Vanja Garaj

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Verified

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• PhD
• Professor of Design at Brunel University London

Effective visual accessibility in Virtual Reality (VR) is crucial for Blind and Low Vision (BLV) users. However, designing visual accessibility systems is challenging due to the complexity of 3D VR environments and the need for techniques that can be easily retrofitted into existing applications. While prior work has studied how to enhance or trans...

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) afford new forms of work and leisure. While affordable and effective VR and AR headsets are now available, neither technology has achieved widespread user adoption. However, we predict continual technological advances and cost reductions are likely to lead to wider diffusion in society. Bridging the c...

This study investigates policymakers’ and practitioners' perspectives on inclusive design in Jordan's cultural Historic Sites, a critical component of the country's cultural tourism. Specifically, it examines the government's "Accessible Tourism" initiative, which aims to promote inclusive design in historical and cultural heritage sites such...

Virtual Production is a new process in the audiovisual industry, taking advantage of emerging technologies and attracting a significant degree of interest in academic and industrial research. This article documents a research process focusing on co-design of innovative solutions for Virtual Production relying on immersive technologies. Two remote c...

The combination of social engagement engines and immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and digital twins holds great potential for the development of tourism industry during the designing and planning stages. When introduced to experts, this innovative approach allows us to advance creative solutions while ke...

The advent of immersive and interactive technologies has facilitated the growth of the museum and gallery sector by offering a variety of new experiences. In the UK and China, in particular, the museum and gallery sector lies at the heart of the creative industries and makes a significant contribution to cultural growth. Both countries have recogni...

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is an immense concern for people’s wellness. The central argument in this research is that the IEQ in a university research room impacts users and their health, well-being and productivity. In addition, the present study relies on the Flourish Wheel to enhance the environment using the Biophilic Design approach, w...

Combining design fiction with participatory design principles improves the roles of participants, from research subjects to research partners in terms of performance and output. By supporting the process with futuristic and strategic thinking tools, participants can become not only knowledgeable but experts in their own experiences. This research p...

In common with many industries, the audiovisual sector is likely to be transformed by real-time graphic engines in combination with immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. This technological mix enables what is presently known as Virtual Production, introducing a new process to the audiovisual professional, capable of...

Using new and emerging technologies in education can increase student engagement and support teaching methods. However, using any technological tool requires prior knowledge and understanding, especially in education. An online survey was used to gather data on product design students' knowledge of Virtual Reality (VR) technology. As a case study,...

Kicking is the fundamental skill in Football. 2 most common shots are Laces (In step) and Inside (Side foot). Key biomechanical features are Hip flexion, Knee extension, Backswing, Force on landing foot, Ball Contact and Follow through. In this experiment, a simple kick study with University football team regarding their technique upon Ball Contact...

The main purpose of this study is to assess the indoor environmental quality of one of London’s most modern workplaces; it is one which uses the Biophilia design approach, bringing nature inside office buildings. To evaluate the occupants’ well-being, the research uses the Flourish wheel, which is based on both the built environment and the social...

We propose a method to improve reproducibility whilst keeping accuracy for the Function Point Analysis (FPA) method. The proposed method is based on a new artifact model called Function Point Tree (FPT). FPT enables a standardized and systematic collection of all data required for FP counting. The new measurement method is called Function Point Tre...

Existing proposals to improve the measurement reproducibility of Function Point Analysis (FPA) oversimplify its standard rules, threatening its measurement accuracy. We introduce a new artifact called Function Point Tree (FPT), which allows for full data collection required to count function points, reducing the ex-perts' personal interpretation an...

Summary The Bangladeshi population is one of the fastest growing ethnic groups within the UK. In 2011 the Bangladeshi population resident in England and Wales was 447,201, or 0.8 per cent of the total UK population; this is an increase of just over 50 per cent from the previous census in 2001 (ONS, 2012). Additionally, this group is reported to be...

This chapter describes Project MINA, an intergenerational and transnational project using a mixed-methods approach to investigate migration, nutrition, and ageing in two generations of Bangladeshi women living in the UK or Sylhet, Bangladesh. Results indicate that varied migration histories and changing family structures play an important role in i...

In the era of the diffusion of e-commerce and its services offered to the consumers over the Internet, the Internet is commonly used by both consumers and businesses to buy and sell their goods and services worldwide. This study focuses on the factors influencing customers' decisions and attitudes toward adopting online shopping in Jordan. The stud...

The level of usability of the current eGovernment infrastructure in Jordan was investigated by soliciting the views of the management, i.e. the professionals in charge of managing eGovernment projects. The management was addressed in order to gain an understanding of the root causes of the existing usability problems. The study was based on questio...

In the United Kingdom, Bangladeshi women have the lowest self-reported levels of physical activity and some of the highest levels of metabolic disease of all ethnic groups. To better understand these risks for poor health we employed life course and intergenerational hypotheses to predict lower body physical function in a sample of 121 Bangladeshi...

Over the last decade, the development in mobile technology, satellite navigation systems and Geographical Information Systems GIS have contributed to the design and development of Brunel Remote Guidance System BRGS. This system has the potential to be utilized by visually impaired pedestrians to make their life safer and easier. Recent research on...

