Search Results (2,974)

Sensors are a key component of virtual reality (VR) technology, as they enable motion tracking, interaction with the environment, and realistic representation of user behaviour in virtual space. VR technology is gaining increasing importance in engineering, offering new ways to support research, analysis, and training. This article examines its applications in four key areas: surveying and geomatics, mining, environmental protection, and occupational safety. The study is based on a review of the scientific literature indexed in the Scopus database, with the aim of highlighting both the potential of VR and directions for its future development. The findings indicate that VR provides effective tools for analyzing, interpreting, and visualizing complex geospatial data. It enables realistic simulations of mining processes, supports the monitoring of environmental impacts, and facilitates environmental education by creating engaging, immersive experiences. In occupational safety, VR allows hazard scenarios and accident events to be reproduced in a safe yet highly realistic environment, significantly enhancing the effectiveness of training. This is made possible through the integration of sensors with virtual reality, further enhancing immersion in the environment. Despite these advantages, several barriers have been identified. They include technological challenges, insufficient numbers of trained specialists, health and ergonomics concerns, resistance to organizational change, ethical considerations, and limited funding. It is clear that the future of VR in engineering will be shaped by continuous technological progress combined with growing attention to behavioural aspects of training and user interaction. These trends are expected to drive the creation of increasingly advanced and effective tools. The article thus provides a foundation for further exploration of VR as an integral part of engineering practice. Full article

The elevated needs for high-performance energy storage, dictated by electrification, renewable sources integration, and the global increase in interconnected devices, have placed batteries to the forefront of technological research. Additive manufacturing is increasingly recognized as a compelling approach to advance battery research and application by enabling tailored control over design, pore geometry, materials, and integration. This perspective work examines the opportunities and challenges associated with utilizing additive manufacturing as an enabling battery manufacturing technology. Recent advances in the additive fabrication of electrodes, electrolytes, separators, and integrated devices are examined, exhibiting the potential to acheive electrochemical performance, design adaptability, and sustainability. At the same time, key challenges—including materials formulation, reproducibility, economic feasibility, and regulatory uncertainty—are discussed as limiting factors that must be addressed for achieving the expected results. Rather than being viewed as a replacement for conventional gigafactory-scale production, additive manufacturing is positioned as a complementary fabrication technique that can deliver value in niche, distributed, and application-specific contexts. This work concludes by outlining research and policy priorities that could accelerate the maturation of 3D-printed batteries, stressing the importance of hybrid manufacturing, multifunctional printable materials, circular economy integration, and carefully phased timelines for deployment. Moreover, by enabling customized form factors, improved device–user interfaces, and seamless integration into smart, automated environments, additive manufacturing has the potential to significantly enhance user experience across emerging battery applications. In this context, this perspective provides a grounded assessment of how additive fabrication methods may contribute to next-generation battery technologies that not only improve electrochemical performance but also enhance user interaction, reliability, and seamless integration within automated and control-driven systems. Full article

The integration of smartphone-powered Virtual Reality (VR) into architectural practice is transforming how unbuilt spaces are perceived. The presented study is based on ten single-family house projects in which immersive visualization was introduced through mobile VR headsets connected to Building Information Modeling (BIM). It should be treated as a pilot study, preceding further comprehensive research on the subject. A total of 23 participants (investors and future users of the buildings at the same time) were actively involved in the design process supported by VR technology. Field of view adjustment was implemented within the BIM + VR model to align the virtual perception with the natural human visual range, improving the realism of the experience. Preliminary findings indicated that VR walkthroughs enhanced the future users’ understanding of spatial arrangements and supported informed decision-making. Over 80% of participants reported that it helped them better assess room sizes, placement of windows and doors, and furniture layout. This improved communication between investors and designers, and reduced the number of revisions required at further design stages. The use of VR to merge architecture with interior design enabled a human-scale perspective, cost optimization, and the exploitation of BIM + VR visualization potential for sustainable residential design. Full article

The tourism industry is currently experiencing a substantial digital transformation, with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) committed to integrating innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) in order to enhance service delivery and personalize user experiences. This study investigates the relationship between the utilization of AI and the technical quality scores of tourism websites, aiming to identify significant associations and variances in the critical conversion phase. An exploratory research design is employed to evaluate the technical quality of three prominent international tourism websites, i.e., Booking.com, Airbnb.com, and Tripadvisor.com. The investigation uses Google Lighthouse, with Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as variables analyzed across both desktop and mobile versions, as well as on pages with and without AI functionality. Data analysis is performed using JASP (version 0.19.3), including linear regression analysis to quantify the predictive relationship. The analysis confirms that the Performance variable is the most sensitive to the influence of AI. AI integration demonstrates a significant positive influence on the Performance score of travel websites. The regression model indicates that AI usage explains 78.9% of the variation in the Performance score (${\mathrm{R}}^2$ = 0.789, p < 0.001), indicating a substantial correlation with technical sustainability. Nevertheless, there remains an ongoing necessity for optimization, particularly with regard to the enhancement of overall performance and improvement of scores for mobile devices. The study acknowledges certain limitations related to the sample size of AI applications and the accessibility of specific AI versions in particular geographic regions. Full article

