Browsing by Author "Dam, Abhraneil"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    2nd Workshop on Multimodal Motion Sickness Detection and Mitigation Methods for Car Journeys - Finding Consensus in the Field
    Pöhlmann, Katharina; Al-Taie, Ammar; Li, Gang; Dam, Abhraneil; Wang, Yu-Kai; Wei, Chun-Shu; Papaioannou, Georgios (ACM, 2023-09-18)
    The adoption of automated vehicles will be a positive step towards road safety and environmental benefits. However, one major challenge that still exist is motion sickness. The move from drivers to passengers who will engage in non-driving related tasks as well as the potential change in the layout of the car interior that will come with automated vehicles are expected to result in a worsened experience of motion sickness. The previous workshop [18] highlighted the need for consensus on guidelines regarding study design for motion sickness research. Hence, this workshop will develop a guide for motion sickness research through reflection and discussions on the current methodologies used by experts in the field. Further it will build on the knowledge collected from the previous workshop and will thereby facilitate not only new research ideas and fruitful collaborations but also find a consensus in the field in regard to study design and methodologies.
  • Audio augmented reality using sonification to enhance visual art experiences: Lessons learned
    Dam, Abhraneil; Lee, YeaJi; Siddiqui, Arsh; Lages, Wallace Santos; Jeon, Myounghoon (Academic Press – Elsevier, 2024-11)
    Augmenting visual art in art galleries can be an effective Audio Augmented Reality (AAR) application for indoor exploration. In the current study, eight paintings from four genres were augmented with audio through their sonification. Basic Audio was generated using a sonification algorithm by identifying the major colors of the paintings, and Enhanced Audio was generated by a musician enhancing the Basic Audio; these were presented with the paintings to compare against No Audio. Twenty-six participants viewed each painting in all three conditions; eye gaze metrics, and qualitative data were collected. Results showed that Enhanced Audio led to significantly greater engagement and positive sentiments, compared to Basic Audio. Thematic analysis showed semantic and syntactic relationships of the audio with the paintings, and a tendency to guide users’ gaze over time. Findings from this study can guide future AAR developments to improve auditory display designs to enhance visual experiences.
  • Design of Multimodal In-Vehicle Notifications at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings: A Perception Study
    Dam, Abhraneil; Ro, Henry; Walker, Samantha; Ban, Gayoung; Lautala, Pasi; Veinott, Elizabeth; Jeon, Myounghoon (SAGE Publications, 2024-09)
    Up to 67% of accidents at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings (HRGCs) are due to motorists not stopping in time. To reduce the likelihood of vehicle-train accidents, the current study investigated the design of five novel visual and auditory in-vehicle notifications. An “Inform” notification was tested for “display time.” Notifications, “Slow,” “Intersection,” and “Stop” were tested for “display time” and “speech length”; a notification, “Over Tracks” was tested for “speech length” and “presentation order.” Twenty-six participants viewed driving simulator recordings, and rated the notifications at active rail crossing scenarios using Likert scales. The results showed that shorter speech length was preferred with delayed notification displays, and longer speech length was preferred with early notification displays. However, complex scenarios might require longer speech even with delayed displays, depending on additional variables such as driver speed or visibility. Additionally, the tradeoff between notifications being too urgent and startling should also be considered in safety-critical scenarios.
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    Effects of Personal Listening Device on Pedestrians' Acoustic Situation Awareness in a Virtual Reality Environment
    Dam, Abhraneil; Duff, Charlie; Jeon, Myounghoon; Patrick, Rafael (SMARTech Georgia Tech, 2022-06-27)
    The technological developments for Personal Listening Devices (PLDs) have been staggering in the recent years; our listening experience has improved drastically but it has also affected our ability to remain cognizant of our acoustic environment. The student population remains the largest user group of PLDs. The distraction from PLDs can be dangerous in situations that require focused attention, such as crossing unsignalized crosswalks on college campuses. In this study, the researchers use a virtual reality (VR) based pedestrian simulator to task participants with crossing a replica campus street while listening to music through air and bone conduction PLDs. As a secondary task, participants were tasked with detecting and localizing (i.e., bi-directionally) a clearly audible ambulance siren during the crossing. It is hypothesized that there will be improved detection and localization performance with bone conduction PLDs, and that speech free music will be as distracting as music with speech. This study will also provide insights towards the use of PLDs as V2P communication interfaces during crosswalk situations.
