Co-citation network of journals: the dimensions of the nodes represent centrality. Network analysis was conducted to calculate and to represent the centrality index, i. Authors are the heart and brain of research, and their roles in a field are to define the past, present, and future of disciplines and to make significant breakthroughs to make new ideas arise Figure 5.
Virtual reality research is very young and changing with time, but the top authors in this field have made fundamentally significant contributions as pioneers in VR and taking it beyond a mere technological development.
The purpose of the following highlights is not to rank researchers; rather, the purpose is to identify the most active researchers in order to understand where the field is going and how they plan for it to get there.
The top-ranked author is Riva G, with publications. The second-ranked author is Rizzo A, with publications. The third is Darzi A, with 97 publications.
The forth is Aggarwal R, with 94 publications. The 10 authors that appear on the top list are considered to be the pioneers of VR research. Considering the last 5 years, the situation remains similar, with three new entries in the top list, i.
Another relevant analysis for our focus on VR research is to identify the most cited authors in the field. The idea is to focus on the dynamic nature of the community of authors who contribute to the research. Normally, authors with higher numbers of citations tend to be the scholars who drive the fundamental research and who make the most meaningful impacts on the evolution and development of the field.
In the following, we identified the most-cited pioneers in the field of VR Research. The top-ranked author by citation count is Gallagher , with citations. Second is Seymour , with citations. Third is Slater , with citations. Fourth is Grantcharov , with citations.
Fifth is Riva , with citations. Sixth is Aggarwal , with citations. Seventh is Satava , with citations. Eighth is Witmer , with citations. Ninth is Rothbaum , with citations. Tenth is Cruz-neira , with citations. The top-ranked article by citation counts is Seymour in Cluster 0, with citations. The second article is Grantcharov in Cluster 0, with citations. The third is Holden in Cluster 2, with citations. The 4th is Gallagher et al. The 5th is Ahlberg in Cluster 0, with citations.
The 6th is Parsons in Cluster 4, with citations. The 7th is Powers in Cluster 4, with citations. The 8th is Aggarwal in Cluster 0, with citations. The 9th is Reznick in Cluster 0, with citations. The 10th is Munz in Cluster 0, with citations. The network of document co-citations is visually complex Figure 7 because it includes s of articles and the links among them.
However, this analysis is very important because can be used to identify the possible conglomerate of knowledge in the area, and this is essential for a deep understanding of the area. Thus, for this purpose, a cluster analysis was conducted Chen et al. Figure 8 shows the clusters, which are identified with the two algorithms in Table 2.
Network of document co-citations: the dimensions of the nodes represent centrality, the dimensions of the characters represent the rank of the article rank, and the numbers represent the strengths of the links. It is possible to identify four historical phases colors: blue, green, yellow, and red from the past VR research to the current research. Document co-citation network by cluster: the dimensions of the nodes represent centrality, the dimensions of the characters represent the rank of the article rank and the red writing reports the name of the cluster with a short description that was produced with the mutual information algorithm; the clusters are identified with colored polygons.
TABLE 2. Cluster ID and silhouettes as identified with two algorithms Chen et al. The identified clusters highlight clear parts of the literature of VR research, making clear and visible the interdisciplinary nature of this field. However, the dynamics to identify the past, present, and future of VR research cannot be clear yet. We analysed the relationships between these clusters and the temporal dimensions of each article. The results are synthesized in Figure 9.
It is clear that cluster 0 laparoscopic skill , cluster 2 gaming and rehabilitation , cluster 4 therapy , and cluster 14 surgery are the most popular areas of VR research. See Figure 9 and Table 2 to identify the clusters. From Figure 9 , it also is possible to identify the first phase of laparoscopic skill cluster 6 and therapy cluster 7.
More generally, it is possible to identify four historical phases colors: blue, green, yellow, and red from the past VR research to the current research. Network of document co-citation: the dimensions of the nodes represent centrality, the dimensions of the characters represent the rank of the article rank and the red writing on the right hand side reports the number of the cluster, such as in Table 2 , with a short description that was extracted accordingly.
