An industrial approach to design compelling VR and AR experience

Abstract

The convergence of technologies currently observed in the field of VR, AR, robotics and consumer electronic reinforces the trend of new applications appearing every day. But when transferring knowledge acquired from research to businesses, research laboratories are often at a loss because of a lack of knowledge of the design and integration processes in creating an industrial scale product. In fact, the innovation approaches that take a good idea from the laboratory to a successful industrial product are often little known to researchers.The objective of this paper is to present the results of the work of several research teams that have finalized a working method for researchers and manufacturers that allow them to design virtual or augmented reality systems and enable their users to enjoy "a compelling VR experience". That approach, called "the I2I method", present 11 phases from "Establishing technological and competitive intelligence and industrial property" to "Improvements" through the "Definition of the Behavioral Interface, Virtual Environment and Behavioral Software Assistance". As a result of the experience gained by various research teams, this design approach benefits from contributions from current VR & AR research. Our objective is to validate and continuously move such multidisciplinary design team methods forward.Keywords: Virtual reality, design process, human centered design, methodology, innovation, immersion, interaction THE I2I METHOD Three levels of immersion and interactionThe software and hardware production of a system integrating virtual reality cannot be designed without analyzing human behavior in a virtual world. From that point on, it becomes absolutely indispensible to work with cognitive science experts. Their role is to establish: -The psychophysical characteristics of the user's senses and the motor responses; -The conceptual and pragmatic differences between the schemas and metaphors employed in the system; -The Behavioral Software Assistance needed to help the system user.The limits of human behavior in relation to the solutions chosen by the system designers, in particular the human capacity to resolve any sensorimotor inconsistencies [4].Our I²I approach is built around analyzing and modeling the subject's immersion and interaction in the virtual environment (Figure 1), developed at the Ecole des Mines ParisTech [3]. Modeling the subject's immersion and interaction should be examined on three levels: -At a physical level, we talk about sensorimotor immersion and interaction (I²sm), as physically the computer is connected to the user through the user's senses and motor responses via the UPI (User Perceptual Interface) [1]. This level of immersion and interaction is quantifiable in relation to the characteristics of the senses and the motor responses being exploited.

How to design compelling Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality experience?

“…In any system using Virtual Reality, the user is fundamentally at the centre of the mechanism as the virtual application is aimed at the user. In establishing 1 the virtual environment and its interfaces ( Figure 1) it is therefore necessary to use a human centred approach (focusing on the person) starting with the loop "perception, cognition, action", rather than a technical centred approach (focusing on the computer) [10]. Figure 1.…”

“…This is not yet the case with regard to producing systems making use of virtual reality technologies (VR). The I2I method (Immersion & Interaction for Innovation), finalised by two ParisTech research teams, aims to guide designers of such systems to allow them to create a product that best responds to the needs of their future users, while respecting the best balance of costs, timescales, quality and innovation [1].…”