Design and evaluation of a medical teamwork training simulator using consumer-level equipment

Virtual environments (VE) are increasingly used for teamwork training purposes, e.g., for medical teams. One shortcoming is lack of support for nonverbal communication channels, essential for teamwork. We address this issue by using an inexpensive webcam to track the user's head and using that data for controlling avatar head movement, thereby conveying head gestures and adding a nonverbal communication channel. In addition, navigation and orientation within the virtual environment is simplified. We present the design and evaluation of a simulation framework based on a game engine and consumer-level hardware and the results of two user studies showing, among other results, an improvement in the usability of the VE and in the perceived quality of realism and communication within the VE by using head tracking avatar and view control.