Immersive Virtual Reality

The geological sciences are challenged to manage and interpret increasing volumes of data as observations and simulations increase in size and complexity. For example, simulations of earthquake-related processes typically generate complex, time-varying data sets in two or more dimensions. To facilitate interpretation and analysis of these data sets, evaluate the underlying models, and to drive future calculations, we have developed

This paper describes the design and implementation of a case study based investigation using immersive virtual reality as a treatment for phantom limb pain. Three participants who experienced phantom limb pain (two with an upper-limb amputation, and one with a lower-limb amputation) took part in between 2 and 5 immersive virtual reality (IVR) sessions over a 3-week period. The movements of participants' anatomical limbs were transposed into the movements of a virtual limb, presented in the phenomenal space of their phantom limb. Preliminary qualitative findings are reported here to assess proof of principle for this IVR equipment. All participants reported the transferal of sensations into the muscles and joints of the phantom limb, and all participants reported a decrease in phantom pain during at least one of the sessions. The authors suggest the need for further research using control trials.

Virtual Reality technologies can play essential role for the success of tourism inventiveness. Hence, this application entitled VR Bukit Puteri is designed and developed as a medium to promote and attract tourists to visit this natural cultural heritage place in Terengganu. This application is particularly very useful for the user to get information or learn interactively about history and artifacts of Bukit Puteri. The interaction design lifecycle model had been implemented in the development of this application. In addition, the gaze interaction technique had been successfully used to add more interactivity and user-friendliness to this application. The framework, interface design, testing and expert evaluation may also serve as guidelines in developing similar VR application in another domain. The author would consider gamification elements, engaging activities, 360’ VR experiences to be proposed to enhance VR applications for the future. These engagement elements can be a great ...

Experiences of cultural heritage and tourism have been enhanced by the development of digital technologies. In light of this, this paper focuses on the importance of immersive storytelling experiences to encourage visitors’ engagement through VR and the evocative and emotional storytelling of events and contexts.
After an introduction  to the best practices from Italy and abroad in the last years, the paper focuses on the VR immersive storytelling of the 1693 earthquake, which destroyed 70 cities in south-eastern Sicily. The survivors, revealing great resilience, soon rebuilt their cities. The well-known Baroque city of Noto, a UNESCO site since 2002, was rebuilt on another site, so abandoning the destroyed one (Noto Antica).
Through an immersive film in VR (25 min.), commissioned by the Noto Municipality, the last moments of the city are recounted, creating a “digital bridge” between generations to regain awareness of their ancient roots. The VR project stands out for its participatory production process involving a commission  of experts and  3D casting of its modern citizens, and the tragic nature of the event, recounted through the emotional and evocative account of a recent earthquake and the solution adopted following the COVI-19 pandemic (in situ, on YouTube VR and Vimeo).

Working with patients with different chronic pain syndromes can be challenging. Pharmacological therapies are often associated with variety of side effects. Mind-body modalities are thought to play a role; however, the lack of clear consensus and large body of clinical experience makes it hard to provide good evidence-based recommendation to most of our chronic pain patients. In recent years the Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) and to some degree Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) may prove to be an exception. In this review we summarize the current evidence supporting use of Mirror Box Therapy and its successor, Immersive Virtual Reality.

In the very young discipline of Virtual Reality Applications only a few reports are available about using this technology for periods longer than in experimental setups. This paper describes experiences made during four years of usage of Virtual Reality (VR) in educational training for ...

It is undeniably true that Virtual Reality (VR) has continuously been developed since 1800s and still have been produced till today. However, very few studies have attempted to study on the design of Virtual Reality Graphical User Interface (VR-GUI) that effectively empowers users to interact and immerse in a simulated world, via hardware and software with ease. Therefore, the aims of this research are to compare four different types of VR GUI Controller designs including (2D, 2D animation, 3D, and 3D animation) and to determine UI response time of the Oculus Touch Controller and compare the results with UI response time of Oculus Rift to determine what VR GUI is appropriate for which ages. 168 participants were purposely selected, aged from 12 to 17, 18 to 33, and 34 to 45. The experiment results showed that VR GUI had a significant impact on UI response time resulted from different types of VR GUI controllers. Last but not least, analysis of VR GUI controller user data had suggested that VR GUI developers should design appropriate VR GUI controllers that match all age groups in order for them to experience a fully immersive, perceptually real environment as quickly and efficiently as possible.

