Virtual Reality
The fascinating world of Extended Reality
Looking at cars where there are none, holding a meeting with colleagues in the U.S. even though you’re sitting in your home office in Germany, or exploring past worlds – all of these things were wishful thinking just a few years ago. Now they are part of our reality. Extended Reality (XR) as the comprehensive term of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) leads companies into a new era of communication and interaction. Not only private users enjoy the new technology, for example by immersing themselves in virtual worlds or redesigning rooms with the help of digital elements. The new technology often triggers positive reactions such as enthusiasm and surprise among XR users.
There are also new opportunities for companies. In a world in which brand experiences are becoming increasingly important, XR technologies can be used to bring product worlds to life more intensively. In addition to examples, such as the realization of brand goals and creative product presentations, there are numerous other possibilities. These include education and training, collaboration and exchange, services and many more – there are almost no limits to the use of XR.
Download our overview to get an idea of the possibilities: Overview Extended Reality
These possibilities are investigated in various projects through literature reviews, empirical studies and experiments.
Overview Publications
Israel, K., Zerres, C., Tscheulin, D. K. (2021): Try before you buy – Akzeptanz von Virtual-Reality-Anwendungen zur Leistungsbeurteilung von Erfahrungsgütern, in: HMD – Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsinformatik. Download Publication
Firnkes, J., Zerres, C. Israel, K. (2021): Enhanced Product Presentation with Augmented Reality: The Role of Affective Reactions and Authenticity. In: Nah, F.F.-H. and Siau, K. (Eds.): HCI in Business, Government and Organizations, 8th International Conference, HCIBGO 2021 Held as Part of the 23rd HCI International Conference, HCII 2021 Washington D.C., USA, July 23–28, 2021, Proceedings, Part I, Springer Nature, Cham, 55-70.
Zerres, C., Israel, K., Ernst, O. (2021): Extended Reality. Chancen, Herausforderungen und Anwendungsbeispiele für kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen, Nr. 8, Offenburg: Hochschulverlag Offenburg. Download Publication
Zerres, C., Israel, K. (2021): Virtual Reality. Bedeutung, Akzeptanz und Herausforderungen. In: R. Gücker (Hrsg.): Klang und Didaktik: Lehren und Lernen mit allen Sinnen. Aufsätze zu Ehren von Hans-Ulrich Werner, Verlag Dr. Kovac, 11-19.
Israel, K., Buchweitz, L., Tscheulin, D. K., Zerres, C., Korn, O. (2020): Captivating Product Experiences: How Virtual Reality Creates Flow and Thereby Optimize Product Presentations. In: Nah, F.F.-H. and Siau, K. (Eds.): HCI in Business, Government and Organizations. eCommerce and Consumer Behavior, Bd. 12204. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 354–368.
Zerres, C., Israel, K. (2020): VR als Chance für Museen, in: Public Marketing, Nr. 8-9/20, 46-47.
Israel, K., Zerres, C., Tscheulin, D. K. (2019): Presenting hotels in virtual reality: does it influence the booking intention?. In: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 473-493.
Israel, K., Tscheulin, D. K., Zerres, C. (2019): Virtual reality in the hotel industry: assessing the acceptance of immersive hotel presentation. In: European Journal of Тourism Research, Vol. 21, pp. 5-22.
Israel, K., Zerres, C., Tscheulin, D. K., Buchweitz, L.; Korn, O. (2019): Presenting Your Products in Virtual Reality: Do not Underestimate Cybersickness. In: Nah, F.F.-H. and Siau, K. (Eds.): HCI in Business, Government and Organizations. eCommerce and Consumer Behavior, Bd. 11588. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 206–224.
Burg de Sousa Ferreira, S., Zerres, C., Heitz, B., Israel, K., Körner, S., Löhmann, M., Scheil, M. (2018): Virtual-Reality: Ein einführender Überblick. In: Schriften der Hochschule Offenburg, Nr. 5, Offenburg: Hochschulverlag Offenburg.
Israel, K., Zerres, C., Tscheulin, D. K. (2017): Reducing Cybersickness. The Role of Wearing Comfort and Ease of Use. In: Optical Society of America: Frontiers in Optics. Washington, DC, United States, OSA, JTu2A.113.
Virtual Reality Overview
This new working paper gives an overview of some important aspects of VR:
- Technology acceptance
- Technical issues
- Field report in connection with the production of 360 degree film material
- Storytelling
Burg, S., Zerres, C., Israel, K., Heitz, B., Körner, S., Löhmann, M., Scheil, M. (2018): Virtual-Reality. Ein einführender Überblick, in: Hochschulverlag der Hochschule Offenburg (Hrsg.): Schriften der Hochschule Offenburg, Nr. 5.
Download working paper: Virtual-Reality – Ein einfuehrender Ueberblick
Virtual Reality Use and Acceptance
A large study on virtual reality (561 participants) examined, among other things, how the technology is perceived by users. Some important results of the study can be found in the following overview:
Cybersickness
A special feature in virtual environments is the cybersickness that can occur during the use of virtual reality systems.
The term cybersickness refers to signs of dizziness, nausea and general discomfort that could be triggered by the use of smart phone-based virtual reality systems. In a study, we investigated to what extent wearing comfort and ease of use have an influence on the extent of cybersickness.
Virtual Reality as Communication Instrument
Virtual Reality (VR) is an exciting technical solution for creating virtual worlds. The simulated immersion fascinate people in private life, research and business alike.
In the monthly cycle, renowned manufacturers present new VR devices and software solutions to make the virtual world even more fluid and high-resolution. The fields of application are infinitely versatile and are distributed among private media consumption, the innovative gaming industry and entrepreneurial applications. Virtual tours through production facilities and companies give the salesperson and the customer the opportunity to jointly view products as a visual object in space even before they are completed.
In the context of this working paper different technical possibilities of VR are described. The focus is on the presentation of a self-developed procedure model for the introduction of VR for communication.