With origins in video gaming, 3D virtual worlds (VWs) are digital environments where people engage and interact synchronously using digital characters called avatars. VWs may have future potential for delivering youth mental health (YMH) services. Despite progress in developing VW-based YMH interventions, limited consultation with young people may be contributing to mixed uptake and engagement. This study aimed to understand how young people with experiences accessing YMH services view the potential (i.e., hypothetical) use of VWs for YMH service delivery to understand qualitative factors influencing uptake. Eleven 18–25-year-old consumers (M = 22.91 years; five women, five men, and one non-binary person) took part in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews via videoconferencing. Interviews explored anticipated ease of use, helpfulness, and perceived intention to use VW-based YMH interventions if they were made available. Interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were produced: (1) VWs as unique therapeutic spaces; (2) creative engagement for therapy; (3) VW communication promoting both connection and distance; (4) flexible access. All participants expressed a level of openness towards the potential use of VWs for YMH interventions. Features such as creative world-building and avatar customisation, increased anonymity, and remote accessibility were seen as ways to improve access to convenient, personalised, and engaging mental healthcare. Concerns included technology misuse, privacy risks, and reduced physical and emotional presence. Future research and service development should test real-world outcomes to ensure clinical benefit and employ codesign approaches that leverage servicer-users’ expectations to ensure accessible and acceptable delivery. Full article

Foster carers are a hard-to-reach population who carry a vast bureaucratic and emotional load. They need tailored and specialised training, support, and advice regarding the digital lives of the children and young people (CYP) they care for. Looked-after CYP are vulnerable in multiple ways and are particularly at risk in the digital age. Their susceptibility to online risks raises complex challenges. The training programme Fostering in a Digital Age was designed to support foster carers’ understanding of and responses to the digital lives of looked-after CYP, including both positive and negative aspects. It is research-informed and provides relevant knowledge, resources, tools, and skills. This exploratory study sought the opinions of foster carers and social workers regarding the strengths and limitations of the programme and recommendations for improving it. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten foster carers who had completed the programme and ten social workers who accessed the programme for evaluation purposes. Participants’ experiences and reflections were analysed using thematic analysis. Resulting themes highlighted the relevance of the training programme, with participants recognising the importance of digital lives for looked-after CYP and the need for tailored guidance. The programme was viewed as flexible, accessible, and user-friendly, with comprehensive coverage of key concepts and reflective activities that enhanced carers’ understanding and confidence. Its child-centred and sustainable design enabled carers to apply learning “as and when” needed and to collaborate with CYP to promote safer digital engagement. However, some participants found the volume of resources overwhelming and reported navigation challenges or digital anxiety. Social workers emphasised professional and structural improvements, while carers focused on the programme’s relational benefits and practical relevance. Both groups recommended wider promotion through local authorities and fostering agencies and adaptations to make the programme suitable for social workers and carers with differing digital skills. Overall, fostering in a digital age effectively provided foster carers with tailored knowledge to support CYP online, prevent harm, and respond to adverse digital experiences, aligning with Self-Determination Theory by supporting carers’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This evaluation also revealed gaps in online safety knowledge among both foster carers and social workers, highlighting opportunities for the development of future training programmes. Full article

The construction of prefabricated timber buildings is a topic of growing interest, although research has primarily focused on technological aspects, while the users’ perspective remains underexplored. Accordingly, this paper aims to map the existing literature on prefabricated wooden buildings from a user-centered perspective, considering the whole-building scale. A systematic literature search of publications between 2010 and 2025 was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, identifying relevant studies. A bibliometric analysis was then performed to map key research themes, which were further examined through a scoping review. Four main themes emerged, i.e., indoor comfort, indoor air quality, sustainability and energy efficiency, and building architectural design. The findings highlight numerous aspects that should be considered in prefabricated timber buildings design, including thermal, vibrational and acoustic comfort, air pollutant and ventilation control, user behavior in relation to energy use, and spatial design based on users’ needs. However, the limited number of existing studies makes comprehensive evaluation difficult. Furthermore, the results emphasize the need for multidisciplinary approaches to adequately integrate user experience into the design of these buildings. Full article

