale, Syracuse University and HP will discuss VR platforms for research and provide practical examples to help attendees understand how to incorporate VR into their own research designs.

Presented by the Yale Blended Reality Project with support from HP and Intel.

Speakers:

• Lauren Domingo is an engineer on the HP XR Developer Relations team. She focuses on creating code samples, documentation and support resources for developers interested in utilizing the HP Omnicept SDK. In her free time, she’s either exploring Colorado’s nature, making computerized embroidery or developing silly games in Unity.
• Jason Webb is a doctoral student in the Teaching and Leadership program at Syracuse University’s School of Education with a focus on XR in Education. His research explores how users learn in XR experiences with the use of photo-realistic environments in VR storytelling and the impace on their cognitive load. Jason has worked extensively with the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept SDK to in classroom and with multiple research projects.
• Jishang Wei is a research manager and principal scientist at HP Labs focusing on human and environment sensing and understanding through multi-model machine learning. He is currently leading a team to develop core AI capabilities on the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept VR headset, including cognitive load inference and expression recognition. Jishang received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Davis.
• Veronica Weser received her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Virginia where she specialized in understanding user experience and human perception in VR and is an associate research scientist at the Yale School of Medicine. Veronica leverages her study of psychometric design and evaluation of user experience assessments as part of a research team creating novel interfaces for VR locomotion.