Anthony Steed

• University College London

When collaborating relative to a shared 3D virtual object in mixed reality (MR), users may experience communication issues arising from differences in perspective. These issues include occlusion (e.g., one user not being able to see what the other is referring to) and inefficient spatial references (e.g., "to the left of this" may be confusing when...

Real camera footage is subject to noise, motion blur (MB) and depth of field (DoF). In some applications these might be considered distortions to be removed, but in others it is important to model them because it would be ineffective, or interfere with an aesthetic choice, to simply remove them. In augmented reality applications where virtual conte...

Real camera footage is subject to noise, motion blur (MB) and depth of field (DoF). In some applications these might be considered distortions to be removed, but in others it is important to model them because it would be ineffective, or interfere with an aesthetic choice, to simply remove them. In augmented reality applications where virtual conte...

Authoring site-specific outdoor augmented reality (AR) experiences requires a nuanced understanding of real-world context to create immersive and relevant content. Existing ex-situ authoring tools typically rely on static 3D models to represent spatial information. However, in our formative study (n=25), we identified key limitations of this approa...

In this abstract, we discuss the demand for replication and extension efforts related to two seminal studies focused on virtual reality (VR) locomotion interfaces, initially centered around a VR implementation of the Visual Cliff, often referred to as Virtual Pit. The original experiments by Slater et al. (1995) and Usoh et al. (1999) compared diff...

We present Monte-Carlo Redirected Walking (MCRDW), a gain selection algorithm for redirected walking. MCRDW applies the Monte-Carlo method to redirected walking by simulating a large number of simple virtual walks, then inversely applying redirection to the virtual paths. Different gain levels and directions are applied, producing differing physica...

While immersive experiences mediated through near-eye displays are still a relatively immature medium, there are millions of consumer devices in use. The level of awareness of the forms of the interface and media will vary enormously across the potential audience. Users might own personal devices or might encounter immersive systems in various venu...

This paper describes the Ubiq-Genie framework for integrating external frameworks with the Ubiq social VR platform. The proposed architecture is modular, allowing for easy integration of services and providing mechanisms to offload computationally intensive processes to a server. To showcase the capabilities of the framework, we present two prototy...

Most research on collaborative mixed reality (CMR) has focused on indoor spaces. In this paper, we present our ongoing work aimed at investigating the potential of CMR in outdoor spaces. These spaces present unique challenges due to their larger and more complex nature, particularly in terms of reconstruction, tracking, and interaction. Our prototy...

One traditional model of research on mixed-reality systems, is the laboratory-based experiment where a number of small variants of a user experience are presented to participants under the guidance of an experimenter. This type of experiment can give reliable and generalisable results, but there are arguments for running experiments that are distri...

A common issue for collaborative mixed reality is the asymmetry of interaction with the shared virtual environment. For example, an augmented reality (AR) user might use one type of head-mounted display (HMD) in a physical environment, while a virtual reality (VR) user might wear a different type of HMD and see a virtual model of that physical envi...

Mutual awareness of visual attention is essential for collaborative work. In the field of collaborative virtual environments (CVE), it has been proposed to use Field-of-View (FoV) frustum visualisations as a cue to support mutual awareness during collaboration. Recent studies on FoV frustum visualisations focus on asymmetric collaboration with AR/V...

We share our experiences of teaching virtual reality with Ubiq, an open-source system for building social virtual reality (VR). VR as a subject touches on many areas, including perception, human–computer interaction, and psychology. In our VE module, we consider all aspects of VR. In recent years, networked VR, and in particular social VR, has beco...

italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Image-warping , a per-pixel deformation of one image into another, is an essential component in immersive visual experiences such as virtual reality or augmented reality. The primary issue with image warping is disocclusions, where occluded (and hence...

Developing mixed-reality (MR) experiments is a challenge as there is a wide variety of functionality to support. This challenge is exacerbated if the MR experiment is multi-user or if the experiment needs to be run out of the lab. We present Ubiq-Exp - a set of tools that provide a variety of functionality to facilitate distributed and remote MR ex...

