In the current work landscape, due to the non-optimal management of resource time, automation, and digitalization of work, job boredom is an increasing problem. One of the causes of job boredom is idle times, forced periods of inactivity for workers. Idle times not only are the cause of increasing boredom, but also produce dissatisfaction for workers, leading to negative effects for organizations, including reduced creativity, disrupted workflows, and a decrease in overall productivity levels. The aim of this thesis is to explore the potential of virtual reality technology to address idle times and their consequences. The methodology used includes a multidisciplinary approach that combines industrial design, psychology and information technology. The first part studies the state of the art in the literature on job boredom and idle time, followed by a search for previous VR approaches in the literature. No VR approaches have been found in the literature that are closely related to the topic of idle time, so the research has also been extended to approaches that in general address boredom. Subsequently the focus will be on the design of a new concept, which led to the implementation of a VR prototype for immersive reading, EmotionARead. EmotionARead aims to intervene with an innovative approach in solving the problem of idle times, exploiting the immersiveness of VR to generate a time-based experience that can promote engagement and concentration through the reading activity, which is transformed into an immersive and emotional experience thanks to the use of settings, sounds, music and animations. The prototype was implemented using the Unity Engine, and was then validated through a user study in the laboratory, comparing it with a baseline taken from the literature, the VR/AR LIVRO app. The user study aimed to measure various metrics, boredom, perceived time, engagement, cybersickness and usability perceived by users. These metrics were defined in accordance with the research questions that guided the project: 1. RQ1 Does EmotionARead significantly reduce the perception of time passed compared to LIVRO? 2. RQ2 Does EmotionARead significantly reduce boredom compared with LIVRO? 3. RQ3 Is EmotionARead more engaging than LIVRO? 4. RQ4 Does LIVRO cause less cyber sickness than EmotionARead when reading the same text? The user study included 26 participants, who were instructed to try both experiences (EmotionARead and LIVRO), after an initial phase of induced idle time lasting 5 minutes and used recorded metrics and standardized questionnaires (Multidimentional state boredom scale, User questionnaire, cybersickness questionnaire and some open questions on the evaluation of the experience). The results show that VR is able to reduce boredom, increase engagement, cause very low levels of cybersickness and is perceived as easy to use, but has no effect in reducing the perception of passed time. EmotionARead proved to be more engaging than LIVRO and was perceived as more usable, but no differences were found in terms of the impact on the reduction of boredom and perceived passed time, and the level of cybersickness. As far as boredom is concerned, in fact, both conditions are effective in reducing it, the impact on perceived passed time is not significantly different between the two conditions, as well as that on cybersickness, which in both conditions was perceived slightly.
Nel panorama lavorativo attuale, a causa della gestione non ottimale del tempo delle risorse, dell'automazione e della digitalizzazione del lavoro, la noia lavorativa è un problema crescente. Una delle cause della noia lavorativa sono i momenti di inattività, i periodi forzati di inattività per i lavoratori. I periodi di inattività non solo causano una noia crescente, ma producono anche insoddisfazione nei lavoratori, portando a effetti negativi per le organizzazioni, tra cui una riduzione della creatività, flussi di lavoro interrotti e una diminuzione dei livelli complessivi di produttività. L'obiettivo di questa tesi è esplorare il potenziale della tecnologia di realtà virtuale per affrontare i momenti di inattività e le loro conseguenze. La metodologia utilizzata include un approccio multidisciplinare che combina design industriale, psicologia e tecnologia dell'informazione. La prima parte studia lo stato dell'arte nella letteratura sulla noia lavorativa e il tempo ottenuto, seguita da una ricerca di approcci VR precedenti presenti nella letteratura. Non sono stati trovati approcci VR in letteratura strettamente correlati al tema del tempo inattivo, quindi la ricerca è stata estesa anche ad approcci che in generale affrontano la noia. Successivamente l'attenzione sarà rivolta al design di un nuovo concetto, che ha portato all'implementazione di un prototipo VR per la lettura immersiva, EmotionARead. EmotionARead mira a intervenire con un approccio innovativo nella risoluzione del problema dei momenti di inattività, sfruttando l'immersione della VR per generare un'esperienza basata sul tempo che possa promuovere coinvolgimento e concentrazione attraverso l'attività di lettura, trasformandosi in un'esperienza immersiva ed emotiva grazie all'uso di impostazioni, suoni, musica e animazioni. Il prototipo è stato implementato utilizzando il Unity Engine e poi validato tramite uno studio utente in laboratorio, confrontandolo con una base tratta dalla letteratura, l'app VR/AR LIBRO. Lo studio sugli utenti mirava a misurare varie metriche, noia, tempo percepito, coinvolgimento, cybermalattia e usabilità percepite dagli utenti. Queste metriche sono state definite in conformità con le domande di ricerca che hanno guidato il progetto: 1.RQ1 EmotionARead riduce significativamente la percezione del tempo trascorso rispetto a LIVRO? 