Abstract
Despite advancements in interaction with immersive Virtual Reality (VR) systems, using hand gestures for all interactions still imposes some challenges, especially in interactions with graphical user interfaces that are usually performed with point-and-click interfaces. Therefore, exploring the use of alternative hands-free methods for selection is essential to overcome usability problems and provide natural interaction for users. The results and insights gained from this exploration can lead to enhanced user experiences in VR applications. This study aims to contribute to the literature with the evaluation of the usability of the most commonly used hands-free methods for selection and system control tasks in immersive VR and their impact on standard and validated experience and usability metrics, namely the sense of presence, cybersickness, system usability, workload, and user satisfaction. A Fitts' selection task was performed using a within-subjects design by nine participants experienced in VR. The methods evaluated were the handheld controllers, the head gaze, eye gaze, and voice commands for pointing at the targets, and dwell time and voice commands to confirm the selections. Results show that the methods provide similar levels of sense of presence and low cybersickness while showing low workload values and high user satisfaction, matching the experience of traditional handheld controllers for non-multimodal approaches. The assisted eye gaze with dwell was the preferred hands-free method and the one with the highest values of usability. Still, developers should minimize the number of gaze movements to reduce fatigue. The evaluation also showed that using a multimodal approach for selections, especially using the voice, decreases user satisfaction and increases users' frustration.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Abstract
We experience the world around us using all our senses, however, multimedia content still relies majorly on audiovisual stimuli. With technology advancements, multisensory stimuli started to be introduced in multimedia experiences. Still, very few contemplate a wide range of different modalities simultaneously, approaching the stimulation one would receive in reality. This paper explores the effects of trimodal multisensory stimuli on the sense of Presence, Perceptual Realism, and Quality of Experience (QoE) during video visualisation. Namely, we study the impact of heat, wind, and smell during video visualization to investigate how each stimulus contributes to the QoE. A correlational analysis was also performed to understand better how the different variables interact. The results indicate that multisensory stimulation improved significantly the sense of presence satisfaction and perceptual realism. Furthermore, smell contributed the most to the QoE, followed by heat and wind. We highlight the use of multisensory stimulation on video visualization over audiovisual only, as it benefits substantially the user experience. © 2023 IEEE.

Abstract
The modern manufacturing environment has adjusted to technological improvements. With Virtual Reality applications geared for factory training are becoming increasingly common. The industry is seeking ways to lower downtimes, resource component waste, risk of possible work accidents and decrease expenses, which can be achieved by engaging in new techniques of training professionals. This article evaluates a VR training application developed within the scope of the R&D project, aimed at training personnel in vehicle antenna production lines. We included the following variables: previous experience with VR technology, cybersickness, immersive tendencies, presence, system usability and satisfaction. Both the system usability scores and satisfaction were considered acceptable. We also found positive correlations between several variables, highlighting the possible influence of attention and familiarity with VR technology on the user experience. In contrast, a negative correlation raised questions about participants' expectations regarding VR technology and their resulting experience.

Abstract

Abstract
Tourism business models have used several technologies in their development, such as Virtual Reality (VR). Previous studies show that VR allows tourism organizations to promote new types of relationships between tourists and destinations, to enhance the appeal and memorability of tourist experiences and to diversify consumption patterns, which could also be interesting for dealing with sustainability issues, such as seasonal demand of destinations or activities in wine tourism. Thus, we propose a conceptual model to analyze the influence of memorable tourism experiences on wine tourists' future intentions after a VR experience, providing additional details on the research methodology to empirically test the conceptual model. Innovation in business models with VR to promote new relationships with destinations or activities and diversify tourists' consumption patterns could be interesting to address seasonal activities, such as the grape harvest or grape-treading, which are not continuously available for tourist observation/ participation, despite their high appeal. On the other hand, the results could contribute to wine and other kinds of tourism, conditioned by mobility issues such as restrictions on movements or personal interaction, due to health crises or personal constraints, increasing these tourism experiences' accessibility also in times of unavailability. © 2023, Universidade de Aveiro. All rights reserved.

Abstract
Performing experiments with Internet-of-Things edge devices is not always a trivial task, as large physical testbeds or complex simulators are often needed, leading to low reproducibility and several difficulties in crafting complex scenarios and tweaking parameters. Most available simulators try to simulate as close to reality as possible. While we agree that this kind of high-fidelity simulation might be necessary for some scenarios, we argue that a low-fidelity easy-to-change simulator may be a good solution when rapid prototyping orchestration strategies and algorithms. In this work, we introduce SIMoT, a low-fidelity orchestrator simulator created to achieve shorter feedback loops when testing different orchestration strategies for task allocation in edge devices. We then transferred the simulator-validated algorithms to both physical and virtual testbeds, where it was possible to assert that the simulator results correlate strongly with the observations on those testbeds.