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Auflistung nach Autor:in "Kocur, Martin"

1 - 10 von 15
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    AudienceAR - Utilising Augmented Reality and Emotion Tracking to Address Fear of Speech
    (Mensch und Computer 2019 - Tagungsband, 2019) Hartl, Philipp; Fischer, Thomas; Hilzenthaler, Andreas; Kocur, Martin; Schmidt, Thomas
    With Augmented Reality (AR) we can enhance the reality by computer-generated information about real entities projected in the user's field of view. Hence, the user's perception of a real environment is altered by adding (or subtracting) information by means of digital augmentations. In this demo paper we present an application where we utilise AR technology to show visual information about the audience's mood in a scenario where the user is giving a presentation. In everyday life we have to talk to and in front of people as a fundamental aspect of human communication. However, this situation poses a major challenge for many people and may even go so far as to lead to fear and and avoidance behaviour. Based on findings in previous work about fear of speech, a major cause of anxiety is that we do not know how the audience judges us. To eliminate this feeling of uncertainty, we created an AR solution to support the speaker while giving a speech by tracking the audience's current mood and displaying this information in real time to the speaker's view: AudienceAR. By doing so we hypothesise to reduce the speaker's tension before and during presentation. Furthermore, we implemented a small web interface to analyse the presentation based on the audience mood after the speech is given. Effects will be tested in future work.
  • Textdokument
    HCI Lecture - Material for Teaching Human-Computer Interaction
    (2020) Henze, Niels; Kocur, Martin; Schmidt, Albrecht; Schwind, Valentin; Wolf, Katrin
    The slides that are the basis for this lecture were created over the last 15 years at different universities and many people contributed – including researchers and PhD students at the University of Duisburg-Essen, University of Stuttgart, University of Regensburg, and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    How to Induce a Physical and Virtual Rubber Hand Illusion
    (Mensch und Computer 2022 - Tagungsband, 2022) Kalus, Alexander; Kocur, Martin; Henze, Niels; Bogon, Johanna; Schwind, Valentin
    Understanding body ownership is essential when creating virtual reality (VR) applications using avatars. One of the most widely-used paradigm to investigate body ownership is the rubber hand illusion (RHI). When a real hand and a rubber hand are stroked synchronously, participants can experience the rubber hand as their own hand. Although the knowledge from RHI experiments in the real world is applied to when users embody avatars in VR, it is still unclear whether the illusory ownership of a virtual and physical body produce the same effects. In addition, conducting RHI studies in VR would allow gaining a range of novel experiments that are not possible in the real world. With this demonstration, we therefore present a system and approach to investigate the RHI in the real world and in VR.
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    Investigating the Perceived Abilities of Popular Game Characters' Clothes
    (Proceedings of Mensch und Computer 2024, 2024) Behrens, Selina; Kocur, Martin
    The visual appearance of avatars can influence users’ behavior and perception based on their stereotypical associations. Avatars’ clothing govern the visual appearance and is not only aesthetically important but also determines the anticipated abilities. Therefore, avatar designers need to know the abilities that are associated with the clothing. However, a systematic investigation of avatars’ clothes and the perceived abilities is missing. Consequently, we conducted an online survey with 61 participants to explore the functionality, physical and cognitive abilities, as well as comfort and aesthetics of 15 selected popular action video game characters’ clothes. We contribute with a heatmap illustrating the correlation between clothes and specific abilities. This heatmap serves as a tool for avatar designers during the creation process to anticipate the perceived abilities of their avatars’ clothes.
  • Workshopbeitrag
    Investigating the Proteus Effect on Physiological Responses While Resting in VR
    (Mensch und Computer 2024 - Workshopband, 2024) Kocur, Martin; Schwind, Valentin
    Virtual reality (VR) allows to embody any possible appearance using avatars. Previous work found that the visual characteristics of an avatar can cause behavioral, attitudinal, and perceptual changes - a phenomenon known as the Proteus effect. Recent work revealed that athletic avatars can even change heart rate responses while exercising in VR. However, it is unknown if such effects occur due to behavioral changes caused by the avatar or the mere virtual embodiment. Therefore, we conducted a study to understand if avatars’ effects can be replicated while resting in VR. 21 participants embodied neutral, famous, and athletic avatars while lying on the ground. We could not find effects of the avatars’ appearance on heart rate and perceived identification. Results indicate that the mere virtual embodiment of stereotypical avatars cannot induce physiological effects. We discuss that physiological effects are caused by behavioral adaptations due to the avatars' visual appearance.
