Search for Articles
Influence of the Metaverse on Digital Life
This special issue aims to serve as a comprehensive platform for researchers from engineering, life science, social science, information science, and related interdisciplinary fields to present their latest findings, technological advancements, and critical perspectives on the profound and multifaceted impact of the metaverse on digital life.
The global experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated changes in our lifestyles, fostering a growing momentum toward the active utilization of online digital spaces collectively referred to as the “Metaverse”. Built upon foundational technologies such as immersive and realistic presentation techniques (typified by Virtual Reality) and high-speed networks,large-scale community spaces within the metaverse are increasingly providing opportunities for connection across geographical and national boundaries in the real world to many people. Furthermore, the near-complete digitalization of reality, exemplified by Digital Twin technology, has significantly facilitated realistic simulations and analyses.
The applications of the metaverse now encompass a wide array of fields including, but not limited to, design, education and training, visualization, collaborative work, social interaction, healthcare, and scientific research. This rapid expansion and integration into various aspects of our lives present novel challenges and opportunities across diverse academic disciplines.
-
Special Issue Education Information Sciences Psychology and Education Sociology
Development of Gamified VR Content to Enhance Indoor Disaster Preparedness and Risk Perception
- Masaya Nakahara
- Yoshinori Tsukada
- Yoshimasa Umehara
- Yutaka Tada
- Yasunori Kozuki
- Yukari Ando
- Tomoaki Tsuji
- Yuchi Kato
In Japan, natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods are frequent. However, many citizens view such disasters as impersonal events rather than imminent personal threats. This has led to low participation rates in local disaster drills and poor retention of disaster prevention knowledge, posing significant challenges. Against this backdrop, existing research has reported the effectiveness of disaster prevention education utilizing gamification and VR. However, when applying existing approaches to VR-based disaster prevention education, it is necessary to consider the potential psychological burden of highly realistic depictions, opportunities for self-directed hazard identification, and replay-oriented design. Therefore, this study developed VR disaster prevention learning content incorporating gamification. The content was designed to foster a sense of crisis about disasters and interest in replay while considering psychological burden. The proposed content employs a "spot-the-difference" game mechanic, requiring users to actively identify deficiencies in indoor disaster preparedness measures. As a proof of concept, a questionnaire survey was conducted immediately after the experience with 123 participants, including high school students. Many participants reported an increased sense of crisis regarding disasters and an intention to replay the game.
-
Special Issue Information Sciences Psychology and Education Sociology
- Masaya Nakahara
- Yoshinori Tsukada
- Yoshimasa Umehara
- Yutaka Tada
- Yasunori Kozuki
- Yukari Ando
- Takumu Kuhara
- Marina Kobayashi
In recent years, Japan has experienced frequent water-related disasters, including earthquake-induced tsunamis and flooding caused by heavy rainfall, increasing the importance of disaster preparedness measures. However, participation in disaster drills remains low, indicating that many citizens do not regard disaster preparedness as a personally relevant issue. In addition, conventional drills often require participants to follow predetermined routes and therefore make it difficult to experience unexpected situations, such as blocked routes or collective behavior during panic. Although disaster simulators using virtual reality (VR) have advanced, few studies have focused on indoor flooding while also considering the influence of other evacuees’ incorrect evacuation behavior. This study therefore developed a simulator that enables users to experience vertical evacuation during indoor flooding in school facilities, which are often designated as evacuation sites. By placing non-player characters (NPCs) that exhibit incorrect evacuation behavior, the simulator makes it possible to examine how the behavior of others may affect participants’ evacuation decisions, subjective difficulty, and sense of urgency. An empirical evaluation clarified the simulator’s potential value for disaster preparedness education and awareness raising, as well as issues requiring further verification.