As an emerging technology, Virtual Reality (VR) is perceived as a platform with the potential to change the artwork generation methods and consumption paradigms The immersion, presence and interaction features of VR provides for art unique opportunities to find new forms of expression. The potential of VR in the artistic context will be revealed more clearly as researches in this area increase. The way art uses VR, how it interprets it, and the change VR will cause in art will expand the perspective for both. It is seen that in most of the researches on the relationship between VR and art, this relationship is considered in a general context. Very few researches has been done on the use of writing for artistic purposes in VR and a limited number of practical studies have been produced. From this point of view, in this article, the relationship between experimental typography and VR art is examined with examples. The most effective use of writing in both a linguistic context and as a visual expression has been within the scope of conceptual art and this has brought new discourses and perspectives to the art. In this regards, the inclusion of VR in the combination of writing and art may provide completely different results in conceptual and intellectual contexts. The intersection of writing, art and VR has a rich potential for different perspectives and new patterns. In this paper, the use of writing as the main narrative element in VR Artworks has been discussed as an experimental typography study. Experimental typography is a practice based on exploration and interpretation, seeking new forms of visual expression apart from traditional patterns. VR Artworks based on experimental typography may reveal various contents that explore the role of language for art as structured images in virtual environment. Within this article, three VR Artworks based on the experimental typography are examined and it has seen that they all presented different visual solutions than the clean, meticulous 3D visualization approach used in most VR applications. In this context, it has been suggested that the use of experimental typography in VR Art can expand the narrative language of VR.

Although the concept of virtual reality (VR) has been studied and used for many years, recent technological development has led to the commercial availability of immersive VR, specifically head-mounted displays. Little research has been conducted on the potential for immersive VR to influence consumer behavior. The aim of this thesis is to give insight into how immersive VR can be utilized in destination marketing, through investigating its effect on consumer outcomes directly, as well as the underlying processing mechanisms. Through two studies, one lab experi- ment and one field experiment, we find that immersive VR technology (vs. 2D pictures) does not have a significant total effect on the consumer outcome variables (destination attitude, behavioral intentions and purchasing decision). However, mediation analyses show that there are indirect effects through telepresence, enjoyment, mental imagery, predicted emotions, and predicted expe- riences, and that perceived picture quality acts as a moderator of some of the relationships. This suggests that immersive VR content, when developed specifically to stimulate the factors we find to be important, and used with high-quality equipment, can have a strong impact on destination attitude, behavioral intentions, and ultimately actual purchase.

Key words: Immersive VR, Virtual Reality, Telepresence, Enjoyment, Mental Imagery, Predicted Emotions, Predicted Experiences, Consumer Outcomes, Destination Marketing, Tourism.

Virtual Reality technologies can play essential role for the success of tourism inventiveness. Hence, this application entitled VR Bukit Puteri is designed and developed as a medium to promote and attract tourists to visit this natural cultural heritage place in Terengganu. This application is particularly very useful for the user to get information or learn interactively about history and artifacts of Bukit Puteri. The interaction design lifecycle model had been implemented in the development of this application. In addition, the gaze interaction technique had been successfully used to add more interactivity and user-friendliness to this application. The framework, interface design, testing and expert evaluation may also serve as guidelines in developing similar VR application in another domain. The author would consider gamification elements, engaging activities, 360’ VR experiences to be proposed to enhance VR applications for the future. These engagement elements can be a great ...

L'immersività applicata ai prodotti culturali sta suscitando grande interesse tanto nel pubblico generalista quanto negli ambienti specialistici: i tradizionali campi del cinema e dell'arte si trovano ad affrontare la concorrenza di un'ampia galassia di applicazioni (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Extended Reality, Enhanced Reality, Hybrid Reality, 3D Graphics, 360° Photo/Video, Real Time Experience, Immersive Experience…) che aprono nuovi scenari di spettacolarizzazione non privi di importanti ricadute economiche. Come orientarsi in questo variegato panorama? Finora l'attenzione è stata puntata soprattutto sulla Virtual Reality, ma recentemente si sta facendo largo il settore delle Immersive Art Experience, che propone un tipo di esperienza digitale completamente diversa. Proveremo ad individuare un criterio molto semplice, ma anche molto efficace, per valutare i due campi: la distinzione fra immersività "pesante" e immersività "leggera".