We were able to identify the top references that had the most citations by using burst citations algorithm. Citation burst is an indicator of a most active area of research. Citation burst is a detection of a burst event, which can last for multiple years as well as a single year. A citation burst provides evidence that a particular publication is associated with a surge of citations. The top-ranked document by bursts is Seymour in Cluster 0, with bursts of The second is Grantcharov in Cluster 0, with bursts of The third is Saposnik in Cluster 2, with bursts of The fourth is Rothbaum in Cluster 7, with bursts of The fifth is Holden in Cluster 2, with bursts of The sixth is Scott in Cluster 0, with bursts of The seventh is Saposnik in Cluster 2, with bursts of The eighth is Burdea et al.
The ninth is Burdea and Coiffet in Cluster 22, with bursts of The 10th is Taffinder in Cluster 6, with bursts of Looking at Augmented Reality scenario, the top ranked item by citation counts is Azuma in Cluster 0, with citation counts of The second one is Azuma et al.
The third is Van Krevelen in Cluster 5, with citation counts of The 4th is Lowe in Cluster 1, with citation counts of The 5th is Wu in Cluster 4, with citation counts of The 6th is Dunleavy in Cluster 4, with citation counts of The 7th is Zhou in Cluster 5, with citation counts of The 8th is Bay in Cluster 1, with citation counts of The 9th is Newcombe in Cluster 1, with citation counts of The 10th is Carmigniani et al.
The network of document co-citations is visually complex Figure 10 because it includes s of articles and the links among them. Figure 11 shows the clusters, which are identified with the two algorithms in Table 3. It is possible to identify four historical phases colors: blue, green, yellow, and red from the past AR research to the current research. The identified clusters highlight clear parts of the literature of AR research, making clear and visible the interdisciplinary nature of this field.
However, the dynamics to identify the past, present, and future of AR research cannot be clear yet. The results are synthesized in Figure It is clear that cluster 1 tracking , cluster 4 education , and cluster 5 virtual city environment are the current areas of AR research.
See Figure 12 and Table 3 to identify the clusters. The top ranked document by bursts is Azuma in Cluster 0, with bursts of The third is Lowe in Cluster 1, with bursts of The 4th is Van Krevelen in Cluster 5, with bursts of The 5th is Wu in Cluster 4, with bursts of The 6th is Hartley in Cluster 0, with bursts of The 7th is Dunleavy in Cluster 4, with bursts of The 8th is Kato in Cluster 0, with bursts of The 9th is Newcombe in Cluster 1, with bursts of The 10th is Feiner in Cluster 8, with bursts of TABLE 4.
Our findings have profound implications for two reasons. At first the present work highlighted the evolution and development of VR and AR research and provided a clear perspective based on solid data and computational analyses. Secondly our findings on VR made it profoundly clear that the clinical dimension is one of the most investigated ever and seems to increase in quantitative and qualitative aspects, but also include technological development and article in computer science, engineer, and allied sciences.
Figure 9 clarifies the past, present, and future of VR research. The outset of VR research brought a clearly-identifiable development in interfaces for children and medicine, routine use and behavioral-assessment, special effects, systems perspectives, and tutorials. This pioneering era evolved in the period that we can identify as the development era, because it was the period in which VR was used in experiments associated with new technological impulses.
The confluence of pioneering techniques into ergonomic studies within this development era was used to develop the first effective clinical systems for surgery, telemedicine, human spatial navigation, and the first phase of the development of therapy and laparoscopic skills.
With the new millennium, VR research switched strongly toward what we can call the clinical-VR era, with its strong emphasis on rehabilitation, neurosurgery, and a new phase of therapy and laparoscopic skills. The number of applications and articles that have been published in the last 5 years are in line with the new technological development that we are experiencing at the hardware level, for example, with so many new, HMDs, and at the software level with an increasing number of independent programmers and VR communities.
Finally, Figure 12 identifies clusters of the literature of AR research, making clear and visible the interdisciplinary nature of this field. The dynamics to identify the past, present, and future of AR research cannot be clear yet, but analyzing the relationships between these clusters and the temporal dimensions of each article tracking, education, and virtual city environment are the current areas of AR research.
AR is a new technology that is showing its efficacy in different research fields, and providing a novel way to gather behavioral data and support learning, training, and clinical treatments. Looking at scientific literature conducted in the last few years, it might appear that most developments in VR and AR studies have focused on clinical aspects.