Research on coastal recreational activities has grown substantially, yet studies focusing on user perceptions of these spaces—critical for optimizing tourism experiences and management—remain fragmented and underdeveloped. This study addresses this gap by examining tourist sentiment in Xiamen, a renowned coastal city in China, using social media data. Text mining tools were utilized to process the Weibo contents through text segmentation, frequency analysis and cluster analysis. The Two-way Neural Network Fusion Model Based on the BERT (TNNFMB) deep learning approach was employed using transfer learning for sentiment analysis, while the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model was used to uncover latent thematic patterns. Sentiment polarity analysis revealed that positive comments constituted 56.47%, negative comments only 16.3%, and neutral comments 27.2%, confirming a generally positive perception of visitors’ coastal experiences. Tourists’ social media posts primarily revolve around five core themes in coastal areas: coastal waters, waterfronts, adjacent environments, culture and creativity, and reputation and expectation. The spatial and temporal changes in sentiment scores were discovered. Areas emphasizing sea–land landscapes, cultural theme reinforcement, and open public activities generally achieved high and stable sentiment scores. Natural and natural–artificial mixed coastlines experienced significant seasonal variations in sentiment. The recommendations of this study, generated from a sentiment perspective, include shaping a harmonious coastal environment by improving coastal management and support services to enhance the comfort of the tourist experience. This study advances understanding of user-centric coastal tourism dynamics, providing evidence-based tools for managers to enhance tourist experiences and spatial quality. Full article

The persistent challenge of designing digital interfaces that minimize users’ perceived waiting time remains critical for user satisfaction and conversion rates. This research integrates Attentional Gate Theory to investigate how loading animation type (static vs. dynamic) influences perceived waiting duration through temporal attention focus, and examines moderating roles of task involvement and browsing goal orientation. Across four online experiments—Study 1 (N = 198, MTurk) tested the main effect of animation type; Study 2 (N = 411, Prolific) validated full mediation via temporal attention focus using PROCESS analysis; Study 3 (2 × 2 design, N = 400, Prolific) examined task involvement as a moderator; and Study 4 (2 × 2 design, N = 400, Prolific) explored hedonic versus utilitarian browsing goals—the dynamic animation consistently shortened perceived waiting time relative to static displays. Mediation analyses confirmed that reduced temporal attention focus fully explains this effect, which is amplified under low task involvement and hedonic browsing but attenuated when involvement is high or goals are utilitarian. Theoretically, this work extends Attentional Gate Theory to user experience design by uncovering cognitive processes underlying time perception during waits. Managerially, it offers evidence-based recommendations for tailoring loading animations to user context, ultimately enhancing satisfaction and reducing abandonment. Full article

Xylazine, an adulterant found frequently in illicit fentanyl, has been implicated in causing several adverse effects in human recreational users, including skin lesions and complications in the treatment of opiate overdose. Despite these public health concerns, the literature on the basic behavioral effects of xylazine is limited. Recent research has demonstrated that planarians show potential as an emerging and practical animal model for studying the behavioral effects of acute xylazine exposure. The goal of the current investigation was to evaluate the behavioral effects of chronic xylazine administration on negative phototaxis in two planarian species: Girardia tigrina and Schmidtea mediterranea. Three experiments were conducted. Overall, 10 µM of chronic xylazine exposure, arranged according to a multiple-baseline design, impaired negative phototaxis in S. mediterranea but not G. tigrina. An ABA reversal design indicated that behavioral effects in S. mediterranea abated when chronic xylazine was terminated. Finally, a between-group design replicated potential interspecies differences when G. tigrina and S. mediterranea were compared directly, with the latter showing significantly greater susceptibility to drug effects. This work provides evidence of the utility of a planarian model for studying the behavioral effects of xylazine and lays the foundation for further investigation into the chronic effects of the drug. Full article

Background/Objectives: We wished to determine whether patients of providers subscribing to Health Information Exchange (HIE) services experience a reduction in emergency room visits and inpatient admissions compared to those who do not subscribe and whether the type of HIE service (online access to records via an HIE portal and/or integration with their electronic health record (EHR) and push notifications) a provider uses further impacts utilization. Methods: The research team utilized the Colorado All-Payer Claims Database (CO APCD) from 2017 to 2019, intentionally excluding the impact of COVID-19 on HIE services. A pre–post analysis was conducted 15 months before and after the provider subscribed to HIE solutions to quantify the effects when compared to control clinics. Results: Subscription to HIE solutions was associated with lower inpatient (IP) admissions than those in a control group for all insurance payer types (p = 0.001). The reduction in Medicaid patients was more pronounced when their providers subscribed to either service alone or in combination and was associated with significantly fewer ED and IP admissions than those for control clinics (p = 0.003, p < 0.05 for HIE portal alone and p < 0.0001, p = 0.002 for both HIE portal and integrated EHR solutions). HIEs enable providers to coordinate care and access patients’ previous test results and clinical histories, potentially reducing the need for high-cost emergency department and inpatient services. This, in turn, appears to substantially impact low-resource individuals, who have historically been the highest users of these services. Conclusions: HIE provider subscription is associated with a reduction in patients’ use of inpatient care after enrolling in HIE products across all insurance types. Medicaid patients experienced the most significant decrease in both emergency room (ED) visits and inpatient admissions when compared to control clinics. Full article