COVID-19 led to the temporary closure of many HCI research facilities disrupting many ongoing user studies. While some studies could easily move online, this has proven problematic for virtual reality (VR) studies. The main challenge of remote VR study is the recruitment of participants who have access to specialized hardware such as head-mounted d...

Drawing tools for Virtual Reality (VR) enable users to model 3D designs from within the virtual environment itself. These tools employ sketching and sculpting techniques known from desktop-based interfaces and apply them to hand-based controller interaction. While these techniques allow for mid-air sketching of basic shapes, it remains difficult fo...

Virtual reality (VR) is now a consumer technology, but individuals' experience with systems or different applications varies enormously. This means that most consumer applications need to consider how to train naive users in the application's operation. We examine three different ways of imparting on-boarding instructions to users: first-person aud...

—Blue noise is known for its uniformity in the spatial domain, avoiding the appearance of structures such as voids and clusters. Because of this characteristic, it has been adopted in a wide range of visual computing applications, such as image dithering, rendering and visualisation. This has motivated the development of a variety of generative met...

p>Manipulation of hand-held objects in Virtual Reality (VR) requires input tracking with high freedom of movement, as well as haptic feedback of hand-object interactions. Through our prototypes we demonstrate a pragmatic approach to haptic feedback on controllers that render human scale forces. Our devices manifest haptic simulation of compliance,...

p>Manipulation of hand-held objects in Virtual Reality (VR) requires input tracking with high freedom of movement, as well as haptic feedback of hand-object interactions. Through our prototypes we demonstrate a pragmatic approach to haptic feedback on controllers that render human scale forces. Our devices manifest haptic simulation of compliance,...

Research in pointing-based communication within immersive collaborative virtual environments (ICVE) remains a compelling area of study. Previous studies explored techniques to improve accuracy and reduce errors when hand-pointing from a distance. In this study, we explore how users adapt their behaviour to cope with the lack of accuracy during poin...

Virtual Reality (VR) games are not as accessible as conventional video games because they heavily rely on the motion of the body as the main means of input. This causes large accessibility issues because it prevents some physically impaired players from using them. It also makes it more difficult to develop accessibility tools to address the issues...

Computer-Generated Holography (CGH) promises to deliver genuine, high-quality visuals at any depth. We argue that combining CGH and perceptually guided graphics can soon lead to practical holographic display systems that deliver perceptually realistic images. We propose a new CGH method called metameric varifocal holograms. Our CGH method generates...

Ventral metamers, pairs of images which may differ substantially in the periphery, but are perceptually identical, offer exciting new possibilities in foveated rendering and image compression, as well as offering insights into the human visual system. However, existing lit-erature has mainly focused on creating metamers of static images. In this wo...

Navigating large virtual spaces within the confines of a small tracked volume in a seated position becomes a serious accessibility issue when users' lower seating position reduces their visibility and makes it uncomfortable to reach for items with ease. Hence, we propose a 'floating' accessibility technique, in which a seated VR user experiences th...

Visualising crowds is a key pedestrian dynamics topic, with significant research efforts aiming to improve the current state-of-the-art. Sophisticated visualisation methods are a standard for modern commercial models, and can improve crowd management techniques and sociological theory development. These models often define standard metrics, includi...

Objectives The SafeSpace study codesigned and tested a virtual reality (VR) intervention, incorporating relaxation and compassionate mind training to determine acceptability/feasibility in an oncology setting and evaluate impact on physical/psychological well-being and quality of life. Design A two-phase study. Phase I determined key characteristi...

While they have long been a subject of academic study, social virtual reality (SVR) systems are now attracting increasingly large audiences on current consumer virtual reality systems. The design space of SVR systems is very large, and relatively little is known about how these systems should be constructed in order to be usable and efficient. In t...

Crowd simulation algorithms play an essential role in populating Virtual Reality (VR) environments with multiple autonomous humanoid agents. The generation of plausible trajectories can be a significant computational cost for real-time graphics engines, especially in untethered and mobile devices such as portable VR devices. Previous research explo...

