Simon Hoermann
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View article: Digital Humans for Depression Assessment and Intervention Support: Scoping Review
Digital Humans for Depression Assessment and Intervention Support: Scoping Review Open
Background The growing global burden of mental health disorders has intensified the search for scalable, accessible, and cost-effective interventions. Conversational agents in the form of digital humans have emerged as promising tools to d…
View article: Development and Iterative Design of an educational game ''Magma Pop'' to teach undergraduate fractional crystallization concepts
Development and Iterative Design of an educational game ''Magma Pop'' to teach undergraduate fractional crystallization concepts Open
Fractional crystallization and mineralogy are foundational yet challenging topics in undergraduate geoscience education. The M&M’s® magma chamber lab is a widely used hands-on activity to illustrate these concepts, but students often f…
View article: Promoting Learning About Nutrition and Healthy Eating Behaviors in Chinese Children Through an Alternate Reality Game: A Pilot Study
Promoting Learning About Nutrition and Healthy Eating Behaviors in Chinese Children Through an Alternate Reality Game: A Pilot Study Open
Background: Childhood obesity is a growing public-health concern in China and globally, a trend influenced by multiple factors, including poor eating behaviors and insufficient physical activity. While interactive health games have shown p…
View article: Views of people with MS regarding VR-exergaming to improve physical function and cognition: a qualitative study
Views of people with MS regarding VR-exergaming to improve physical function and cognition: a qualitative study Open
PwMS value physical activity for maintaining abilities but face barriers like self-efficacy and accessibility. VR-exergaming received positive feedback for enhancing physical abilities. Safety and comfort issues need addressing. Further re…
View article: Explorations in Designing Virtual Environments for Remote Counselling
Explorations in Designing Virtual Environments for Remote Counselling Open
The advent of technology-enhanced interventions has significantly transformed mental health services, offering new opportunities for delivering psychotherapy, particularly in remote settings. This paper reports on a pilot study exploring t…
View article: Large Language Models for Automatic Detection of Sensitive Topics
Large Language Models for Automatic Detection of Sensitive Topics Open
Sensitive information detection is crucial in content moderation to maintain safe online communities. Assisting in this traditionally manual process could relieve human moderators from overwhelming and tedious tasks, allowing them to focus…
View article: Modelling Patient-Therapist Collaboration for Brain Injury Rehabilitation in Virtual Reality
Modelling Patient-Therapist Collaboration for Brain Injury Rehabilitation in Virtual Reality Open
In the era of digital transformation, the utilisation of Virtual Reality (VR) applications in brain injury rehabilitation presents a novel frontier with vast potential. However, concerns persist about how traditional communication pathways…
View article: Advancing prosociality in extended reality: systematic review of the use of embodied virtual agents to trigger prosocial behaviour in extended reality
Advancing prosociality in extended reality: systematic review of the use of embodied virtual agents to trigger prosocial behaviour in extended reality Open
Attention has increasingly been focused on the potential of Extended Reality (XR) and Embodied Virtual Agents (EVAs) to significantly influence human behaviour. While an expanding body of literature explores the individual impacts of XR an…
View article: Virtual Triplets: A Mixed Modal Synchronous and Asynchronous Collaboration with Human-Agent Interaction in Virtual Reality
Virtual Triplets: A Mixed Modal Synchronous and Asynchronous Collaboration with Human-Agent Interaction in Virtual Reality Open
We introduce the Virtual Triplets (VTs), a Virtual Reality collaborative system designed for both synchronous and asynchronous interaction through collaboration between humans and human-agent. When a single instructor supervises two studen…
View article: Design and assessment of a virtual reality learning environment for firefighters
Design and assessment of a virtual reality learning environment for firefighters Open
The use of virtual reality (VR) in firefighter training is promising because it provides cost-effective, safe environments that arouse similar behavioral responses to real-life scenarios. However, the pedagogical potential of VR and its im…
View article: Interactions with virtual therapists during motor rehabilitation in immersive virtual environments: a systematic review
Interactions with virtual therapists during motor rehabilitation in immersive virtual environments: a systematic review Open
Introduction: Virtual Reality applications for rehabilitation are increasing in popularity. In traditional as well as virtual rehabilitation, the guidance of an occupational therapist through physical and verbal interaction is often requir…
View article: Prop-oriented world rotation: enabling passive haptic feedback by aligning real and virtual objects in virtual reality
Prop-oriented world rotation: enabling passive haptic feedback by aligning real and virtual objects in virtual reality Open
Passive haptics have long been used to enhance the user’s experience in virtual reality (VR). However, creating props to be used in a virtual environment can be a complicated and lengthy process. Current research looks to create passive ha…
View article: Eliciting real cravings with virtual food: Using immersive technologies to explore the effects of food stimuli in virtual reality
Eliciting real cravings with virtual food: Using immersive technologies to explore the effects of food stimuli in virtual reality Open
In this paper, we explore the current technical possibilities of eating in virtual reality (VR) and show how this could be used to influence eating behaviors. Cue-based exposure therapy is a well-known method used to treat eating disorders…
