Research

Our innovations build on solid research grounds

As a start-up company of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory of the University of Udine, we are naturally attentive to the latest discoveries and results from worldwide research, and prepared to transfer state-of-the-art knowledge into novel applications that solve practical client's problems.

Some of those discoveries were made and published by our members themselves. For example, our members worked at international projects in aviation safety research, also with FAA grants, to revolutionize traditional cabin safety briefings. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed methods was shown with studies published by major scientific journals (see here for a selected set of papers). The proposed solutions were turned into fully deployed applications (see here to download and try the apps). The relevance of the results also attracted coverage from major newspapers and TV channels (see here for selected media coverage).

More generally, the experience we developed in the lab concerns the design, development, evaluation, and deployment of immersive as well as mobile applications in different fields of training and preparedness, as witnessed by the following selected set of international publications on major scientific journals.

2022

Chittaro L., Buttussi F., Learning Safety through Public Serious Games: A Study of "Prepare for Impact" on a Very Large, International Sample of Players, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 28, March 2022, pp. 1573-1584.

2021

Buttussi F., Chittaro L., A Comparison of Procedural Safety Training in Three Conditions: Virtual Reality Headset, Smartphone, and Printed Materials, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 14, no. 1, February 2021, pp. 1-15.

Buttussi F., Chittaro L., Locomotion in Place in Virtual Reality: A Comparative Evaluation of Joystick, Teleport, and Leaning, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 27, no. 1, January 2021, pp. 125-136.

2020

Buttussi F., Chittaro L., Humor and Fear Appeals in Animated Pedagogical Agents: An Evaluation in Aviation Safety Education, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 13, no. 1, March 2020, pp. 63-76.

Buttussi F., Chittaro L., Valent F., A virtual reality methodology for cardiopulmonary resuscitation training with and without a physical mannequin, Journal of Biomedical Informatics, vol. 111, November 2020, art. no. 103590, doi: 10.1016/j.jbi.2020.103590.

Chittaro L., Learning and Retention through VR and Serious Games: aviation safety as a paradigmatic example (KEYNOTE SPEECH), Proceedings of ITS 2020: the 16th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, LNCS 12149, Springer, Berlin, June 2020, pp. xiii-xiv.

2019

Chittaro L., Buttussi F., Exploring the use of arcade game elements for attitude change: Two studies in the aviation safety domain, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 127, July 2019, pp. 112-123.

Chittaro L., Sioni R., Selecting Menu Items in Mobile Head-Mounted Displays: Effects of Selection Technique and Active Area, International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 35, 2019, pp. 1501-1516.

2018

Chittaro L., Virtual and Augmented Reality for Cabin Crew Training: Practical Applications, Proceedings of the 17th European Airline Training Symposium, Madrid, Spain, 2018.

Chittaro L., Corbett C., McLean M., Zangrando N., Safety Knowledge Transfer through Mobile Virtual Reality: a Study of Aviation Life Preserver Donning, Safety Science, 102, February 2018, pp. 159-168.

Buttussi, F., Chittaro, L., Effects of Different Types of Virtual Reality Display on Presence and Learning in a Safety Training Scenario, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, February 2018, pp. 1063-1076.

2017

Chittaro L., Cabin Safety Training Based on Mobile, Gaming and Virtual Reality Technologies, Proceedings of the 16th European Airline Training Symposium, Berlin, Germany, 2017.

Chittaro L., A Comparative Study of Aviation Safety Briefing Media: Card, Video, and Video with Interactive Controls, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 85, December 2017, pp. 415-428.

Chittaro, L., Sioni, R., Crescentini, C., Fabbro, F., Mortality Salience in Virtual Reality Experiences and its Effects on Users’ Attitudes towards Risk, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 101, May 2017, pp. 10-22.

Vianello A., Chittaro L., Burigat S., Budai R., MotorBrain: A mobile app for the assessment of users' motor performance in neurology, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 143, May 2017, pp. 35–47.

