In this paper we present a virtual character controlled by an actor in real time, who talks with an audience through an augmented mirror. The application, which integrates video images, the avatar and other virtual objects within an Augmented Reality system, has been implemented using a mixture of technologies: two kinect systems for motion capture, depth map and real images, a gyroscope to detect head movements, and control algorithms to manage avatar emotions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the human response to motion-cuing algorithms (MCAs) by comparing users’ perception to several proposed objective indicators. Background: Other researchers have proposed several MCAs, but few improvements have been achieved lately. One of the reasons for this lack of progress is that fair comparisons between different algorithms are hard to achieve, for their evaluation needs to be performed with humans and the tuning process is slow. Method: This characterization is performed by means of a comparison of the subjective perception of vehicle simulation users (90 participants) against several proposed objective indicators that try to measure MCA performance. Two motion platforms (3 and 6 degrees of freedom [DoF]) and two vehicle simulators (a driving simulator and a speedboat simulator) were tested using the classical washout algorithm, considered to be the main reference in MCA literature. Results: Results show that users are more sensitive to correlation and delay with respect to the expected motion rather than its magnitude and that specific force is more of a factor than angular speed in the driving simulator. The opposite happens in the speedboat simulator. Conclusions: Human drivers’ reaction to MCA is mainly characterized by the normalized Pearson correlation between output and input signals of the algorithm. This finding validates the main MCA strategy that consists of downscaling the signals and slightly distorting their frequency spectrum. The 6-DoF simulator is perceived as a modest improvement of the 3-DoF platform. Applications: These results set the basis for future automatic tuning, evaluation, and comparison of MCA in motion platforms.

This paper presents "The Mediterranean Forest," an interactive exhibit designed for the Science Museum of Valencia. The exhibit engages children aged 3–8 by bringing their animal drawings to life in a virtual world. The system allows children to select, paint, scan, and transform drawings into three-dimensional avatars. These virtual animals interact with each other in the environment and with the children in the room. The exhibit is a collaborative space, where users can manipulate the real world, that promotes learning by exploration. The proposed solution integrates various cutting-edge technologies, including a large Virtual Reality projection system with blending techniques, Kinect devices for the interactivity, cheoptics hologram technology for realistic 3D visuals, and AI-driven virtual avatars simulating different behaviors and reacting to the user’s approach. The exhibit was evaluated through a study involving children, with feedback collected using a tailored questionnaire and the results indicated high levels of engagement and enjoyment among the children, with the majority expressing positive experiences. Some questions were not understandable for some children, which should be considered for future formal evaluation. The system's intuitiveness allowed children to navigate and interact with the virtual environment. The exhibit also demonstrates scalability, accommodating large groups of children effectively. Overall, "The Mediterranean Forest" successfully captivates children's attention, fostering creativity and imagination by transforming their drawings into a dynamic virtual world. This study underscores the benefits of using interactive technologies in museum settings to enhance children's learning experiences, encouraging further advancements in this field.

The geometric calibration of projectors is a demanding task, particularly for the industry of virtual reality simulators. Different methods have been developed during the last decades to retrieve the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of projectors, most of them being based on planar homographies and some requiring an extended calibration process. The aim of our research work is to design a fast and user-friendly method to provide multi-projector calibration on analytically defined screens, where a sample is shown for a virtual reality Formula 1 simulator that has a cylindrical screen. The proposed method results from the combination of surveying, photogrammetry and image processing approaches, and has been designed by considering the spatial restrictions of virtual reality simulators. The method has been validated from a mathematical point of view, and the complete system—which is currently installed in a shopping mall in Spain—has been tested by different users.