I am a Genius! Influence of Virtually Embodying Leonardo da Vinci on Creative Performance.

Virtual reality (VR) provides users with the ability to substitute their physical appearance by embodying virtual characters (avatars) using head-mounted displays and motion-capture technologies. Previous research demonstrated that the sense of embodiment toward an avatar can impact user behavior and cognition. In this paper, we present an experiment designed to investigate whether embodying a well-known creative genius could enhance participants' creative performance.

From Robot to Virtual Doppelganger: Impact of Visual Fidelity of Avatars Controlled in Third-Person Perspective on Embodiment and Behavior in Immersive Virtual Environments.

This study presents the second phase of a series of experiments investigating the impact of avatar visual fidelity on the sense of embodiment and users' behavior in immersive virtual environments. Our main focus concerns the similarity between users and avatars, a factor known as truthfulness. Our experiment requires the participants to control three avatars using a third-person perspective: a robot, a suit and their virtual doppelganger (virtual representation of the self).

Achieving Presence through Evoked Reality.

The sense of "Presence" (evolving from "telepresence") has always been associated with virtual reality research and is still an exceptionally mystifying constituent. Now the study of presence clearly spans over various disciplines associated with cognition. This paper attempts to put forth a concept that argues that it's an experience of an "Evoked Reality (ER)" (illusion of reality) that triggers an "Evoked Presence (EP)" (sense of presence) in our minds.

Bioterrorism: development of large-scale medical readiness using multipoint distance-based simulation training.

Accordingly to HIRSA, 35,000 health professionals need to be trained in recognition and acute field treatment of victims of bioterrorism within year 2004 alone The Department of Defense anticipates even larger numbers. Training of very large number of healthcare workers is particularly daunting in the context of "just-in-time" education. The paper presents utilization of simulation-based distance training as a particularly useful tool in rapid development of readiness in a large population of widely distributed medical and lay personnel facing imminent threat of a chem/bioterrorism incident.

Transatlantic medical education: preliminary data on distance-based high-fidelity human patient simulation training.

Advanced training using Human Patient Simulators (HPS) is, for the large part, unavailable for the majority of healthcare providers in rural, remote, and less developed regions of the world--either due to their separation from the major medical education centers or significant fiscal austerity. Remote access to HPS based on the Applications Software Provider principles may provide the solution to this problem. The medical ASP (MED-ASP) concept proposed and developed by MedSMART has been subjected to an extensive qualitative and quantitative international test conducted among France, Italy, and USA.