%0 Thesis %1 wolf2024thesis %A Wolf, Erik %D 2024 %K ewolf myown %T Individual-, System-, and Application-Related Factors Influencing the Perception of Virtual Humans in Virtual Environments %X Mixed, augmented, and virtual reality, collectively known as extended reality (XR), allows users to immerse themselves in virtual environments and engage in experiences surpassing reality's boundaries. Virtual humans are ubiquitous in such virtual environments and can be utilized for myriad purposes, offering the potential to greatly impact daily life. Through the embodiment of virtual humans, XR offers the opportunity to influence how we see ourselves and others. In this function, virtual humans serve as a predefined stimulus whose perception is elementary for researchers, application designers, and developers to understand. This dissertation aims to investigate the influence of individual-, system-, and application-related factors on the perception of virtual humans in virtual environments, focusing on their potential use as stimuli in the domain of body perception. Individual-related factors encompass influences based on the user's characteristics, such as appearance, attitudes, and concerns. System-related factors relate to the technical properties of the system that implements the virtual environment, such as the level of immersion. Application-related factors refer to design choices and specific implementations of virtual humans within virtual environments, such as their rendering or animation style. This dissertation provides a contextual framework and reviews the relevant literature on factors influencing the perception of virtual humans. To address identified research gaps, it reports on five empirical studies analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from a total of 165 participants. The studies utilized a custom-developed XR system, enabling users to embody rapidly generated, photorealistically personalized virtual humans that can be realistically altered in body weight and observed using different immersive XR displays. The dissertation's findings showed, for example, that embodiment and personalization of virtual humans serve as self-related cues and moderate the perception of their body weight based on the user's body weight. They also revealed a display bias that significantly influences the perception of virtual humans, with disparities in body weight perception of up to nine percent between different immersive XR displays. Based on all findings, implications for application design were derived, including recommendations regarding reconstruction, animation, body weight modification, and body weight estimation methods for virtual humans, but also for the general user experience. By revealing influences on the perception of virtual humans, this dissertation contributes to understanding the intricate relationship between users and virtual humans. The findings and implications presented have the potential to enhance the design and development of virtual humans, leading to improved user experiences and broader applications beyond the domain of body perception.

@phdthesis{wolf2024thesis, abstract = {Mixed, augmented, and virtual reality, collectively known as extended reality (XR), allows users to immerse themselves in virtual environments and engage in experiences surpassing reality's boundaries. Virtual humans are ubiquitous in such virtual environments and can be utilized for myriad purposes, offering the potential to greatly impact daily life. Through the embodiment of virtual humans, XR offers the opportunity to influence how we see ourselves and others. In this function, virtual humans serve as a predefined stimulus whose perception is elementary for researchers, application designers, and developers to understand. This dissertation aims to investigate the influence of individual-, system-, and application-related factors on the perception of virtual humans in virtual environments, focusing on their potential use as stimuli in the domain of body perception. Individual-related factors encompass influences based on the user's characteristics, such as appearance, attitudes, and concerns. System-related factors relate to the technical properties of the system that implements the virtual environment, such as the level of immersion. Application-related factors refer to design choices and specific implementations of virtual humans within virtual environments, such as their rendering or animation style. This dissertation provides a contextual framework and reviews the relevant literature on factors influencing the perception of virtual humans. To address identified research gaps, it reports on five empirical studies analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from a total of 165 participants. The studies utilized a custom-developed XR system, enabling users to embody rapidly generated, photorealistically personalized virtual humans that can be realistically altered in body weight and observed using different immersive XR displays. The dissertation's findings showed, for example, that embodiment and personalization of virtual humans serve as self-related cues and moderate the perception of their body weight based on the user's body weight. They also revealed a display bias that significantly influences the perception of virtual humans, with disparities in body weight perception of up to nine percent between different immersive XR displays. Based on all findings, implications for application design were derived, including recommendations regarding reconstruction, animation, body weight modification, and body weight estimation methods for virtual humans, but also for the general user experience. By revealing influences on the perception of virtual humans, this dissertation contributes to understanding the intricate relationship between users and virtual humans. The findings and implications presented have the potential to enhance the design and development of virtual humans, leading to improved user experiences and broader applications beyond the domain of body perception.}, added-at = {2024-04-13T10:22:39.000+0200}, author = {Wolf, Erik}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/201c074122b9a4f39b0de7450fbcf433e/hci-uwb}, interhash = {2d5d0804ef5a3963c0ba607a59ffbd37}, intrahash = {01c074122b9a4f39b0de7450fbcf433e}, keywords = {ewolf myown}, note = {Under Review}, school = {Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg}, timestamp = {2024-05-06T17:22:37.000+0200}, title = {Individual-, System-, and Application-Related Factors Influencing the Perception of Virtual Humans in Virtual Environments}, year = 2024 }