Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Real-time human pose estimation and tracking on monocular videos: A systematic literature review(Elsevier B V, 2025-11-28) Chen Y; Feng Z; Paes D; Nilsson D; Lovreglio RReal-time human pose estimation and tracking on monocular videos is a fundamental task in computer vision with a wide range of applications. Recently, benefiting from deep learning-based methods, it has received impressive progress in performance. Although some works have reviewed and summarised the advancements in this field, few have specifically focused on real-time performance and monocular video-based solutions. The goal of this review is to bridge this gap by providing a comprehensive understanding of real-time monocular video-based human pose estimation and tracking, encompassing both 2D and 3D domains, as well as single-person and multi-person scenarios. To achieve this objective, this paper systematically reviews 68 papers published between 2014 and 2024 to answer six research questions. This review brings new insights into computational efficiency measures and hardware configurations of existing methods. Additionally, this review provides a deep discussion on trade-off strategies for accuracy and efficiency in real-time systems. Finally, this review highlights promising directions for future research and provides practical solutions for real-world applications.Item Investigating the factors that define and influence safety culture: perspectives from expert professionals(Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2025-06-01) Ortega N; Paes D; Feng Z; Sutrisna M; Yiu TWReducing the number of harmed workers in the construction sector has proven to be a challenging task. While promoting a Safety Culture (SC) is crucial for achieving that goal, defining it and pinpointing the key factors that influence it is difficult. SC has been defined in many different ways, and there is no consensus on what it exactly entails. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors that define and influence SC in the New Zealand construction sector. This goal was achieved through a modified Delphi study conducted in two rounds to gather experts’ views and reach a consensus. Data collection included in-depth interviews and survey questionnaires. A total of 32 experienced construction safety professionals participated in the first round, and 26 of them continued in the second round. Data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis and Relative Importance Index (RII). The main findings are twofold. First, they indicate the need for a holistic definition of SC incorporating its various defining factors. Second, they indicate that the top-ranked influencing factors are ‘Level of Leadership Commitment,’ followed by ‘Level of Experience and Mindset,’ and ‘Level of Communication.’ Furthermore, the results show the dual nature of these influencing factors, as they can either facilitate or hinder SC depending on whether their level is low or high. The results of this study offer valuable insights that enable practitioners to assess and promote SC in their organizations.Item Comparative analysis of fire evacuation decision-making in immersive vs. non-immersive virtual reality environments(Elsevier B V, 2025-11-01) Zhang Y; Paes D; Feng Z; Scorgie D; He P; Lovreglio RUnderstanding emergency behavior is crucial for designing safer, resilient infrastructure. Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) realistically simulates emergencies but is resource-intensive, so systematic comparisons with non-immersive VR remain scarce. To address this gap, a multifactorial VR fire-evacuation experiment was conducted in which participants navigated a room with three exits under varied conditions (e.g., social influence, smoke presence, exit distance, exit familiarity). Results indicated no significant difference in overall decision-making between immersive and non-immersive VR. Nevertheless, immersion modulated key factors: in immersive VR, participants preferred nearer exits, were more susceptible to social influence, and experienced stronger effects of smoke and exit familiarity. Smoke also reduced the influence of exit distance. Personal factors (e.g., prior VR experience, age, gender) shaped perceptions and emotions; heightened negative emotions and perceived risk were associated with less rational (i.e., suboptimal) choices, particularly in immersive VR. These insights inform VR safety training, guiding simulations that more faithfully replicate real emergencies.Item A Virtual Reality Exit Choice Experiment to Assess the Impact of Social Influence and Fire Wardens in a Metro Station Evacuation(Springer Nature, 2025-05-19) Lu S; Rodriguez M; Feng Z; Paes D; Daemei AB; Vancetti R; Mander S; Mandal T; Rao KR; Lovreglio RAssessing evacuation time is a fundamental task in fire engineering. One of the key decisions made in evacuation dynamics is exit choice. In this work, we propose a new immersive virtual reality (VR) experiment to assess the effects of social influence and fire wardens’ instructions on the exit chosen. We also investigate if and how the perceived level of authority of the fire wardens (i.e., metro staff members or firefighters) can affect these decisions. The proposed immersive VR experiment includes 12 different scenarios during a fire evacuation in an underground metro station. A sample of 131 participants took part in the experiment, making 1048 choices. We estimate a discrete choice model to quantify if and how these factors affect the participants’ decisions. The results show that both instructions by fire wardens and social influence significantly