2016

Crescentini C., Chittaro L., Capurso V., Sioni R., Fabbro F., Psychological and physiological responses to stressful situations in immersive virtual reality: Differences between users who practice mindfulness meditation and controls, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 59, June 2016, pp. 304-316.

Chittaro L., Vianello A., Mobile Mindfulness and User's Worry: A Qualitative Study of Using a Smartphone App for Distancing from Negative Thoughts, Interacting with Computers, Vol. 28 No. 6, November 2016, pp. 695-717.

Chittaro L., Designing Serious Games for Safety Education: "Learn to Brace" vs. Traditional Pictorials for Aircraft Passengers, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 22, no. 5, May 2016, pp. 1527-1539.

Spagnolli A., Chittaro L., Gamberini L., Interactive Persuasive Systems: A Perspective on Theory and Evaluation, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 32, no. 3, March 2016, pp. 177-189.

Burigat S., Chittaro L., Passive and Active Navigation of Virtual Environments vs. Traditional Printed Evacuation Maps: a Comparative Evaluation in the Aviation Domain, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 87, March 2016, pp. 92-105.

2015

Sioni R., Chittaro L., Stress Detection Using Physiological Sensors, IEEE Computer, Vol. 48, No. 10, October 2015, pp. 26-33.

Chittaro L., Buttussi F., Assessing Knowledge Retention of an Immersive Serious Game vs. a Traditional Education Method in Aviation Safety, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 529–538.

Chittaro L., Sioni R., Serious Games for Emergency Preparedness: Evaluation of an Interactive vs. a Non-Interactive Simulation of a Terror Attack, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 50, September 2015, pp. 508–519.

Ranon R., Chittaro L., Buttussi F., Automatic Camera Control meets Emergency Simulations: an Application to Aviation Safety, Computers and Graphics, Vol. 48, May 2015, pp. 23–34.

Gamberini L., Chittaro L., Spagnolli A., Carlesso C., Psychological response to an emergency in virtual reality: Effects of victim ethnicity and emergency type on helping behavior and navigation, Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 2015, pp. 104-113.

2014

Chittaro L., Anxiety Induction in Virtual Environments: An Experimental Comparison of Three General Techniques, Interacting with Computers, Vol. 26, No. 6, November 2014, pp. 528-539.

Chittaro, L., Sioni, R., Evaluating mobile apps for breathing training: The effectiveness of visualization, Computers in Human Behavior, 40, November 2014, pp. 56-63.

Zanon M., Novembre G., Zangrando N., Chittaro L., Silani G., Brain activity and prosocial behavior in a simulated life-threatening situation, NeuroImage, Vol. 98, September 2014, pp. 134-146.

Chittaro L., Sioni R., Affective computing vs. affective placebo: Study of a biofeedback-controlled game for relaxation training, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 72(8-9), August-September 2014, pp. 663-673.

Chittaro L., Vianello, A., Computer-supported mindfulness: evaluation of a mobile thought distancing application on naive meditators, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 72(3), March 2014, pp. 337–348.

Patil I., Cogoni C., Zangrando N., Chittaro L., Silani G., Affective basis of Judgment-Behavior Discrepancy in Virtual Experiences of Moral Dilemmas, Social Neuroscience, Vol. 9, No. 1, January 2014, pp. 94–107.

2011-2013

Buttussi F., Pellis T., Cabas Vidani A., Pausler D., Carchietti E., Chittaro L., Evaluation of a 3D serious game for advanced life support retraining, International Journal of Medical Informatics, Vol. 82, No. 9, September 2013, pp. 798–809.

Fornasari L., Chittaro L., Ieronutti L., Cottini L., Dassi S., Cremaschi S., Molteni M., Fabbro F., Brambilla P., Navigation and exploration of an urban virtual environment by children with autism spectrum disorder compared to children with typical development, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Vol. 7, No. 8, August 2013, pp. 956–965.