While they have long been a subject of academic study, social virtual reality (SVR) systems are now attracting increasingly large audiences on current consumer virtual reality systems. The design space of SVR systems is very large, and relatively little is known about how these systems should be constructed in order to be usable and efficient. In t...

Computer-Generated Holography (CGH) offers the potential for genuine, high-quality three-dimensional visuals. However, fulfilling this potential remains a practical challenge due to computational complexity and visual quality issues. We propose a new CGH method that exploits gaze-contingency and perceptual graphics to accelerate the development of...

With the continuing development of affordable immersive virtual reality (VR) systems, there is now a growing market for consumer content. The current form of consumer systems is not dissimilar to the lab-based VR systems of the past 30 years: the primary input mechanism is a head-tracked display and one or two tracked hands with buttons and joystic...

Shape displays enable people to touch simulated surfaces. A common architecture of such devices uses a mechatronic pin-matrix. Besides their complexity and high cost, these matrix displays suffer from sharp edges due to the discreet representation which reduces their ability to render a large continuous surface when sliding the hand. We propose usi...

To peripheral vision, a pair of physically different images can look the same. Such pairs are metamers relative to each other, just as physically-different spectra of light are perceived as the same color. We propose a real-time method to compute such ventral metamers for foveated rendering where, in particular for near-eye displays, the largest pa...

To peripheral vision, a pair of physically different images can look the same. Such pairs are metamers relative to each other, just as physically-different spectra of light are perceived as the same color. We propose a real-time method to compute such ventral metamers for foveated rendering where, in particular for near-eye displays, the largest pa...

With the continuing development of affordable immersive virtual reality (VR) systems, there is now a growing market for consumer content. The current form of consumer systems is not dissimilar to the lab-based VR systems of the past 30 years: the primary input mechanism is a head-tracked display and one or two tracked hands with buttons and joystic...

Virtual Reality (VR) has become more and more popular with dropping prices for systems and a growing number of users. However, the issue of accessibility in VR has been hardly addressed so far and no uniform approach or standard exists at this time. In this position paper, we propose a customisable toolkit implemented at the system-level and discus...

As virtual reality (VR) headsets become more commercially accessible, a range of social platforms have been developed that exploit the immersive nature of these systems. There is a growing interest in using these platforms in social and work contexts, but relatively little work into examining the usability choices that have been made. We developed...

In the past twelve months, our team has had to move rapidly from conducting most of our user experiments in a laboratory setting, to running experiments in the wild away from the laboratory and without direct synchronous oversight from an experimenter. This has challenged us to think about what types of experiment we can run, and to improve our too...

A lot of work in social virtual reality, including our own group's, has focused on effectiveness of specific social behaviours such as eye-gaze, turn taking, gestures and other verbal and non-verbal cues. We have built upon these to look at emergent phenomena such as co-presence, leadership and trust. These give us good information about the usabil...

There are many potential measures that one might use when evaluating mixed-reality experiences. In this position paper I will argue that there are various stances to take for evaluation, depending on the framing of the experience within a larger body of work. I will draw upon various types of work that my team has been involved with in order to ill...

A lot of work in social virtual reality, including our own group's, has focused on effectiveness of specific social behaviours such as eye-gaze, turn taking, gestures and other verbal and non-verbal cues. We have built upon these to look at emergent phenomena such as co-presence, leadership and trust. These give us good information about the usabil...

There are many potential measures that one might use when evaluating mixed-reality experiences. In this position paper I will argue that there are various stances to take for evaluation, depending on the framing of the experience within a larger body of work. I will draw upon various types of work that my team has been involved with in order to ill...

—Mobile HMDs must sacrifice compute performance to achieve ergonomic and power requirements for extended use. Consequently, applications must either reduce rendering and simulation complexity - along with the richness of the experience - or offload complexity to a server. Within the context of edge-computing, a popular way to do this is through ren...

Playing virtual reality (VR) games while seated can be challenging because many games are designed for a mobile, standing player. Sitting down not only limits mobility but also the reach of the player. This is particularly problematic if the player does not have a choice in whether they play seated or standing because it then becomes an accessibili...

