Alexis Souchet

A new generation of Virtual Reality (VR) Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) is on the consumer and enterprise market. Nowadays, they are increasingly integrated into training. These devices display stereoscopic images (S3D).
Exposure to these images can cause visual fatigue. Simultaneously, the Serious Game (SG) is tending to become a type of knowledge mediation that has been adopted, although still being questioned.
VR and SG require additional scientific evidence of their effectiveness in learning to motivate reasoned use. The risks of visual fatigue need to be quantified and documented, particularly at the request of health authorities.
We determine that the SG, VR, their combination and S3D are more effective for learning when compared to other modalities and 2D displays. Two experiments are conducted involving 152 participants and testing 7 experimental conditions.
Experiment 1 shows that the new generation HMDs cause visual fatigue, which is higher than a PC screen. Visual fatigue in HMDs tends to be higher with S3D compared to 2D. Visual fatigue has not negatively impacted learning.
Experiment 2 indicates that cyclically displaying S3D fatigued more than displaying regular S3D. The more stereopsis is activated via conflicting stimuli, the higher the fatigue. Links between visual fatigue and cognitive load are identifiable.
It appears that the more sensory-motor conflicts are numerous and accumulate, the more the visual system compensates with behaviours associated with visual fatigue.

PhD student and research engineer

Pr. Ghislaine Azémard
Dr. Laure Leroy
Dr. Stéphanie Philippe

Pr. Jean-Marie BURKHARDT, IFSTTAR, France
Pr. Philippe BONFILS, Université de Toulon, France
Dr. Domitile LOURDEAUX, UTC - CNRS, France
Pr. Bruno ARNALDI, INSA Renne, France

ANRT: National Association for Research and Technology, CIFRE N°2016/1571 & Manzalab

The project is studying presence, avatarial immersion, bilocation, embodiment and physiology
With the apparatus, people are navigating by flying while embodying a 3PP avatar: a nondescript avatar or the avatar of oneself is proposed
We are using a HMD and gestural interactions

Multiple fields are involved: communication studies, game studies, neurophysiology, psychology, engineering, virtual reality, computer sciences...

I joined the research activities of the team for 6 months

research engineer (intern), communication designer, UX

Dr. Etienne Perény: conception, design, production
Dr. Etienne-Armand Amato: qualitative and communication studies of the avatar
Pr. Alain Berthoz: neurophysiological and cognitive expertize
Dr. Geoffrey Gorisse: VR developpement and Unity 3D, presence researches
Nicolas Galinotti: system developpement

Become Avatar was presented in Laval Virtual 2016. More than 200 personnes experimented the apparatus. Around 100 completed a survey proposed by a psychologist and an ethnologist.

2 experiments have been conducted.

One position paper has been published in VRIC 2016, the conference of Laval Virtual 2016 (not based on my contributions, I am not one of the authors):
"The autoscopic flying avatar : a new paradigm to study bilocated presence in mixed reality"

Master's thesis presenting research activities (a state of art on presence, HMDs, visual fatigue and avatars, 2 experiments): during a 6 months internship as a research engineer in the project Become Avatar
Keywords : virtual reality, presence, visual fatigue, HDM, avatar, autoscopy

Author, research engineer

Etienne Perény: conception, design, production
Etienne-Armand Amato: qualitative and communication studies of the avatar
Alain Berthoz: neurophysiological and cognitive expertize
Geoffrey Gorisse: VR developpement and Unity 3D, presence researches
Nicolas Galinotti: system developpement

The analyse of several publications showed us that: presence is still a very variable notion depending on the field defining it. The study of presence is using both objective and subjective measures. Navigation tasks are often proposed to users (subjects) but rarely by flying and with actual movements interaction as commandes for actions in the virtual environement. The avatar and the best point of view is defined in some studies but very variable. Works on HMDs and their consequences on the visual system following the exposure to a stereoscopic content are still to conduct with devices from general public market. Previous studies showed a visual fatigue after using HMDs. Finally, several publications are treating the type of image to propose to lead to a better presence feeling but rarely with HMDs and video game-like contents. All these conclusions leaded us to conduct two experiments.

