Enhancing Presence in Multi-User VR: Embodiment, Gamification, and AI-Supported Sensory Virtual Experiences.

Apply and key information

This project is funded by:

Department for the Economy (DfE)

Summary

This PhD project explores how people can feel more present and engaged when using virtual reality (VR) with others. While many studies have focused on VR experiences for one person, this research looks at how multiple users can share immersive experiences simultaneously. This is particularly important in healthcare, education, and the creative arts contexts, where feeling connected and having heightened control in virtual spaces can make a big difference in being effective or productive within these environments.

The project plans to harness the elements of game environments, creative sound design, and intelligent technology to build new VR environments that:

Enhance Presence: By creating immersive and personalised experiences, users will feel more "in the moment" within the virtual world.
Improve Agency: Interactive tasks and adaptable virtual characters (avatars) will give users a greater sense of control and participation.
Foster Productive Shared Experiences: By amplifying emotional connections, users can collaborate and interact more effectively with others in the virtual space.

The research will be applied to real-world scenarios such as:

Therapeutic VR: This approach assists groups dealing with anxiety or those who think differently (neurodiverse individuals) by using shared VR experiences to build confidence and resilience.
Educational VR: Creating collaborative learning spaces encouraging teamwork and inclusion, significantly benefiting students with diverse learning needs.
Creative VR: Developing virtual production tools that allow artists and creators to work together in innovative, immersive environments.

The project aims to improve the performance of tasks and activities in virtual spaces by advancing our understanding of how to make people feel more present and in control in shared VR settings.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

Experience using research methods or other approaches relevant to the subject domain
Research proposal of 2000 words detailing aims, objectives, milestones and methodology of the project
A demonstrable interest in the research area associated with the studentship

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

First Class Honours (1st) Degree
Completion of Masters at a level equivalent to commendation or distinction at Ulster
Publications record appropriate to career stage
Experience of presentation of research findings
A comprehensive and articulate personal statement
Use of personal initiative as evidenced by record of work above that normally expected at career stage.

Equal Opportunities

The University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities.

Appointment will be made on merit.

Funding and eligibility

This project is funded by:

Department for the Economy (DfE)

These scholarships will cover tuition fees and provide a maintenance allowance of £19,237 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance). A Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £900 per annum is also available.

To be eligible for these scholarships, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Be a UK National, or

Have settled status, or

Have pre-settled status, or

Have indefinite leave to remain or enter, or

be an Irish National

Applicants should also meet the residency criteria which requires that they have lived in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Gibraltar for at least the three years preceding the start date of the research degree programme.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies.

Recommended reading

Related Research Papers

Rebecca Fribourg, Ferran Argelaguet Sanz, Ludovic Hoyet, Anatole Lécuyer. Studying the Sense of Embodiment in VR Shared Experiences. VR 2018 - 25th IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces, Mar 2018, Reutlingen, Germany. pp.273-280, 10.1109/VR.2018.8448293. hal-01804949
Maryam, Bandukda., Aneesha, Singh., Catherine, Holloway., Nadia, Berthouze., Emeline, Brulé., Ana, Tajadura-Jiménez., Oussama, Metatla., Ana, Javornik., Anja, Thieme. (2021). 3. Rethinking the Senses: A Workshop on Multisensory Embodied Experiences and Disability Interactions. doi: 10.1145/3411763.3441356
Costa, M.R., Kim, S.Y., Biocca, F. (2013). Embodiment and Embodied Cognition. In: Shumaker, R. (eds) Virtual Augmented and Mixed Reality. Designing and Developing Augmented and Virtual Environments. VAMR 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 8021. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39405-8_37
Young‐Il, Cho. (2022). Virtual embodiment for enhancing sense of presence in virtual reality. doi: 10.5821/conference-9788419184849.70
Mieko, Ohsuga., Haruya, Koba. (2022). 3. Development of VR Exposure Therapy Support System for Social Anxiety Utilizing Anxiety Levels Estimated by Physiological Indices. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-17902-0_10
Emily, Carl., Aliza, T., Stein., Andrew, Levihn-Coon., Jamie, R., Pogue., Barbara, O., Rothbaum., Paul, M., G., Emmelkamp., Gordon, J.G., Asmundson., Per, Carlbring., Mark, B., Powers. (2019). 8. Virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety and related disorders: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, doi: 10.1016/J.JANXDIS.2018.08.003
C.J., Paping. (2009). 9. Research and prototyping of a Multiple Patient Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy system.