Distributed Virtual Environments (DVEs) are challenging to create as the goals of consistency and responsiveness become contradictory under increasing latency. DVEs have been considered as both distributed transactional databases and force-reflection systems. Both are good approaches, but they do have drawbacks. Transactional systems do not support...

Visualising crowds is a key pedestrian dynamics topic, with significant research efforts aiming to improve the current state-of-the-art. Sophisticated visualisation methods are a standard for modern commercial models, and can improve crowd management techniques and sociological theory development. These models often define standard metrics, includi...

In free-viewpoint video (FVV), the motion and surface appearance of a real-world performance is captured as an animated mesh. While this technology can produce high-fidelity recreations of actors, the required 3D reconstruction step has substantial processing demands. This means FVV experiences are currently expensive to produce, and the processing...

This paper presents MoveBox an open sourced toolbox for animating motion captured (MoCap) movements onto the Microsoft Rocketbox library of avatars. Motion capture is performed using a single depth sensor, such as Azure Kinect or Windows Kinect V2. Motion capture is performed in real-time using a single depth sensor, such as Azure Kinect or Windows...

Grounded haptic devices can provide a variety of forces but have limited working volumes. Wearable haptic devices operate over a large volume but are relatively restricted in the types of stimuli they can generate. We propose the concept of docking haptics, in which different types of haptic devices are dynamically docked at run time. This creates...

As part of the open sourcing of the Microsoft Rocketbox avatar library for research and academic purposes, here we discuss the importance of rigged avatars for the Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR, AR) research community. Avatars, virtual representations of humans, are widely used in VR applications. Furthermore many research areas ranging from cr...

Free-viewpoint video (FVV) is a type of immersive content in which a character performance is filmed using an array of cameras and processed into a video-textured, animated 3D mesh. Although FVV content has a unique set of properties that differentiates it from other immersive media types, relatively little work explores the user experience of such...

Free-Viewpoint Video (FVV) is a type of volumetric content in which an animated, video-textured 3D mesh of a character performance is constructed using data from an array of cameras. Previous work has demonstrated excellent results when creating motion graphs from FVV content, but these techniques are often prohibitively expensive in practice. We p...

Filmmakers of panoramic videos frequently struggle to guide attention to Regions of Interest (ROIs) due to consumers’ freedom to explore. Some researchers hypothesize that peripheral cues attract reflexive/involuntary attention whereas cues within central vision engage and direct voluntary attention. This mixed-methods study evaluated the effective...

Grounded haptic devices can provide a variety of forces but have limited working volumes. Wearable haptic devices operate over a large volume but are relatively restricted in the types of stimuli they can generate. We propose the concept of docking haptics, in which different types of haptic devices are dynamically docked at run time. This creates...

Measuring Visual Latency in VR and AR devices has become increasingly complicated as many of the components will influence others in multiple loops and ultimately affect the human cognitive and sensory perception. In this paper we present a new method based on the idea that the performance of humans on a rapid motor task will remain constant, and t...

Grounded haptic devices can provide a variety of forces but have limited working volumes. Wearable haptic devices operate over a large volume but are relatively restricted in the types of stimuli they can generate. We propose the concept of docking haptics, in which different types of haptic devices are dynamically docked at run time. This creates...

Through avatar embodiment in Virtual Reality (VR) we can achieve the illusion that an avatar is substituting our body: the avatar moves as we move and we see it from a first person perspective. However, self-identification, the process of identifying a representation as being oneself, poses new challenges because a key determinant is that we see an...

Redirected walking allows for natural locomotion in virtual environments that are larger than a user’s physical environment. The mapping between real and virtual motion is modified by scaling some aspect of motion. As a user traverses the virtual environment these modifications (or gains) must be dynamically adjusted to prevent collision with physi...

Current consumer virtual reality applications typically represent the user by an avatar comprising a simple head/torso and decoupled hands. In the prior work of Steed et al. it was shown that the presence or absence of an avatar could have a significant impact on the cognitive load of the user. We extend that work in two ways. First they only used...