Experiment 1 consists in pilote tests in the experimental phase of the Become Avatar project. A navigation task by flying with three events for an exposure of 3x3 minutes was proposed to participants. Subjective measures of presence were conducted via a survey and objective measures (muscular activity (EMG), heart bit (ECG), pressure center (WiiBoard Balance) and posture (Kinect 2), stereoscopic acuity, ease of accommodation and punctum proximum of accommodation) have been registered. The subject was embodying an avatar of oneself in real time (video) mapped in the virtual reality world.



Experiment 2 was comparing monoscopy and stereoscopy through the same three optometrical variables than experiment 1 plus the visual discomfort from Zeri et Livi (2015). Presence was mesured via the SPSL with 4 items from Vorveder et al. (2004) translated in french, and the SPQ from Ratan (2010) reinterpreted and the GENAVA (original survey) focusing on the avatar. The blue avatar (Casilli, 2005), 3PP, was used not the avatar of oneself like experiment 1. Exposure time was 36 minutes. In both experiments, gestures were tracked by a Kinect in real time. The HMD used was a Sony HMZ-T3W. The virtual environment was designed in C# under Unity 3D.

Results and conclusions are treated in the Master's thesis.

Innovative solutions for libraries.
Vidya focuses on the introduction of new spaces and digital mediations choices based on the 15-24 years old practices.

Publisher, UX, Project manager, Concept designer, Artistic direction, Technology watch

Pierre Boulangé: architect, illustrator
Aymeric Ingret: 3D modelisation
Lydia Jory: programmation, illustrator
Lucie Rizzo: architect, illustrator
Adrien Morisse: UX/UI & artistic direction web, motion designer, illustrator, graphic artist

More than 80% of people from the Y generation own a smartphone. Mobility and digital devices are everywhere. We created a crossmedia application that can be accessed from smartphones, tablets and computers. All of the life aspects inside the library and what is linked to it at distance (from our own place) is taking care of. The Vidya App consists in: a profil, a member card, renting medias (books, musics, videos), coworking with other users, citizen projects, social network around the library and culture, gamification, reading and buying items...

In order to create a useful application based on users and their needs, we created wireflows as a base for the app architecture and functionalities.

'KIF' for 'Knowledge Is Fun' is a serious game template. It re-mediatize copyright-free art pieces (mostly books). KIF's games are 'action point and click' games. The games purpuse is to collect knowledge in order to progress and win. The interaction in the game is conducted by the gamer's gesture capted by a movement detector (kinect).
Through this, the library opens a door on the documents it preserves. Via KIF, the library gets closer to players, legions among 15-24 year olds. This serious game is a tool to attract and feudalize users. While delivering their knowledge in a ludic way, 'KIF' allows users to have fun. It stimulates imagination and relaxes them. The library is a publisher of content.

400 m² in the frame of the competition by the 'Île-De-France Region' was asked. But we imagined the building, spaces and stage sets articulating: digital tools, common spaces, energetic efficiency and nature.

So as to give a structured approach of our work, we wrote a report mentionning: sources, studies and steps of the project.

Short drama/thriller

Trailer coming soon

Writter, Director

Cast: Sarah Walsh (Emilie), George Worrall (Jack), Roger Young (John), Raquel Arraes (Mary), Kerri McAllister (Catherine), Ailbhe Boyle (Emma), Karl Byrne (Radio presenter)
Crew: James Murphy (Producer), Karl Merriman (Assistant director), Dar Richardson & Aaron Brown (Camera operators), Sarah Golovkine (Sound operator), Andrew West (Editor), Quentin Nigues (Special Effect)

The couple, Jack and Emilie, are serial killers. New in the neighborhood, they invite a family for a drink. Will they succeed to kill them without being caught? Will they ever stop?