However, the reality is more complex; thus, this perception should be clarified. Although researchers publish studies on the use of VR in clinical settings, each study depends on the technologies available. Industrial development in VR and AR changed a lot in the last 10 years.
In the past, the development involved mainly hardware solutions while nowadays, the main efforts pertain to the software when developing virtual solutions. Hardware became a commodity that is often available at low cost. On the other hand, software needs to be customized each time, per each experiment, and this requires huge efforts in term of development. Researchers in AR and VR today need to be able to adapt software in their labs. Virtual reality and AR developments in this new clinical era rely on computer science and vice versa.
The future of VR and AR is becoming more technological than before, and each day, new solutions and products are coming to the market. Both from software and hardware perspectives, the future of AR and VR depends on huge innovations in all fields. First 30 years of VR and AR consisted of a continuous research on better resolution and improved perception.
Now, researchers already achieved a great resolution and need to focus on making the VR as realistic as possible, which is not simple. In fact, a real experience implies a realistic interaction and not just great resolution. Interactions can be improved in infinite ways through new developments at hardware and software levels.
For example, the use of hands with contactless device i. The Leap Motion device 1 allows one to use of hands in VR without the use of gloves or markers. This simple and low-cost device allows the VR users to interact with virtual objects and related environments in a naturalistic way. When technology is able to be transparent, users can experience increased sense of being in the virtual environments the so-called sense of presence.
Other forms of interactions are possible and have been developing continuously. For example, tactile and haptic device able to provide a continuous feedback to the users, intensifying their experience also by adding components, such as the feeling of touch and the physical weight of virtual objects, by using force feedback.
Another technology available at low cost that facilitates interaction is the motion tracking system, such as Microsoft Kinect, for example. This tracking allows a great degree of interaction and improves the overall virtual experience.
A final emerging approach is the use of digital technologies to simulate not only the external world but also the internal bodily signals Azevedo et al. For example, Riva et al. This approach allowed the development of an interoceptive stimulator that is both able to assess interoceptive time perception in clinical patients Di Lernia et al.
In this scenario, it is clear that the future of VR and AR research is not just in clinical applications, although the implications for the patients are huge.
The continuous development of VR and AR technologies is the result of research in computer science, engineering, and allied sciences. First, all clinical research on VR and AR includes also technological developments, and new technological discoveries are being published in clinical or technological journals but with clinical samples as main subject.
It is clear that researchers in psychology, neuroscience, medicine, and behavioral sciences in general have been investigating whether the technological developments of VR and AR are effective for users, indicating that clinical behavioral research has been incorporating large parts of computer science and engineering. A second aspect to consider is the industrial development. In fact, once a new technology is envisioned and created it goes for a patent application.
Once the patent is sent for registration the new technology may be made available for the market, and eventually for journal submission and publication. Moreover, most VR and AR research that that proposes the development of a technology moves directly from the presenting prototype to receiving the patent and introducing it to the market without publishing the findings in scientific paper.
Hence, it is clear that if a new technology has been developed for industrial market or consumer, but not for clinical purpose, the research conducted to develop such technology may never be published in a scientific paper. Although our manuscript considered published researches, we have to acknowledge the existence of several researches that have not been published at all. Generally, the most important articles in journals published in these databases are also included in the Web of Knowledge database; hence, we are convinced that our study considered the top-level publications in computer science or engineering.
Accordingly, we believe that this limitation can be overcome by considering the large number of articles referenced in our research. Considering all these aspects, it is clear that clinical applications, behavioral aspects, and technological developments in VR and AR research are parts of a more complex situation compared to the old platforms used before the huge diffusion of HMD and solutions.
We think that this work might provide a clearer vision for stakeholders, providing evidence of the current research frontiers and the challenges that are expected in the future, highlighting all the connections and implications of the research in several fields, such as clinical, behavioral, industrial, entertainment, educational, and many others.
PC and GR conceived the idea. PC made data extraction and the computational analyses and wrote the first draft of the article. IG revised the introduction adding important information for the article. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The reviewer GC declared a shared affiliation, with no collaboration, with the authors PC and GR to the handling Editor at the time of the review.