2.RQ2 EmotionARead riduce significativamente la noia rispetto a LIVRO? 3.RQ3 EmotionARead è più coinvolgente di LIVRO? 4.RQ4 LIVRO causa meno cyber male rispetto a EmotionARead quando si legge lo stesso testo? Lo studio degli utenti ha incluso 26 partecipanti, che sono stati invitati a provare entrambe le esperienze (EmotionARead e LIVRO), dopo una fase iniziale di tempo indotto di inattività durata 5 minuti, utilizzando metriche registrate e questionari standardizzati (scala di noia multidimensionale, questionario utente, questionario cyber-sickness e alcune domande aperte sulla valutazione dell'esperienza). I risultati mostrano che la VR è in grado di ridurre la noia, aumentare il coinvolgimento, causare livelli molto bassi di cyber-malattia ed è percepita come facile da usare, ma non ha alcun effetto nel ridurre la percezione del tempo trascorso. EmotionARead si è rivelato più coinvolgente di LIVRO ed è stato percepito come più utilizzabile, ma non sono state riscontrate differenze in termini di impatto sulla riduzione della noia e del tempo percepito, né sul livello di cybermalattia. Per quanto riguarda la noia, in effetti entrambe le condizioni sono efficaci nel ridurla; l'impatto sul tempo percepito non è significativamente diverso tra le due condizioni, così come quello sulla cyber-malattia, che in entrambe è stata percepita leggermente.
EMOTIONAREAD: UN'APP IN REALTÀ MISTA PER TRASFORMARE GLI IDLE TIME IN UN'ESPERIENZA DI LETTURA IMMERSIVA.
PELLEGRINAGGIO, LAURA
2024/2025
Abstract
In the current work landscape, due to the non-optimal management of resource time, automation, and digitalization of work, job boredom is an increasing problem. One of the causes of job boredom is idle times, forced periods of inactivity for workers. Idle times not only are the cause of increasing boredom, but also produce dissatisfaction for workers, leading to negative effects for organizations, including reduced creativity, disrupted workflows, and a decrease in overall productivity levels. The aim of this thesis is to explore the potential of virtual reality technology to address idle times and their consequences. The methodology used includes a multidisciplinary approach that combines industrial design, psychology and information technology. The first part studies the state of the art in the literature on job boredom and idle time, followed by a search for previous VR approaches in the literature. No VR approaches have been found in the literature that are closely related to the topic of idle time, so the research has also been extended to approaches that in general address boredom. Subsequently the focus will be on the design of a new concept, which led to the implementation of a VR prototype for immersive reading, EmotionARead. EmotionARead aims to intervene with an innovative approach in solving the problem of idle times, exploiting the immersiveness of VR to generate a time-based experience that can promote engagement and concentration through the reading activity, which is transformed into an immersive and emotional experience thanks to the use of settings, sounds, music and animations. The prototype was implemented using the Unity Engine, and was then validated through a user study in the laboratory, comparing it with a baseline taken from the literature, the VR/AR LIVRO app. The user study aimed to measure various metrics, boredom, perceived time, engagement, cybersickness and usability perceived by users. These metrics were defined in accordance with the research questions that guided the project: 1. RQ1 Does EmotionARead significantly reduce the perception of time passed compared to LIVRO? 2. RQ2 Does EmotionARead significantly reduce boredom compared with LIVRO? 3. RQ3 Is EmotionARead more engaging than LIVRO? 4. RQ4 Does LIVRO cause less cyber sickness than EmotionARead when reading the same text? The user study included 26 participants, who were instructed to try both experiences (EmotionARead and LIVRO), after an initial phase of induced idle time lasting 5 minutes and used recorded metrics and standardized questionnaires (Multidimentional state boredom scale, User questionnaire, cybersickness questionnaire and some open questions on the evaluation of the experience). The results show that VR is able to reduce boredom, increase engagement, cause very low levels of cybersickness and is perceived as easy to use, but has no effect in reducing the perception of passed time. EmotionARead proved to be more engaging than LIVRO and was perceived as more usable, but no differences were found in terms of the impact on the reduction of boredom and perceived passed time, and the level of cybersickness. As far as boredom is concerned, in fact, both conditions are effective in reducing it, the impact on perceived passed time is not significantly different between the two conditions, as well as that on cybersickness, which in both conditions was perceived slightly.I documenti in UNITESI sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14253/108551