Burigat S., Chittaro L., On the effectiveness of Overview+Detail visualization on mobile devices, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, February 2013, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 371-385.

Chittaro L., Sioni R., An electromyographic study of a laser pointer-style device vs. mouse and keyboard in an object arrangement task on a large screen, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 234-255.

Chittaro L., Carchietti E., De Marco L., Zampa A., Personalized Emergency Medical Assistance for Disabled People, User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction, Vol. 20, no. 4-5, pp. 407-440.

Bellani M., Fornasari L., Chittaro L., Brambilla P., Virtual reality in autism: state of the art, Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, Vol. 20, no. 3, pp 235-238.

Burigat S., Chittaro L., Visualizing References to Off-Screen Content on Mobile Devices: a Comparison of Arrows, Wedge, and Overview+Detail, Interacting with Computers, March 2011, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 156-166.

2008-2010

Buttussi F., Chittaro L., Smarter Phones for Healthier Lifestyles: An Adaptive Fitness Game, IEEE Pervasive Computing, October/December 2010, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 51-57.

Chittaro L., Distinctive aspects of mobile interaction and their implications for the design of multimodal interfaces, Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces, April 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 157-165.

Burigat S., Chittaro L., Gabrielli S., Navigation Techniques for Small-screen Devices: an Evaluation on Maps and Web pages, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, February 2008, Vol. 66, No. 2, pp. 78-97.

Burigat S., Chittaro L., Interactive Visual Analysis of Geographic Data on Mobile Devices based on Dynamic Queries, Journal of Visual Languages and Computing, February 2008, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 99-122.

Buttussi F., Chittaro L., MOPET: A Context-Aware and User-Adaptive Wearable System for Fitness Training, Artificial Intelligence In Medicine, February 2008, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 153-163.

Burigat S., Chittaro L., Ieronutti L., Mobrex: Visualizing Users' Mobile Browsing Behaviors, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, January/February 2008, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 24-32.

2001-2007

Burigat S., Chittaro L., Navigation in 3D virtual environments: Effects of user experience and location-pointing navigation aids, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, November 2007, Vol. 65, No. 11, pp. 945-958.

Chittaro L., Ranon R., Web3D Technologies in Learning, Education and Training: Motivations, Issues, Opportunities, Computers & Education Journal, August 2007, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 3-18.

Ieronutti L., Chittaro L., Employing virtual humans for education and training in X3D/VRML worlds, Computers & Education Journal, August 2007, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 93-109.

Chittaro L., Ranon R., Adaptive Hypermedia Techniques for 3D Educational Virtual Environments, IEEE Intelligent Systems, July/August 2007, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 31-37.

Nadalutti D., Chittaro L., Visual Analysis of Users' Performance Data in Fitness Activities, Special Issue on Visual Analytics, Computers & Graphics, June 2007, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 429-439.

Chittaro L., Ranon R., Ieronutti L., VU-Flow: A Visualization Tool for Analyzing Navigation in Virtual Environments, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, November/December 2006, Vol. 12, No. 6, pp. 1475-1485.

Chittaro L., Visualizing Information on Mobile Devices, IEEE Computer, March 2006, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 40-45.

Chittaro L., Ieronutti L., Ranon R., Adaptable visual presentation of 2D and 3D learning materials in web-based cyberworlds, The Visual Computer Journal, December 2006, Vol. 22, No. 12, pp. 1002-1014.

Chittaro L., Serra M., Behavioral Programming of Autonomous Characters based on Probabilistic Automata and Personality, Journal of Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds, Vol. 15, No. 3-4, July 2004, pp. 319-326

Chittaro L., Ranon R., Hierarchical Model-Based Diagnosis based on Structural Abstraction, Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 155, Issues 1-2, 2004, pp.147-182

Chittaro L., Information Visualization and its Application to Medicine, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, vol. 22, no. 2, May 2001, pp. 81-88.