Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Effects Of Primary And Secondary Task Workloads On Cybersickness In Immersive Virtual Active Exploration Experiences, Rohith Venkatakrishnan

All Dissertations

Virtual reality (VR) technology promises to transform humanity. The technology enables users to explore and interact with computer-generated environments that can be simulated to approximate or deviate from reality. This creates an endless number of ways to propitiously apply the technology in our lives. It follows that large technological conglomerates are pushing for the widespread adoption of VR, financing the creation of the Metaverse - a hypothetical representation of the next iteration of the internet.

Even with VR technology's continuous growth, its widespread adoption remains long overdue. This can largely be attributed to an affliction called cybersickness, an analog to …

Accessible Virtual Reality For Older Adults, Aaron Gluck

All Dissertations

Virtual reality (VR) has grown significantly since the commercial release of the Oculus Rift in March 2016. This growth accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, revolutionizing how individuals and businesses work, socialize, exercise, and stay entertained. However, commercial VR systems are not designed to be accessible to people with disabilities. While researchers have explored aspects of VR accessibility for people with disabilities, there is minimal research on accessible VR for older adults. Older adults (65+) self-report the highest rate of disabilities which may result in VR accessibility barriers, making this the ideal group to study the accessibility of VR.

This dissertation …

Visuohaptic Simulation Of A Borescope For Aircraft Engine Inspection, Deepak Vembar

All Dissertations

Consisting of a long, fiber optic probe containing a small CCD camera controlled by hand-held articulation interface, a video borescope is used for remote visual inspection of hard to reach components in an aircraft. The knowledge and psychomotor skills, specifically the hand-eye coordination, required for effective inspection are hard to acquire through limited exposure to the borescope in aviation maintenance schools. Inexperienced aircraft maintenance technicians gain proficiency through repeated hands-on learning in the workplace along a steep learning curve while transitioning from the classroom to the workforce.
Using an iterative process combined with focused user evaluations, this dissertation details the …