RV & RA Team
Fields of research
Our team’s lines of research focus mainly on human “behavioural interfacing” in a virtual (or mixed real/virtual) world, by making judicious use of a person’s natural behaviour on sensory motor and mental levels. Our methodology for designing a VR system has been extended on the technical and psychological levels thanks to collaboration undertaken this year with ergonomists and psychologists. The solutions produced have been tested in three applications:
1. The training of operators in maintenance tasks on rail infrastructure in virtual reality. This study has been conducted in partnership with the SNCF Research Department in the context of a CIFRE thesis. The pedagogical tool created for the instructor means that the trainee could be immersed in an environment that reproduces reality and makes use of the various functional patterns of virtual reality. The subject of the thesis focuses mainly on the creation of and experimentation with a Help Agent for Learning (HAL), which enables the instructor to use various training scenarios.
2. A study on the behaviour of consumers in a virtual store on behalf of the IN VIVO Company specialized in market surveys. The first store was completed in 1999 and commercial exploitation planned for early 2000. Tests had been conducted to check and validate the coherence of the natural immersion and interaction of the consumer in the virtual store.