Disorientation has many costs. It may lead to physical fatigue, stress, and frustration and can also jeopardize people's safety. Designing wayfinding aids to fit people's needs can facilitate their environmental knowledge acquisition and, therefore, improve their wayfinding performance. The scope of this article is human wayfinding in unfamiliar buildings, considering only individual pedestrian movement in an immersive virtual environment. The purpose is to investigate the use of external information at a higher level of awareness (e.g., signage) as a wayfinding aid, as well as the use of immersive virtual reality (VR) to study indoor wayfinding. Fifty-four volunteers accomplished a wayfinding task (i.e., finding a room from the building's entrance) within a virtual building, employing two types of signage systems (i.e., vertical and horizontal conditions). A neutral condition (no signage) was also considered as a control condition to be used as a baseline. Aside from the success of the wayfinding task (getting to the destination), other performance metrics (distance traveled, time spent, number of pauses, and average speed) were analyzed and compared. Although the differences found are not statistically significant, findings suggest that participants assigned to the horizontal condition traveled smaller distances, spent less time, made fewer pauses, and moved at higher average speed than those assigned to vertical and neutral conditions. Gender-related differences were found statistically significant only in the average speed variable (females were faster than males). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Menschen sind häufig nicht ganz bei der Sache. Oft finden wir sie abwesend, nicht ganz da, sich in Tagträume verlierend, in Gedanken schon bei der nächsten Sache; finden sie irgendwie nicht ganz hinein in die Situationen, mit denen sie sich gerade konfrontiert finden. Der Beitrag entwickelt die These, dass die Rede von der "Immersivität" von Erfahrung nicht erst bei technologisch oder ästhetisch mediierten Erlebnissen des Versetztseins in künstliche oder virtuelle "Welten" und Umgebungen am Platz, gewöhnliche menschliche Erfahrung vielmehr ganz grundsätzlich durch eine immersive Dynamik des Hineinfindens in und Hinausgeratens aus Situationen charakterisiert ist: Noch bevor wir uns ein bewusstes Bild konkreter Umstände und Möglichkeiten gemacht haben, finden wir uns gewöhnlich schon in Situationen verortet. Diese zeichnen bestimmte Rhythmen und Richtungen, Valenzen und Tendenzen, Bedeutsamkeiten und Möglichkeiten vor. Der Beitrag skizziert eine Phänomenologie der Immersion, die auch ein tieferes Verständnis technologisch oder ästhetisch mediierter Immersionserfahrungen verspricht.

Virtual Reality technologies can play essential role for the success of tourism inventiveness. Hence, this application entitled VR Bukit Puteri is designed and developed as a medium to promote and attract tourists to visit this natural cultural heritage place in Terengganu. This application is particularly very useful for the user to get information or learn interactively about history and artifacts of Bukit Puteri. The interaction design lifecycle model had been implemented in the development of this application. In addition, the gaze interaction technique had been successfully used to add more interactivity and user-friendliness to this application. The framework, interface design, testing and expert evaluation may also serve as guidelines in developing similar VR application in another domain. The author would consider gamification elements, engaging activities, 360' VR experiences to be proposed to enhance VR applications for the future. These engagement elements can be a great counterpart to increase user experience in virtual world.

Virtual reality represents simulated three-dimensional environment created by hardware and software, which providing realistic experience and possibility of interaction to the end-user. Benefits provided by immersive virtual reality in educational setting were recognised in the past decades, however mass application was left out due to the lack of development and high price. Intensive development of new platforms and virtual reality devices in the last few years started up with Oculus Rift, and subsequently accelerated in the year 2014 by occurrence of Google Cardboard. Nowadays, for the first time in history, immersive virtual reality is available to millions of people. In the mid 2015 Google commenced developing Expeditions Pioneer Program aiming to massively utilise the Google Cardboard platform in education. Expeditions and other VR apps can enhance geography teaching and learning. Realistic experience acquired by utilisation of virtual reality in teaching process significantly overcome possibilities provided by images and illustrations in the textbook. Besides literature review on usage of virtual reality in education this paper presents suggestion of VR mobile apps that can be used together with the Google Cardboard head mounted displays (HMDs) in geography classes, thereby emphasising advantages and disadvantages as well as possible obstacles which may occur in introducing the immersive virtual reality in the educational process.

There are few studies of the human factors involved in the engagement of presence. The present study aims to investigate the influence of five user characteristics - test anxiety, spatial intelligence, verbal intelligence, personality and computer experience - on the sense of presence in university students when exposed to virtual environments designed to assess their levels of test anxiety. This is the first study to investigate the influence of spatial intelligence on the sense of presence, and the first to use an immersive virtual reality system to investigate the relationship between users' personality characteristics and presence. The results show a greater sense of presence in test anxiety environments than in a neutral environment. Moreover, high test anxiety students feel more presence than their non-test anxiety counterparts, especially in test anxiety environments. Spatial intelligence and introversion also influence the sense of presence experienced by high test anxiety students exposed to emotional virtual environments. Interestingly, each of these user characteristics influences different dimensions of the sense of presence. These results may help to identify new groups of patients likely to benefit from virtual reality therapy.

