This book offers a comprehensive overview of the technological aspects of Extended Realities (XR) and discusses the main challenges and future directions in the field.
This book is important and timely - XR technologies have overcome the 3 main aspects that were holding it back from mainstream adoption: cost, cables, and size. However, there are many aspects of XR technologies that are now going to be explored and developed that still need urgent research in terms of security, privacy, health and safety, long-term effects, addiction risks, and age-related developmental concerns, and the aim of the book is to inform all readers of these open issues and challenges. There are currently a great number of interdisciplinary researchers and developers working in the XR R&D field. Recently, XR technologies moved from the Gartner Hype Cycle onto the Plateau of Productivity on the Gartner Hype Cycle signaling that the fundamental XR technologies are now deemed mature technologies and ready for deployment in a wide variety of application areas. Corroborated by the fact that XR technologies are part of the future Metaverse, a concept that went rapidly mainstream during the time of writing of this book.
Roadmapping Extended Reality is divided into two parts: (1) fundamentals and (2) applications. The first part covers the main technological aspects of XR. The chapters in this section review and discuss relevant fundamental concepts of XR, the actual state-of-the-art, and future challenges. The second part of the book focuses on covering a wide range of applications of XR including a future roadmap. All in all, the book offers a snapshot of the state-of-the-art in XR and addresses the needs of a multidisciplinary audience working in both academia and the industry, as well as stakeholders at government agencies and non-profit organizations.
Audience
This book is aimed at academic and industrial developers, exploring and developing applications in the XR, VR, AR, AI, smart IoT, 4th Industrial Revolution space, including those that are solving technology requirements, human factors, evaluation methodology advances, and ROI investigations.
Table of Contents
Foreword xv
Preface xvii
1 Future Directions for XR 2021-2030: International Delphi Consensus Study 1
Jolanda G. Tromp, Gabriel Zachmann, Jerome Perret and Beatrice Palacco
1.1 Introduction 2
1.2 XR and the Delphi Study Forecast 4
1.3 Key Enabling R&D Prerequisites, Concerns and Targets 15
1.4 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 21
1.5 Near-Term Challenges 26
Acknowledgments 31
References 31
2 Digital Narratives in Extended Realities 35
Luis Emilio Bruni, Nele Kadastik, Thomas Anthony Pedersen and Hossein Dini
2.1 Introduction 36
2.2 XR and Interactive Digital Narratives (IDN) 37
2.3 Domains of Applications 47
2.4 Future Perspectives 52
References 55
3 Haptic Interfaces 63
Jerome Perret
3.1 Introduction 63
3.2 State-of-the-Art 65
3.3 Scientific and Technological Challenges 66
3.4 Application-Specific Challenges 69
3.5 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 71
References 73
4 Immersive Sound for XR 75
Arcadio Reyes-Lecuona, Tifanie Bouchara and Lorenzo Picinali
4.1 Introduction 75
4.2 Immersive Audio Rendering for XR 77
4.3 Technological Challenges 81
4.4 Envisioning Applications 88
4.5 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 94
Acknowledgments 96
References 96
5 Visual Interfaces in XR 103
Rubén Mohedano and Julio Chaves
5.1 Introduction 103
5.2 Definitions 104
5.3 Visual Interfaces Building Blocks 105
5.4 Visual Interfaces in VR 108
5.5 Visual Interfaces in AR 119
5.6 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 128
References 132
6 XR and Metaverse Software Platforms 135
Lorenzo Cappannari and Antony Vitillo
6.1 Introduction 136
6.2 Enabling Platforms 138
6.3 Content Platforms 143
6.4 Human-Centered Platforms 146
6.5 Utility Platforms 149
6.6 Application Platforms 152
6.7 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 154
References 155
7 Human Perception Engineering 157
Evan G. Center, Katherine Mimnaugh, Jukka Häkkinen and Steven M. Lavalle
7.1 Introduction 157
7.2 XR and Human Perception 165
7.3 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 167
Funding 177
References 177
8 Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence: Synergic Approaches in Real World Applications 183
Maria di Summa, Vito Reno, Pierluigi Dibari, Gaetano Pernisco, Marco Sacco and Ettore Stella
8.1 Introduction 183
8.2 XR and Artificial Intelligence 186
8.3 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 189
References 190
9 Extended Reality & The Backbone: Towards a 3D Mirrorworld 193
Jolanda G. Tromp
9.1 Introduction 194
9.2 Critical Uncertainties for the Future of XR 200
9.3 XR and Decentralization: Blockchain Infrastructure 208
9.4 XR and the Backbone: Enabling Critical Functionalities 211
9.5 XR Open Sharing and Interoperability 216
9.6 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 220
Acknowledgments 223
References 223
10 Human Factors and Ergonomics 229
Marta Mondellini, Vera Colombo, Sara Arlati, Glyn Lawson and Sue Cobb
10.1 Introduction 230
10.2 XR and Human Factors 231
10.3 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 244
Acknowledgments 248
References 249
11 XR and Neurorehabilitation 257
Sara Arlati and Davide Borghetti
11.1 Introduction 258
11.2 XR and Neurorehabilitation 259
11.3 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 268
References 273
12 Use of XR’s Technologies for Consumer Behavior Analysis 283
Cristina Gil-Lopez, Jaime Guixeres, Javier Marín-Morales and Mariano Alcañiz
12.1 Introduction 283
12.2 The Concept of Virtual Consumer Experience 284
12.3 A Framework for the Use of XR in Consumer Behavior Research 288
12.4 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 299
References 301
13 XR for Industrial Training & Maintenance 309
Luca Greci
13.1 Introduction 309
13.2 XR and Industrial Training and Maintenance 311
13.3 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 316
References 318
14 Use of XR Technologies for the Assessment and Training of Leadership Skills 321
Elena Parra, Mariano Alcañiz, Cristina Giglio and Irene Alice Chicchi Giglioli
14.1 What is Leadership? 322
14.2 Leadership Assessment: Explicit Methods 322
14.3 Leadership Biomarkers: Organizational Neuroscience 323
14.4 Extended Reality Technologies and Leadership Assessment 327
14.5 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 330
References 331
15 Surgery Applications: Expanding Surgeons’ Capabilities 337
Jose M Sabater-Navarro, Jose M Vicente-Samper, Sofia Aledo and Pedro L. Solarte
15.1 Introduction 337
15.2 XR and Surgery 338
15.3 Future Research Agenda and Roadmap 351
References 352
Index 357