Team Papers

N. M. Shane, K. McCreadie, D. Charles, A. Korik and D. Coyle, "Decoding Motion Trajectories in an Upper Limb BCI: Linear Regression vs Deep Learning," 2023 IEEE International Conference on Metrology for eXtended Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Neural Engineering (MetroXRAINE), Milano, Italy, 2023, pp. 1039-1044,
Cowley, B. U., Charles, D., Pfuhl, G., & Rusanen, A-M. (2022). Artificial Intelligence in Education as a Rawlsian Massively Multiplayer Game: A Thought Experiment on AI Ethics. In H. Niemi, R. D. Pea, & Y. Lu (Eds.), AI in Learning: Designing the Future (pp. 297-316). Springer.
Howes, S., Wilson, I. M., Pedlow, K., Holmes, D., Charles, D. K. & McDonough, S. M., 26 Aug 2021, “Older adults’ experience of active computer gaming for falls prevention exercise: A mixed methods study”, In: Physiotherapy Practice and Research. p. 1-11.
Stephenson, A., Pedlow, K., McDonough, S., Holmes, D., Charles, D. K., Barbabella, F., Olivetti, P. & Chiatti, C., “Evaluation of the Acceptability and Usability of the MAGIC-GLASS Virtual Reality Solution as Part of the Care Pathway in People with Acute, Sub-Acute and Chronic Stroke: A Study Protocol”, 15 Apr 2020, In: Physical Therapy Reviews.
Charles, D. K., Holmes, D., Charles, M-T. & McDonough, S., 7 Feb 2020, “Virtual Reality Design for Stroke Rehabilitation”, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Springer Nature.
S. Howes, I. M. Wilson, K. Pedlow, D. Holmes, D. K. Charles, and S. M. McDonough, ‘Older adults’ experience of active computer gaming for falls prevention exercise: A mixed-methods study, Physiotherapy Practice and Research, pp. 1–11, Aug. 2021, doi: 10.3233/ppr-210544.
S. Howes, D. K. Charles, K. Pedlow, I. Wilson, D. Holmes, and S. McDonough, ‘User-centred design of an active computer gaming system for strength and balance exercises for older adults, Journal of Enabling Technologies, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 101–111, Jun. 2019, DOI: 10.1108/JET-12-2018-0057.
S. Howes, D. K. Charles, D. Holmes, K. Pedlow, I. Wilson, and S. McDonough, ‘Older adults’ experience of falls prevention exercise delivered using active gaming and virtual reality, Physiotherapy, vol. 103, no. Supplement 1, pp. E4–E5, Dec. 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.physio.2017.11.155.
S. C. Howes, D. K. Charles, J. Marley, K. Pedlow, and S. M. McDonough, ‘Gaming for Health: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Physical and Cognitive Effects of Active Computer Gaming in Older Adults’, Physical Therapy, vol. 97, no. 12, pp. 1122–1137, Dec. 2017, doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzx088.
D. E. Holmes, D. K. Charles, P. J. Morrow, S. McClean, and S. M. McDonough, ‘Leap motion controller and oculus rift virtual reality headset for upper arm stroke rehabilitation’, in Virtual Reality, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2017, pp. 83–102. Accessed: Nov. 25, 2021. [Online]. Available: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85034771955&partnerID=8YFLogxK
D. Holmes, D. Charles, P. Morrow, S. McClean, and S. M. McDonough, ‘Using Fitt’s Law to Model Arm Motion Tracked in 3D by a Leap Motion Controller for Virtual Reality Upper Arm Stroke Rehabilitation.: The 29th International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (CBMS 2016)’, Aug. 2016, DOI: 10.1109/CBMS.2016.41.
D. Holmes, D. K. Charles, P. Morrow, S. McClean, and S. M. McDonough, ‘Usability and performance of leap motion and oculus rift for upper arm virtual reality stroke rehabilitation’, Journal of Alternative Medicine Research, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 1–10, Feb. 2017.
Cowley and D. Charles, ‘Behavlets: a method for practical player modelling using psychology-based player traits and domain-specific features’, User Modelling and User-Adapted Interaction, vol. 26, pp. 257–306, Jun. 2016, DOI: 10.1007/s11257-016-9170-1.
D. Charles, K. Pedlow, S. M. McDonough, K. Shek, and T. Charles, ‘Close range depth-sensing cameras for virtual reality-based hand rehabilitation’, Journal of Assistive Technologies, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 138–149, Sep. 2014, DOI: 10.1108/JAT-02-2014-0007
M. McNeill, D. Charles, J. Burke, J. Crosbie, and S. McDonough, ‘Evaluating User Experiences in Rehabilitation Games’, Journal of Assistive Technologies, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 173–181, Jul. 2012, doi: 10.1108/17549451211261290.