The use of a self-avatar representation in head-mounted displays has been shown to have important effects on user behavior. However, relatively few studies focus on feet and legs. We implemented a shared virtual reality for consumer virtual reality systems where each user could be represented by a gender-matched self-avatar controlled by multiple t...

There are important individual differences when experiencing VR setups. We ran a study with 20 participants who got a scale-matched avatar and were asked to blind-walk to a VR target placed 2.5 meters away. In such setups, people typically underestimate distances by approximately 10% when virtual environments are viewed through head mounted display...

We introduce a novel method for rectangular selection of components in large 3D models on the web. Our technique provides an easy to use solution that is developed for renderers with partial fragment shader support such as embedded systems running WebGL. This method was implemented using the Unity 3D game engine within the 3D Repo open source frame...

We suggest a rasterization pipeline tailored towards the needs of HMDs, where latency and field-of-view requirements pose new challenges beyond those of traditional desktop displays. Instead of image warping for low latency, or using multiple passes for foveation, we show how both can be produced directly in a single perceptual rasterization pass....

The Dexmo glove is a haptic exoskeleton that provides kinesthetic feedback in Virtual Reality. Unlike many other gloves based on string-pulleys, the Dexmo uses a free-hinged link-bar to transfer forces from a crank to the fingertips. It also uses an admittance-based controller parameterised by position, as opposed to an impedance-based controller p...

Advances in tracking technology and wireless headsets enable walking as a means of locomotion in Virtual Reality. When exploring virtual environments larger than room-scale, it is often desirable to increase users' perceived walking speed, for which we investigate three methods. (1) Ground-Level Scaling increases users' avatar size, allowing them t...

Volumetric capture allows the creation of near-video-quality content that can be explored with six degrees of freedom. Due to limitations in these experiences, such as the content being fixed at the point of filming, an understanding of eye-gaze awareness is critical. A repeated measures experiment was conducted that explored users’ ability to eval...

Coarse building mass models are now routinely generated at scales ranging from individual buildings through to whole cities. For example, they can be abstracted from raw measurements, generated procedurally, or created manually. However, these models typically lack any meaningful semantic or texture details, making them unsuitable for direct displa...

Coarse building mass models are now routinely generated at scales ranging from individual buildings to whole cities. Such models can be abstracted from raw measurements, generated procedurally, or created manually. However, these models typically lack any meaningful geometric or texture details, making them unsuitable for direct display. We introdu...

Now that high-end consumer phones can support immersive virtual reality, we ask whether social virtual reality is a promising medium for supporting distributed groups of users. We undertook an exploratory in-the-wild study using Samsung Gear VR headsets to see how existing social groups that had become geographically dispersed could use VR for coll...

The consumption of 360-degree videos with head-mounted displays (HMDs) is increasing rapidly. A large number of HMD users watch 360-degree videos at home, often on non-swivel seats; however videos are frequently designed to require the user to turn around. This work explores how the difference in users' chair type might influence their viewing expe...

In virtual reality a real walking interface limits the extent of a virtual environment to our local walkable space. As local spaces are specific to each user, sharing a virtual environment with others for collaborative work or games becomes complicated. It is not clear which user's walkable space to prefer, or whether that space will be navigable f...

Rendering accurate and convincing virtual content into mixed reality (MR) scenes requires detailed illumination information about the real environment. In existing MR systems, this information is often captured using light probes [1, 8, 9, 17, 19--21], or by reconstructing the real environment as a preprocess [31, 38, 54]. We present a method for c...

A virtual reality scenario called “We Wait” gives people an immersive experience of the plight of refugees waiting to be picked up by a boat on a shore in Turkey to be illegally taken to Europe, crossing a dangerous stretch of sea. This was based on BBC news reporting of the refugee situation, but deliberately depicted as an animation with cartoon-...

Many techniques facilitate real-time collision detection against complex models. These typically work by pre-computing information about the spatial distribution of geometry into a form that can be quickly queried. When models deform though, expensive pre-computations are impractical. We present radial fields: a variant of distance fields parameter...