Emma is a criticism of the modern society and capitalism that produced the middle class. Emma is also about the heritage given by parents that determine who we are and who we will become. Those determinisms can force children to reproduce the same horrors than their parents. Emma invites the spectator to criticize the middle class behavior and capitalism values through Jack and Emilie. The purpose of the movie is to make the audience uncomfortable. The public is then invited to think about their own determinisms. Emma is inversing the usual protagonists (become the killers) and antagonists (become the family) of thriller movies. Emma discusses the horror and violence of every day through a gruesome event.

Online, collaborative writting (based on the model of the 'cadavre exquis') of poems with printing of the object (cube) and reflexion on how to allow readers to create sense within the interface and the object in the syntagmatic of 3D.

Publisher, UX, Project manager, Concept designer, Artistic direction, Technology watch

Adrien Morisse, Elena Tsalidou : UX/UI, graphic artist, programmer
Mouhaned, Zakaria, Wafae, Zineb, Yann...: UX/UI, project manager, programmer, visual identity, concepts, graphic artist
Samuel Szoniecky: academic supervision

The user arrives on a home page field with a 'galaxy' of poems taking a 3D cube form. The user can navigate to read the poems written on a 3D cube by scrolling (zooming and moving left or right). If the user clicks on a poem from the galaxy, he can read the whole poem. The poems are composed of one verse written by one person on each face (one person by face). Six people are needed to create one poem. The user can choose the sense in which he will read the poem. Users can participate to the writing of the poem. In this case, one cube will be randomly picked in the data base. The contributor cannot read the previous verses (cadavre exquis) before adding his own. If the six faces of the cube are filled, it is joining the 'galaxy' of the home page. By assembling cubes, users can create a longer poem and can print them in order to assemble the paper cubes.

"Should we facilitate the access to nationality to clandestine of France?" is the main question that motivated the creation of this platform.
It is a social platform with web documentaries, portraits, testimonials and stats.

Publisher, UX, Project manager, Concept designer, Artistic direction, Technology watch, Video creation

Anne Lemoine: project manager, concept, technology watch
Gaëlle Camus: graphic artist

The web documentary apparatus on which we worked is primarily intended to create a space for debate around a social issue. This is to enable dialogue among citizens, enriched with subjective information (testimonies), but also more scientific content (legislation, scientific researches). The statistical tool helps to identify the phenomenon at a national level and to have an overall vision of the subject. This is primarily to provide an innovative a model of mediation on social themes and to refocus the debate by putting the human and direct experience in the center of the apparatus. Digital technologies allow citizens to create links between themselves. Digital then allows citizens to discuss a topic cleaving around the society. It also provides arguments supported by direct experiences and science. The collection of statistics available at the end of the path extends the discussion by positioning its opinion in relation to other citizens. This interactive, participatory and innovative project proposes a new model of mediation.
The experience is based on key words that a user is choosing and meta-data that matches between their choices and what describes the best the interviews of illegal immigrants.

PAM is an algorithm that generates metaphysical poems to make you think about the meaning of life. It is a semiotic experiment.

Publisher, UX/UI, Project manager, Concept designer, Artistic direction, Technology watch, Programmer

Adrien Morisse: Programmer, Grapic artist, UX/UI

PAM stands for ‘Automatic and Metaphysical Poetry’. This is an optimized web interface for Chrome. PAM mediates three lines generated by an algorithm composed of vocabulary words evoking metaphysical themes. The user will read one or several ephemeral poems (life of 40 seconds) after which a question is asked. Even if the user answers the question, he will be invited to stay in a playback loop and seek "meaning of your life" but will never find the right answer to the question, according to the controller. It is possible to "escape death" by printing or sharing on twitter. A song is played in the background (Chopin - Notturno op. 9 n. 1 – Pollini). The user can influence the appearance of the poem and the sound texture. The poems are generated randomly based on three variables to construct the verse: a subject, a verb and a complement. The lexicon consists in this first prototype of 51 subjects, 38 verbs and 33 complements.