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    Enhancing Art Gallery Visitors' Experiences through Audio Augmented Reality Technology
    Dam, Abhraneil; Lee, Yeaji; Siddiqui, Arsh; Lages, Wallace Santos; Jeon, Myounghoon (SAGE, 2023-11-23)
    Audio Augmented Reality (AAR) applications are gaining traction, especially for entertainment purposes. To that extent, the current study explored its use and effectiveness in enhancing art gallery visitors’ experiences. Four paintings were selected and sonified using the Jython algorithm to produce computer generated music (Basic AAR); the audio was then further enhanced with traditional music by a musician (Enhanced AAR). Twenty-six participants experienced each painting in Basic, Enhanced, and No AAR condition. Results show that AAR cues had a significant effect on participants’ subjective feedback towards the paintings. Sentiment Analysis shows that participants mentioned significantly more positive words from Enhanced AAR than the others. Enhanced AAR also made participants express a sense of immersion, whereas Basic AAR made them concentrate more on forlorn aspects of the paintings. Findings from this study suggest ways to improve and customize AAR cues for different painting styles, and indicate the need for multi-modal augmentations.
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    Extracting a Definition and Taxonomy for Audio Augmented Reality (AAR) Using Grounded Theory
    Dam, Abhraneil; Siddiqui, Arsh; Leclerq, Charles; Jeon, Myounghoon (SAGE, 2022-10-27)
    The concept of Augmented Reality (AR) has evolved over the years since its inception in 1957. However, as of today, AR is mostly realized using a visual medium. Almost all applications of AR rely on the user’s ability to see. A few recent works have attempted to explore a new modality for AR–e.g., audio. However, the concept of using audio to augment reality has been considered debatable and there is no specific definition of the concept. To better understand this new concept, we launched a study using Grounded Theory to develop a definition and taxonomy for the concept of Audio Augmented Reality (AAR). This paper shares the preliminary results based on the activities conducted thus far, and hopes to generate discussion on using audio to augment reality within the Human Factors community.
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    Improving Safety At Highway-Rail Grade Crossings Using In-Vehicle Auditory Alerts
    Nadri, Chihab; Lautala, Pasi; Veinott, Elizabeth; Mamun, Tauseef Ibn; Dam, Abhraneil; Jeon, Myounghoon (ACM, 2023-09-18)
    Despite increased use of lights, gates, and other active warning devices, crashes still happen at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings (HRGCs). To improve safety at HRGCs, we designed an in-vehicle auditory alert (IVAA) and conducted a multi-site driving simulator study to evaluate the effect of the IVAA on driving behavior at HRGCs. The video shows results of the collaboration between Virginia Tech, Michigan Tech, and the Volpe National Transportation Center recruited a total of N = 72 younger drivers. Driver simulator testing showed that the IVAA improved driving behavior near HRGCs, improving gaze behavior at HRGCs. Drivers looked both ways at crossings more often when the IVAA was present. We expect to run additional tests to further improve the IVAA. Our study can contribute to research efforts targeting driving safety at HRGCs.
  • Taxonomy and definition of audio augmented reality (AAR): A grounded theory study
    Dam, Abhraneil; Siddiqui, Arsh; Leclercq, Charles; Jeon, Myounghoon (Academic Press - Elsevier, 2024-02)
    AR applications have mostly considered visual augmentations while excluding other modalities. Recent developments in audio augmented reality (AAR) applications have been based on the definitions of visual AR or mixed reality (MR), and thus, AAR technology development has lacked systematic efforts. We investigated the concept of augmented reality through audio to provide a systematic understanding and generate a taxonomy and a definition for AAR. A conference workshop (N = 28), focus groups (N = 18), and expert interviews (N = 6) generated qualitative data regarding the concept of AAR. Grounded Theory (GT) was used to analyze the data and produce a new taxonomy and a definition. The AAR taxonomy consists of three categories – Environment Connected, Goal Directed, and Context Adapted, with three subcategories respectively. The need for a separate taxonomy for AAR is highlighted to aid in the development of AAR applications in a systematic manner. The taxonomy is expected to be used as a heuristic tool that can guide developers to build AAR applications and can be used in evaluating user experience with AAR applications.
  • Technological and Social Distractions at Unsignalized and Signalized Campus Crosswalks: A Multi-Stage Naturalistic Observation Study
    Dam, Abhraneil; Oberoi, Pooja; Pierson, Jake; Jeon, Myounghoon; Patrick, Rafael (Elsevier, 2023-08)
    The student population between 18 to 25 years of age remains the largest user group for earphones or personal listening devices (PLDs). PLDs can be quite distracting, especially when its users are performing focused tasks such as street crossings. On large rural university campuses, students often must cross multiple unsignalized crosswalks to get to their destination. To evaluate the dangers of PLD use and pedestrian behavior while navigating crosswalks, we systematically observed multiple crosswalks of a sprawling rural university campus in south-west Virginia, USA. The study was conducted following a three-stage protocol consisting of 9 hours of on-site video recorded observations, a survey of 135 pedestrians, and finally, 2 focus groups with 8 pedestrians in total. This three-stage approach provides a comprehensive understanding of pedestrian behavior and the university-campus culture. Results from this study show the extent of distracted behaviors, safety measures adopted by pedestrians, and identify future research directions involving safety countermeasures for distracted pedestrians.