MTI 2024 Article

Recently, I co-authored an open-access journal paper that was published at Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, sponsored by the MDPI. The paper is entitled “Extended Reality Educational System with Virtual Teacher Interaction for Enhanced Learning”. The paper introduces an interactive XR intelligent assistant featuring a virtual teacher that interacts dynamically with PowerPoint presentations using OpenAI’s ChatGPT API.

It incorporates multilingual speech-to-text and text-to-speech capabilities, custom lip-syncing solutions, eye gaze, head rotation and gestures. Panoramic images can be used as a sky box giving the illusion that the AI assistant is located at another location. Findings from three pilots indicate that the proposed technology has a lot of potential to be used as an additional tool for enhancing the learning process.

More information:

https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/8/9/83

MTI 2023 Article

Recently, a co-authored an open-access journal paper that was published at Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, sponsored by the MDPI. The paper is entitled “Enhancing Localization Performance with Extended Funneling Vibrotactile Feedback”. The study explores the conventional ‘funneling’ method by introducing two extra locations beyond the virtual reality controller boundaries, terming it the extended funneling technique. Thirty-two participants engaged in a localization task, with their responses recorded using eye-tracking technology. They were tasked with localizing a virtual ping-pong ball as it bounced both within and outside their virtual hands on a virtual board.

Both the experimental and control groups received simultaneous spatial audio and vibrotactile feedback. The experimental group received vibrotactile feedback with extended funneling, while the control group received vibrotactile feedback without funneling for comparison. Results indicate that the experimental group, benefiting from the extended funneling technique, demonstrated a significantly higher accuracy rate (41.79%) in localizing audio–vibrotactile stimuli compared to the control group (28.21%). No significant differences emerged in embodiment or workload scores. Findings highlight the effectiveness of extended funneling for enhancing the localization of sensory stimuli in virtual reality.

More information:

https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/7/12/114

MultiTime Lab Talk 2023

On the 13^th of June 2023, I gave an invited talk at the which is part of the Department of Psychology at Panteion University, Athens Greece. The title of my talk was ‘Extended Reality: Theory and Applications’.

I gave first an overview of what is extended reality including the most characteristic technologies for visualization tracking and interaction design. The second part of my presentation included examples from my research ranging from embodiment, illusory touch, brain interaction, moral dilemmas and education.

More information:

https://argirovatakis.com/ArgiroVatakis/Welcome.html