This work presents a new efficient positioning module that operates over client-server LBS architectures. The aim of the proposed module is to fulfil the position information requirements for LBS pedestrian applications by ensuring the availability of reliable, highly accurate and precise position solutions based on GPS single frequency (L1) positi...

The process of using remote vision was simulated in order to determine the effects of video image frame rate on the performance in visual recognition of stationary environmental hazards in the dynamic video footage of the pedestrian travel environment. The recognition performance was assessed against two different video image frame rate variations:...

This work presents a new efficient positioning module that operates over client-server LBS architectures. The aim of the proposed module was to fulfil the position information requirements for LBS pedestrian applications by ensuring the availability of highly accurate, precise and reliable positioning information based on GPS single frequency (L1)...

An extensive user requirements study was carried out to define the scope of functionality for the applications of m-learning with the potential to enhance the student performance and experience within the BSc Multimedia Technology and Design (MMTD) course at the School of Engineering and Design, Brunel University, United Kingdom. Based on participa...

A performance assessment was carried out to establish the suitability of 2G, 2.5G, and 3G mobile communication links for application in a system for the navigation of visually impaired pedestrians. The assessment is intended to enable the implementation of the system using standard telecommunication infrastructure. Thus, the system will be made ava...

This paper presents the outcome of the research study conducted as a part of the ongoing development of the Brunel navigation system for the blind. The main aim of the study was to carry out a performance assessment to be used with high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) 3.5G wireless technology for utilization in Brunel visually impaired navigat...

This paper presents the outcome of the research study conducted as a part of the ongoing development of the Brunel Navigation System for the Blind. The main aim of the study was to carry out a performance assessment to be used with WiFi (IEEE802.11b) for utilization in Brunel visually impaired navigation system. Outstanding results related with del...

This paper presents the results of a study to determine the effects of video image frame rate on the performance of the sighted human guide in recognizing static hazards in the travel environment - a basic activity in using remote vision to navigate visually impaired pedestrians. The results show that variations in the frame rate (25 fps and 2 fps)...

This paper presents research and development work on a novel system with a view of developing a navigation system for the guidance of visually impaired pedestrians. The prime aim of the new developed system is to enhance the mobility of visually impaired pedestrians using remote guidance provided by sighted person. However, the system can be used i...

Mobility, that is, the ability to move and change location is a necessity of life. If one's mobility is limited, the level of quality of life is significantly lower. Visual impairment offers a serious restriction in mobility. Along with a very established aid in a form of the guide dogs and the canes, the numbers of aids were proposed to date. None...

A study was carried out to determine the most acceptable quality of video images for use in remote guidance of visually impaired pedestrians. A video image clip of 20 s duration was captured using a digital camera, while walking a sample route. The video image clip was encoded at bit rates of 30 and 48 kbit/s, and frame rates of 10, 7.5, 5 and 2.7...

This paper reports on one aspect of the preliminary findings of a research project investigating the most effective ways of ensuring that the neighbourhood environment is designed inclusively to improve the quality of life of older people. Focus groups with older people were conducted in different locational environments. Whilst these discussions c...

This paper presents the results of an experiment that was carried out to determine the most “appropriate” view setting for the camera applied to enable detection of obstacles in front of the user of the navigation system for visually impaired pedestrians developed at Brunel University. In the experiment, different camera view angles were tested and...

A performance assessment was carried out on the suitability of the 2G, 2.5G and 3G mobile communication links for an application in a system for navigation of visually impaired pedestrians. The aim of the navigation system is to increase the mobility of visually impaired pedestrians via remote guidance by a sighted person. In the mobile link perfor...

A performance assessment was carried out to assess the suitability of the 3rd generation mobile communication link for application in a system for navigation of visually impaired pedestrians. The aim of the navigation system is to increase the mobility of visually impaired pedestrians via remote guidance by a sighted person. In the 3G link performa...

This paper presents the results of performance assessment, which was carried out to evaluate the suitability of GSM and GPRS mobile communication links for application in a system for navigation of visually impaired pedestrians.

Sighted guidance is arguably the most efficient method for aiding visually impaired pedestrians in mobility. A sighted guide's verbal instructions compensate comprehensively for the insufficiency of visual input in navigation. Moreover, the companionship entails sharing of responsibilities and thus increases the blind traveller's sense of security...

This paper presents a method for correcting dead reckoning parameters, which are heading and step size, for a pedestrian navigation system. In this method, the compass bias error and the step size error can be estimated during the period that the Global Positioning System (GPS) signal is available. The errors are used for correcting those parameter...

This paper presents a method for correcting dead reckoning parameters, which are heading and step size, for a pedestrian navigation system. In this method, the compass bias error and the step size error can be estimated during the period that the GPS signal is available. The errors are used for correcting those parameters to improve the accuracy of...

Summary A case study was conducted with the aim of identifying the physical environmental features negatively influencing the use of public outdoor built environment by the older City of London residents belonging to the Asian and Caribbean ethnic communities. Additionally, the study undertook to recognise the aspects of the social environment havi...