Advantages and challenges associated with augmented reality for education: a systematic review of the literature. Alexander, T. Andersen, S. The story's main character wears a pair of goggles which transports him to a fictional world which stimulates his senses aptly and features holographic recordings. Some consider it to be the origin of the virtual reality VR concept as this story was a good prediction of the aims and achievements of the future.
However the first VR technical developments were in the s, so this is where our timeline starts:. Sir Charles Wheatstone was the first to describe stereopsis in and was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society in for his explanation of binocular vision, a research which led him to construct the stereoscope.
The research demonstrated that the brain combines two photographs one eye viewing each of the same object taken from different points to make the image appear to have a sense of depth and immersion 3-dimensional.
This technology enabled Wheatstone to create the earliest type of stereoscope. It used a pair of mirrors at 45 degree angles to the user's eyes, each reflecting a picture located off to the side.
In the story, the main character meets a professor who invented a pair of goggles which enabled "a movie that gives one sight and sound [ It was a large booth that could fit up to four people at a time. It combined multiple technologies to stimulate all of the senses: there was a combined full colour 3D video, audio, vibrations, smell and atmospheric effects, such as wind.
This was done using scent producers, a vibrating chair, stereo speakers and a stereoscopic 3D screen. Heilig thought that the Sensorama was the " cinema of the future " and he wanted to fully immerse people in their films. Six short films were developed for it. This provided stereoscopic 3D images with wide vision and stereo sound. There was no motion tracking in the headset at this point. Fast-track your career with award-winning courses and realistic practice. Headsight was the first motion tracking HMD.
It had built-in video screens for each eye and a head-tracking system. However, this wasn't used for virtual reality; it was developed for the military to allow them to remotely look at hazardous situations. A remote camera imitated the head movements so the user could look around the setting.
Ivan Sutherland, a computer scientist, presented his vision of the Ultimate Display. The concept was of a virtual world viewed through an HMD which replicated reality so well that the user would not be able to differentiate from actual reality. This included the user being able to interact with objects.
This concept featured computer hardware to form the virtual world and to keep it functioning in real-time. His paper is seen as the fundamental blueprint for VR. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked.
Thomas Furness, a military engineer, created the first flight simulator for the Air Force. This assisted in the progression of VR because the military subsequently provided a lot of funding for producing better flight simulators.
This head-mount connected to a computer rather than a camera and was quite primitive as it could only show simple virtual wire-frame shapes. These 3D models changed perspective when the user moved their head due to the tracking system.
It was never developed beyond a lab project because it was too heavy for users to comfortably wear; they had to be strapped in because it was suspended from the ceiling. Myron Krueger, a computer artist, developed a succession of "artificial reality" experiences using computers and video systems.
It is also quite common to confuse the term Virtual Reality with augmented reality. The main difference between the two is that VR builds the world in which we immerse ourselves through a specific headset. It is fully immersive and everything we see is part of an environment artificially constructed through images, sounds, etc. On the other hand, in augmented reality AR , our own world becomes the framework within which objects, images or similar are placed. Everything we see is in a real environment and it may not be strictly necessary to wear a headset.
However, there is also a combination of both realities called mixed reality. This hybrid technology makes it possible, for example, to see virtual objects in the real world and build an experience in which the physical and the digital are practically indistinguishable.
That's enough about the theory that is projecting us into the future. Which sectors is Virtual Reality actually being used in today? Medicine, culture, education and architecture are some of the areas that have already taken advantage of this technology. From guided museum visits to the dissection of a muscle, VR allows us to cross boundaries that would otherwise be unimaginable. Now we can travel virtually to different places and immerse ourselves in certain environments while tasting the dishes from these locations.
The Spanish National Research Council has succeeded in reducing the effects of Parkinson's in several patients by applying a treatment that uses VR. In classrooms, the use of VR allows students to better retain knowledge and helps students with learning difficulties. Users can enter a scene in a video game or practice extreme sports without moving from their sofa. RV helps architects to better envisage a space and present the project to their clients.
Digital Twins are exact digital copies of physical objects that factory workers can practice on and test in a virtual world. Some museums and galleries offer virtual visits or immersive experiences to help understand the history and culture associated with each work. Virtual Reality is one of the technologies with the highest projected potential for growth. In addition, both technologies will be key to companies' digital transformation plans and their spending in this area will exceed that of the consumer sector by
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