This study evaluates four developed external Human–Machine Interface (eHMI) concepts for automated shuttles, focusing on improving communication with other road users, mainly pedestrians and cyclists. Without a human driver to signal intentions, eHMI systems can play a crucial role in conveying the shuttle’s movements and future path, fostering safety and trust. The four eHMI systems’ purple light projections, emotional eyes, auditory alerts, and informative text were tested in a virtual reality (VR) environment. Participant evaluations were collected using an approach inspired by Kansei engineering and Likert scales. Results show that auditory alerts and informative text-eHMI are most appreciated, with participants finding them relatively clear and easy to understand. In contrast, purple light projections were hard to see in daylight, and emotional eyes were often misinterpreted. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified three key factors for eHMI success: predictability, endangerment, and practicality. The findings underscore the need for intuitive, simple, and predictable designs, particularly in the absence of a driver. This study highlights how eHMI systems can support the integration of automated shuttles into public transport. It offers insights into design features that improve road safety and user experience, recommending further research on long-term effectiveness in real-world traffic conditions. Full article

An essential component of modern musculoskeletal rehabilitation systems is treadmills of various sizes, the control of which may rely either on manual adjustment of treadmill speed, fixed for the entire training session, or on automatic regulation based on analysis of the user’s movements and velocity. The aim of this study was to experimentally compare the control functions of an adaptive treadmill designed for musculoskeletal rehabilitation and to assess the influence of the hardware configuration and tracking systems on user stability and the smoothness of transient processes. Two running platforms (of different lengths, one equipped with handrails and one without), two tracking systems (virtual reality trackers and a computer vision system using the MediaPipe Pose model), and three control functions—linear, nonlinear, and proportional-integral-derivative (PID)—were investigated. A set of metrics with both metrical and physiological interpretability was proposed (including positional stability, duration and amplitude of transient processes in position and velocity, subjective assessment, and others), all integrated into a single quality control criterion. This study presents extensive experimental research comparing various designs of adaptive running platforms and tracking systems, exploring the relationships between the available working area length and user comfort, and determining the optimal parameters for the selected control functions. The optimal control function was identified as the linear law for the tracking system based on virtual reality trackers and the PID function for the computer-vision-based tracking system. The conducted experiments made it possible to formulate recommendations regarding the minimum permissible working area length of treadmill platforms and the selection of tracking systems and control functions for musculoskeletal rehabilitation systems. The obtained results are of practical relevance for developing adaptive rehabilitation simulators and creating control algorithms that ensure smooth and stable treadmill motion, thereby enhancing user comfort, efficiency, and safety during musculoskeletal rehabilitation exercises. Full article

Driver monitoring systems (DMS), advanced driver assistance ssystems (ADAs), and technologies for autonomous driving, along with other upcoming innovations, have been developed as possible solutions to minimize accidents resulting from human error. This paper presents a thorough review of DMSs and user experience (UX). The objective is to investigate, combine, and evaluate the key elements involved in the development and application of DMSs, as well as the UX factors relevant to the current landscape of the field, serving as a reference for future investigations. The review encompasses a bibliographic analysis performed at different stages, offering valuable insights into the evolution of the topic. It examines the processes of development and implementation of driver monitoring systems. Furthermore, this work facilitates future research by consolidating and presenting a valuable collection of identified datasets, both public and private, for various research purposes. From this evaluation, critical components for DMSs can be identified, establishing a foundation for future research by providing a framework for the adoption and integration of these systems. Full article

The Gaia System is a tabletop projection mapping system for museum exhibitions, now in its third iteration and installed at the Sortland Museum (Norway). It presents socio-economic, environmental, and historical topics through an interactive spatial display. The system supports both multi-user interaction—allowing many visitors to engage simultaneously—and a tour guide mode for staff-led presentations. It combines scientific, data-driven visualizations with popular-science, story-driven content and integrates both real-time and locally stored data streams. Its design and development processes are thoroughly described. A field study with 32 participants yielded a System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 84.14 and a mean User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ-S) overall score of 1.93, indicating high usability and a positive user experience. The participants found the projection technology impressive and the content informative while noting challenges such as information overload, unclear temporal structuring of the content, and minor technical issues. Planned developments focus on restructuring the content for shorter sessions, implementing a new content management system, and refining the technical stability. Finally, this work reframes projection mapping as operational infrastructure rather than a fixed display, offering practical guidance for researchers advancing PM methodologies and museum practitioners deploying innovative, technology-driven exhibitions. Full article