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Usability in virtual reality: evaluating user experience with interactive archaeometry tools in digital simulations

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Abstract

This is an experimental work presenting a study about usability experience of users in a cyber-archeology fully immersive 3D environment in Virtual Reality (VR). Particularly we research how users explore a realistic 3D environment with VR devices through archaeometry conventional techniques for archeology analysis and discoveries. Our main objective is to evaluate user’s experience with interactive archaeometry tools of a population called archeologists, not a VR expert, but expert on the context of the real experience of practicing archeology in remote site; and compare the results with another population called VR experts, in this case, not experts in archeology, but in VR technology and multimedia applications. Several standard metrics will be used to collect data about their interactions with the cyber system (efficacy, efficiency, satisfaction, level of presence and cyber-sickness). Two hypotheses will be tested with this experiment: a) it is possible to represent the virtual world as realistically as the real one, in such way that a person unfamiliar with this kind of technology, in this case the archaeologist, can develop analytical process of discoveries in the VR model; and b) if this VR model is passive of exploration, virtually it is possible to create analytical tools that will help the archaeologist to manipulate archaeometry tools. Both sample population had participated in usability tests and the results are promising.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been funded by Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq-Brazil). Also, authors would like to say thank you to the archeology team led by Professor Astolfo Araujo from the Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia at University of Sao Paulo (MAE-USP) for supporting us with archeological technical issues.

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Interdisciplinary Center in Interactive Technologies of University of Sao Paulo (CITI-USP), Av. Prof. Lucio Martins Rodrigues 436/4, Sao Paulo, 05508-020, Brazil

    Eduardo Zilles Borba & Ana Grasielle Corrêa

  2. Department of Electronical Engineering and Digital Systems of the Polytechnic School, University of Sao Paulo (USP), Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto 158/3, Sao Paulo, 05508-020, Brazil

    Eduardo Zilles Borba, Roseli de Deus Lopes & Marcelo Zuffo

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  1. Eduardo Zilles Borba
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  2. Ana Grasielle Corrêa
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  3. Roseli de Deus Lopes
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  4. Marcelo Zuffo
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Correspondence to Eduardo Zilles Borba.

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Zilles Borba, E., Corrêa, A.G., de Deus Lopes, R. et al. Usability in virtual reality: evaluating user experience with interactive archaeometry tools in digital simulations. Multimed Tools Appl 79, 3425–3447 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-019-07924-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-019-07924-3

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