View article: Ex-Cit XR: Expert-elicitation and validation of Extended Reality visualisation and interaction techniques for disengaging and transitioning users from immersive virtual environments
Ex-Cit XR: Expert-elicitation and validation of Extended Reality visualisation and interaction techniques for disengaging and transitioning users from immersive virtual environments Open
This research explores visualisation and interaction techniques to disengage users from immersive virtual environments (IVEs) and transition them back to the Augmented Reality mode in the real world. To gain a better understanding and nove…
View article: Design Insights to Support the Development of Effective Virtual Reality Nicotine and Vaping Dependency Therapy Scenarios for Future Telehealth
Design Insights to Support the Development of Effective Virtual Reality Nicotine and Vaping Dependency Therapy Scenarios for Future Telehealth Open
Vaping, or the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), has grown rapidly worldwide and is becoming an epidemic among youth in many countries. Invented as a method to help to quit smoking, ENDS are very popular, reaching increas…
View article: Cue Reactivity to Electronic Cigarettes: A Systematic Review
Cue Reactivity to Electronic Cigarettes: A Systematic Review Open
Cue reactivity to Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) has been studied by several researchers, yet the variability in user types (smokers, former smokers, dual users, exclusive ENDS users) and ENDS designs used between the studies …
View article: Content-rich and Expansive Virtual Environments Using Passive Props As World Anchors
Content-rich and Expansive Virtual Environments Using Passive Props As World Anchors Open
In this paper, we present a system that allows developers to add passive haptic feedback into their virtual reality applications by making use of existing physical objects in the user's real environment. Our approach has minimal dependence…
View article: Human Factors Research in Immersive Virtual Reality Firefighter Training: A Systematic Review
Human Factors Research in Immersive Virtual Reality Firefighter Training: A Systematic Review Open
Immersive virtual reality (VR) shows a lot of potential for the training of professionals in the emergency response domain. Firefighters occupy a unique position among emergency personnel as the threats they encounter are mainly environmen…
View article: Virtual Reality Technology Use in Cigarette Craving and Smoking Interventions (I “Virtually” Quit): Systematic Review
Virtual Reality Technology Use in Cigarette Craving and Smoking Interventions (I “Virtually” Quit): Systematic Review Open
Background Over the last 2 decades, virtual reality technologies (VRTs) have been proposed as a way to enhance and improve smoking cessation therapy. Objective This systematic review aims to evaluate and summarize the current knowledge on …
View article: Using Virtual Reality to Enhance Food Technology Education
Using Virtual Reality to Enhance Food Technology Education Open
The use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology combined with 360-degree images and videos provide an opportunity for teachers to bring students into the classroom even when they are located somewhere else. During the COVID-19 lockdown and pand…
View article: Using a Fully Expressive Avatar to Collaborate in Virtual Reality: Evaluation of Task Performance, Presence, and Attraction
Using a Fully Expressive Avatar to Collaborate in Virtual Reality: Evaluation of Task Performance, Presence, and Attraction Open
Avatar-mediated collaboration in virtual environments is becoming more and more prevalent. However, current consumer systems are not suited to fully replicate real-world nonverbal communication. We present a novel avatar system for collabo…
View article: Testbed evaluation of multi-travel mode in virtual reality
Testbed evaluation of multi-travel mode in virtual reality Open
Most VR applications, regardless of travel distance or complexity of the Virtual Environment, provide only a single locomotion technique for users. Often, travel might require different levels of precision and speed (travel time and effort…
View article: Virtual Reality Technology Use in Cigarette Craving and Smoking Interventions (I “Virtually” Quit): Systematic Review (Preprint)
Virtual Reality Technology Use in Cigarette Craving and Smoking Interventions (I “Virtually” Quit): Systematic Review (Preprint) Open
BACKGROUND Over the last 2 decades, virtual reality technologies (VRTs) have been proposed as a way to enhance and improve smoking cessation therapy. OBJECTIVE This systematic review aims to evaluate and summarize the current knowledge …
View article: Challenges in food-based education: Exploring the potential of solutions using virtual reality technology
Challenges in food-based education: Exploring the potential of solutions using virtual reality technology Open
Food-based education is currently under-represented in schools and this is troubling with the high rate of obesity in New Zealand: nearly 30 percent of adults are listed as obese. This study discusses the results of a series of interviews …
View article: Exploring the Use of a Robust Depth-sensor-based Avatar Control System and its Effects on Communication Behaviors
Exploring the Use of a Robust Depth-sensor-based Avatar Control System and its Effects on Communication Behaviors Open
To interact as fully-tracked avatars with rich hand gestures in Virtual Reality (VR), we often need to wear a tracking suit or attach extra sensors on our bodies. User experience and performance may be impacted by the cumbersome devices an…
View article: Investigating a Physical Dial as a Measurement Tool for Cybersickness in Virtual Reality
Investigating a Physical Dial as a Measurement Tool for Cybersickness in Virtual Reality Open
This study explores ways to increase comfort in Virtual Reality by minimizing cybersickness. Cybersickness is related to classical motion sickness and causes unwanted symptoms when using immersive technologies. We developed a dial interfac…