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    The Mood Game - How to use the player’s affective state in a shoot’em up avoiding frustration and boredom
    (Mensch und Computer 2019 - Tagungsband, 2019) Halbhuber, David; Fehle, Jakob; Kalus, Alexander; Seitz, Konstantin; Kocur, Martin; Schmidt, Thomas; Wolff, Christian
    In this demo paper, we present a shoot'em up game similar to Space Invaders called the "Mood Game" that incorporates players' affective state into the game mechanics in order to enhance the gaming experience and avoid undesired emotions like frustration and boredom. By tracking emotions through facial expressions combined with self-evaluation, keystrokes and performance measures, we have developed a game logic that adapts the playing difficulty based on the player's emotional state. The implemented game AI automatically adjusts the enemy spawn rate and enemy behavior, the amount of obstacles, the number and type of power ups and the game speed to provide a smooth game play for different player skills. The effects of our dynamic game balancing mechanism will be tested in future work.
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    Morigami: Exploring Control Schemes in Narrative-driven Gaming Contexts
    (Mensch und Computer 2024 - Workshopband, 2024) Hauser, Marlien; Hauser, Johann; Kocur, Martin; Lankes, Michael
    We developed a 2.5D game Morigami that won an Austrian game award and is being prepared to be published at Steam. Our game demonstrates how control schemes, which emphasize the connection between the player and the characters through direct impact of player inputs, can extend beyond gameplay functionality to become crucial elements of the narrative. We present how we developed narrative controls as mechanisms that link player inputs with the game narrative, enhancing emotional involvement and engagement. The game Morigami employs these controls to reflect character development and story progression. A qualitative analysis with players shows that narrative controls can enhance the gaming experience, making narratives more compelling and immersive. This demo paper presents a game and suggests pathways for further investigation into narrative controls across different gaming contexts and underscores their potential in enhancing storytelling in interactive media.
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    Physiological and Perceptual Effects of Avatars' Muscularity while Rowing in Virtual Reality
    (Proceedings of Mensch und Computer 2024, 2024) Kocur, Martin; Noack, Thomas; Schwind, Valentin; Bogon, Johanna; Henze, Niels
    Virtual reality enables embodying different avatars. Coined the Proteus effect, previous work found that the visual characteristics of an avatar can cause behavioral, attitudinal, and perceptual effects. Recent work suggests that avatars’ muscularity can even have physiological effects while cycling in virtual reality. As the effects have not been replicated it is, however, unclear how robust they are and if effects are limited to specific activities, such as cycling. Therefore, we conducted a study to understand if avatars’ muscularity also causes physiological and perceptual effects for other tasks and if the effects can be replicated. 16 participants embodied a muscular and a non-muscular avatar while rowing on an indoor rower. We found that over time participants’ heart rates increased significantly slower when embodying a muscular avatar compared to a non-muscular avatar. While not significant, descriptive statistics suggest the same trend for perceived exertion. Overall, the results confirm previous findings and support the conclusion that avatars can cause physiological effects for a range of physical activities.
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    SentiBooks: Enhancing Audiobooks via Affective Computing and Smart Light Bulbs
    (Mensch und Computer 2019 - Tagungsband, 2019) Ortloff, Anna-Marie; Güntner, Lydia; Windl, Maximiliane; Schmidt, Thomas; Kocur, Martin; Wolff, Christian
    We present SentiBooks, a smartphone application to enhance the audiobook listening experience via affective computing and smart light bulbs. Users can connect to Philips Hue Light Bulbs with a smartphone app while listening to an audiobook. The app analyzes the emotional expression of the narrator of the audiobook using speech emotion recognition and adjusts the colors of the lighting settings according to the expression of the narrator in 10-seconds intervals. By transitioning between colors that are connected to the specific emotion that is currently dominant in the reading, the overall audiobook experience is intensified.
  • Workshopbeitrag
    Towards an Investigation of Avatars’ Sweat Effects during Physical Exertion in Virtual Reality
    (Mensch und Computer 2021 - Workshopband, 2021) Kocur, Martin; Henze, Niels; Schwind, Valentin
    An avatar’s athletic appearance can affect users’ perceptual and physiological responses to physical exertion in virtual reality (VR). Although sweating during physical effort is a natural human response, it is currently unknown whether and how visualizing sweat on an avatar’s skin affects the user while exercising in VR. Therefore, we plan to conduct a study with 30 participants to explore the impact of an avatar’s sweating on users’ physical performance and perception of effort while cycling in VR. We expect that visualizing sweat increases the perceived effort and decreases physical performance as sweating is associated with physical strain and fatigue. Hence, we assume that the avatars’ sweat could contribute to a more vivid and realistic VR exercise experience on the one hand, but also result in adverse effects on the users’ physical performance on the other.