Virtual reality (VR) technology has recently started shaping learning, especially language learning, with the aim of immersing learners into a VR learning environment. However, because of the high system cost of fully immersive VR, desktop VR has been implemented and preferred in educational settings. Based on a constructivist approach, desktop VR has drawn attention to the need for learner autonomy and an authentic VR learning environment. Therefore, this chapter describes empirical research on desktop VR-based learning using a constructivist approach. The research examined university interaction and perceptions of learning in this kind of learning environment. Based on the empirical findings gathered from observations and interviews, this chapter has aimed to discuss not only the issues observed both in previous studies and in this chapter, but also additional issues such as scaffolding, self-paced learning, collaboration, and learner differences in order for learning to occur in a well-designed desktop VR learning environment.

The CAVE, a walk-in virtual reality environment typically consisting of 4–6 3 m-by-3 m sides of a room made of rear-projected screens, was first conceived and built in 1991. In the nearly two decades since its conception, the supporting technology has improved so that current CAVEs are much brighter, at much higher resolution, and have dramatically improved graphics performance. However, rear-projection-based CAVEs typically must be housed in a 10 m-by-10 m-by-10 m room (allowing space behind the screen walls for the projectors), which limits their deployment to large spaces. The CAVE of the future will be made of tessellated panel displays, eliminating the projection distance, but the implementation of such displays is challenging. Early multi-tile, panel-based, virtual-reality displays have been designed, prototyped, and built for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the Univer...

Space Digital methodologies evolve as quickly as the technologies that sustain them. Virtual reality (VR) environments are experiencing a shift from technology still in development to a fully-fledged digital instrument with the release of VR consumer products accessible and usable by the general public. This paper explores the parallelism between architecture and psychology by assessing their combined ability to effect a user's perception of spatial qualities using an Immersive Virtual Environment (IVE). A review of the software and hardware required in IVE technology is conducted and from this a framework is proposed by which to assess the impacts of densified office space. This paper concludes with a discussion on the impact that IVE's can have on human perception and how this will help architectural and non-architectural disciplines gain an understanding of 'perceptional space'.

This article describes an interdisciplinary study carried out by a team of archaeologists, 3D surveyors and experts of new technologies applied to cultural heritage. The research was aimed at developing a virtual reality experience dedicated to Etruscan hypogean tombs in the city of Volterra. The application, intended for non-expert users, has been implemented in a touch screen version (mobile devices) as well as in VR mode (Samsung Gear Headset). In both versions, the user can easily interact with the immersive virtual context, browsing through the necropolises and/or underground tombs, and acquire textual and multimedia information.

The development of interactive, participatory, multisensoryenvironments that combine the physical with the virtual comes as anatural continuation to the computer game industrys constant racefor more exciting user experiences. Specialized theme parks andvarious other leisure and entertainment centers worldwide areembracing the interactive promise that games have made usersexpect. This is not a trend limited to the entertainment domain;non-formal learning environments for

The web and its recent advancements represent a great opportunity to build universal, rich, multi-user and immersive Web3D/WebXR applications targeting Cultural Heritage field—including 3D presenters, inspection tools, applied VR games, collaborative teaching tools and much more. Such opportunity although, introduces additional challenges besides common issues and limitations typically encountered in this context. The “ideal” Web3D application should be able to reach every device, automatically adapting its interface, rendering and interaction models—resulting in a single, liquid product that can be consumed on mobile devices, PCs, Museum kiosks and immersive AR/VR devices, without any installation required for final users. The open-source ATON framework is the result of research and development activities carried out during the last 5 years through national and international projects: it is designed around modern and robust web standards, open specifications and large open-source e...

Abstract. Google Earth VR (GEVR), released in 2017, claims to put the whole world within reach using virtual reality (VR). Relying on sensors that track a user’s position and gestures in actual space, GEVR suggests that users can experience its virtual Earth in the same way that they experience the real one: as a world they actively embody rather than a representation they examine from the outside. While GEVR conjures a dematerialized world, it also interrogates how what counts as a material world may always be suspended between embodied, technical, and aesthetic mediations. If ‘the whole world’ – which exceeds individual perception – can only be conceived through aesthetic logics, what do the particular aesthetics of GEVR tell us about the way our world is imaged and imagined today? What are the implications of the way it stages ‘worlding’ as a provisional, dimensional coordination? What does the disorienting experience it offers suggest about contemporary entanglements of perception and representation, body and world, the individual here-and-now and a global everywhere-at-once?

In cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology, the collection of cognitive and behavioural data is predominantly achieved by implementing paper-and-pencil and computerized (i.e., 2D and 3D applications) assessments. However, these psychometric tools in clinics and/or laboratories display several limitations and discrepancies between the observed performance in the laboratory/clinic and the actual performance of individuals in everyday life. The functional and predictive association between an individual's performance on a set of neuropsychological tests and the individual's performance in various everyday life settings is called ecological validity. Ecological validity is considered an important issue that cannot be resolved by the currently available assessment tools. Virtual reality head-mounted displays (HMD) appear to be effective research tools, which may address the problem of ecological validity in neuropsychological testing. However, their widespread implementation is hindered by virtual reality induced symptoms and effects (VRISE) and the lack of skills in virtual reality software development. In this PhD, a technological systematic literature review of the reasons for adverse symptomatology was conducted and suggestions and technological knowledge for the implementation of virtual reality HMD systems in cognitive neuroscience provided. The review indicated features pertinent to display, sound, motion tracking, navigation, ergonomic interactions, user experience, and computer hardware that should be considered by researchers. Subsequently, a meta-analysis of 44 neuroscientific or neuropsychological studies involving virtual reality HMD systems was performed. The meta-analysis of the virtual reality studies demonstrated that new generation HMDs induce significantly less VRISE and marginally fewer dropouts. Importantly, the commercial versions of the new generation HMDs with ergonomic interactions had zero incidents of adverse symptomatology and dropouts. HMDs equivalent to or greater than the commercial versions of contemporary HMDs accompanied with ergonomic interactions are suitable for implementation in cognitive neuroscience. Another aim of this PhD was to devise a brief tool to appraise and report both the quality of software features and VRISE intensity quantitatively; such a tool does not currently exist. The Virtual Reality Neuroscience Questionnaire (VRNQ; Kourtesis et al., 2019) was developed to assess the quality of virtual reality software in terms of user experience, game mechanics, in-game assistance, and VRISE. Forty participants aged between 28 and 43 years were recruited (18 gamers and 22 non-gamers) for the study. They participated in 3 different virtual reality sessions until they felt weary or discomfort and subsequently filled in the VRNQ. The results demonstrated that VRNQ is a valid tool for assessing virtual reality software as it has good convergent, discriminant, and construct validity. The maximum duration of virtual reality sessions should be between 55 and 70 min when the virtual reality software meets or exceeds the parsimonious cut-offs of the VRNQ, and the users are familiarized with the virtual reality system. Also, gaming experience does not affect how long virtual reality sessions should last. Furthermore, while the quality of virtual reality software substantially modulates the maximum duration of virtual reality sessions, age and education do not. Finally, deeper immersion, better quality of graphics and sound, and more helpful in-game instructions and prompts were found to reduce VRISE intensity. The VRNQ facilitates the brief assessment and reporting of the quality of virtual reality software features and/or the intensity of VRISE, while its minimum and parsimonious cut-offs may appraise the suitability of virtual reality software for implementation in research and clinical settings. However, the development of virtual reality software is predominantly dependent on third parties (e.g., freelancers or companies) with programming and software development skills. A solution that will promote the adoption of immersive virtual reality as a research and clinical tool might be the in-house development of virtual reality research/clinical software by computer science literate cognitive scientists or research software engineers. In Chapter 4, guidelines are offered for the development of virtual reality software in cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology, by describing and discussing the stages of the development of Virtual Reality Everyday Assessment Lab (VR-EAL), the first neuropsychological battery in immersive virtual reality. Techniques for evaluating cognitive functions within a realistic storyline are discussed. The utility of various assets in Unity, software development kits, and other software are described so that cognitive scientists can overcome challenges pertinent to VRISE and the quality of the virtual reality software. In addition, VR-EAL is evaluated in accordance with the necessary criteria for virtual reality software for research purposes. The virtual reality neuroscience questionnaire (VRNQ) was implemented to appraise the quality of the three versions of VR-EAL in terms of user experience, game mechanics, in-game assistance, and VRISE. Twenty-five participants aged between 20 and 45 years with 12-16 years of full-time education evaluated various versions of VR-EAL. The final version of VR-EAL achieved high scores in every sub-score of the VRNQ and exceeded its parsimonious cut-offs. It also appeared to have better in-game assistance and game mechanics, while its improved graphics substantially increased the quality of the user experience and almost eradicated VRISE. The results substantially support the feasibility of the development of effective virtual reality research and clinical software without the presence of VRISE during a 60-min virtual reality session. In Chapter 5, validation of VR-EAL as an assessment of prospective memory, episodic memory, attention, and executive functions using an ecologically valid approach is examined. Performance on the VR-EAL, an immersive virtual reality neuropsychological battery, is examined against an extensive paper-and-pencil neuropsychological battery. Forty-one participants (21 females) were recruited: 18 gamers and 23 non-gamers who attended both an immersive virtual reality and a paper-and-pencil testing session. Bayesian Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to assess construct and convergent validity of the VR-EAL. Bayesian t-tests were performed to compare virtual reality and paper-and-pencil testing in terms of administration time, similarity to real life tasks (i.e., ecological validity), and pleasantness. VR-EAL scores were significantly correlated with their equivalent scores on the paper-and-pencil tests. The participants' reports indicated that the VR-EAL tasks were considered significantly more ecologically valid and pleasant than the paper-and-pencil neuropsychological battery. The VR-EAL battery also had a shorter administration time. The VR-EAL appears to be an effective neuropsychological tool for the assessment of everyday cognitive functions, and has enhanced ecological validity, a highly pleasant testing experience, and does not induce cybersickness. In the final part of this thesis, the preparatory attentional and memory (PAM) and the multiprocess theories of prospective memory are examined by attempting to identify the cognitive functions which may predict the individual's performance on ecologically valid prospective memory tasks in the same group of participants described in Chapter 5. Bayesian t-tests were conducted to explore the differences among different prospective memory tasks (e.g., event-based and time-based) and prospective memory tasks with varying delays between encoding and the recall of the intended action (e.g., short-delay versus long-delay). Bayesian linear regression analyses were performed to examine the predictors of VR-EAL scores. The results revealed that the type of prospective memory task does not play a significant role in everyday prospective memory functioning, but instead the length of delay between encoding and retrieving the prospective memory intention plays a central role. Support for the PAM and MP frameworks was found in non-focal and focal event-based tasks respectively. However, the findings, inferring a dynamic interplay between automatic and intentional monitoring and retrieval processes, agree with the inclusive approach of the multiprocess framework. Also, the role of executive functions appears crucial in everyday PM. Finally, everyday PM is predominantly facilitated by episodic memory, visuospatial attention, auditory attention, and executive functions. In conclusion, this PhD thesis attempted to show how immersive virtual reality research methods may be implemented efficiently without the confounding effect of cybersickness symptomatology in order to enhance the ecological validity of neuropsychological testing and contribute to our understanding of everyday cognitive ability.

Ancient Roman triclinium grottoes and nymphaea can be found within residences from large scale villas to moderately sized urban houses. Though the viewer's experience varied depending on the setting, the goal was always the same: to artificially construct the reality of a grotto in a domestic setting. While some houses feature dining areas with fountains placed directly in the physical setting of a garden, how would viewer experience change when in an enclosed room like that of the triclinium-nymphaeum in the Domus Transitoria in Rome? That nymphaeum provides a controlled and enclosed environment differing from an outdoor triclinium or a natural grotto adapted to a particular use such as at Sperlonga. The Domus Transitoria nymphaeum is a constructed and highly idealized marble-clad grotto. How would viewer experience there differ compared with a triclinium grotto painted with Nilotic landscapes, such as at the Praedia of Julia Felix in Pompeii? Would these paintings have enhanced the effect, allowing the viewer to more easily believe they were truly immersed in an actual grotto? While three walls of the artificial grotto at the Praedia are enclosed, the fourth "wall" is formed by the garden, enhancing the constructed "reality" by its proximity to a real garden, itself enclosed. Focusing on examples from the Julio-Claudian and Flavian periods, this paper will explore not only how the constructed realities of triclinium grottoes differed from real grottoes, but also to what extent the viewer is manipulated to accept these artificial grottoes as reality in different settings.

Training professionals for real-world application of required knowledge and skills and assessing their competence are major challenges. Simulations are being used in education and training to enhance understanding, improve performance, and assess competence. Validated virtual reality (VR) simulations provide a means of making experiential learning reproducible and reusable. Advanced communication networks, such as Internet2 Access Grid, allow dissemination of these