affect exit choice and that the impact of fire wardens can change depending on their perceived level of authority.Item The perception of commercial construction companies on using technology to review contracts in New Zealand(IOP Publishing Ltd, 2022-01-01) Sweet C; Paes DA lack of understanding of project risks and the use of unnecessarily complex contracts have been identified as weaknesses in construction procurement. Contract reviews are often rushed, and risks are not assessed and allowed for appropriately. This process can be improved using digital technology solutions. This research investigated the NZ commercial construction practitioners' views about adopting computational tools to review construction contracts. A mixed-methods study using a survey questionnaire was undertaken and accompanied by descriptive statistical analysis. The sample consisted of 66 participants from different groups within NZ's commercial construction industry. The study found a strong positive response towards digital technology adoption, and the overall perception is that there are benefits to using computational tools for contract review. Findings confirmed that these have not been widely adopted for contract review, mainly due to the lack of familiarity with existing solutions. Further research is recommended to investigate how a small portion of the population is currently using computational solutions. The benefits of manual contract reviews may also be explored to enhance software systems for easier adoption.Item Gamification for air quality education: A systematic literature review(Elsevier B.V., 2025-01-09) Daemei AB; Lovreglio R; Feng Z; Paes D; Miller CAir quality is crucial to our health and well-being, as poor air quality can lead to serious health problems such as asthma, allergies, and other respiratory conditions. Educating people about air quality is key to improving awareness and taking action to reduce its negative effects. Gamification offers a creative and engaging way to deliver educational content by incorporating game elements into the learning experience. However, despite its potential, there has been no review of how gamification has been used for air quality education. Thus, this review aims to fill that gap by systematically examining how gamification is applied to air quality education in the built environment. We explored a range of games and applications used to educate the public on air quality. To guide our analysis, we used the Octalysis framework, which focuses on game elements that motivate and engage users. Following the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, we identified 19 relevant papers published between 2009 and 2023. From these, we developed 8 research questions to guide the review process and analyzed the game elements using the Octalysis framework. Our findings show that most studies focus on residential buildings, with a key focus on raising awareness of the health impacts of air pollution and managing asthma. Notably, many of these studies target children, who are more vulnerable to air pollution. We also introduce the first taxonomy for gamification in air quality education, providing a clear structure for future game development in this area. Finally, the review highlights the need to explore other educational topics that could benefit from gamification, and how this approach could improve both indoor and urban air quality, as well as reduce energy consumption.Item Video see-through augmented reality fire safety training: A comparison with virtual reality and video training(Elsevier B.V., 2024-12-10) Domgue K LI; Paes D; Feng Z; Mander S; Datoussaid S; Descamps T; Rahouti A; Lovreglio RSafety training is crucial to mitigate the risk of damage when a disaster occurs and can play a vital role in enhancing community response. Augmented Reality (AR) is an emerging technology for safety training that holds great pedagogical potential. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of AR training in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention, as well as self-efficacy enhancement. We developed a new video see-through AR training tool on a tablet to teach users about operating a fire extinguisher to put out a fire following the PASS procedure: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep (PASS). The AR training tool was tested with 60 participants. Test results were systematically compared with findings from the literature investigating Virtual Reality (VR) and video-based safety training. The findings indicate that, directly after the training, AR outperformed traditional video training in terms of knowledge retention, long-term self-efficacy, and quality of instructions. However, the AR experience was not as effective as the VR experience in all these areas, but the AR group had a smaller decrease in knowledge over time. These findings suggest that the AR-based training approach offers benefits in long-term memory recall.Item Investigating the relationship between three-dimensional perception and presence in virtual reality-reconstructed architecture.(Elsevier B.V., 2023-01-13) Paes D; Irizarry J; Billinghurst M; Pujoni DIdentifying and characterizing the factors that affect presence in virtual environments has been acknowledged as a critical step to improving Virtual Reality (VR) applications in the built environment domain. In the search to identify those factors, the research objective was to test whether three-dimensional perception affects presence in virtual environments. A controlled within-group experiment utilizing perception and presence questionnaires was conducted, followed by data analysis, to test the hypothesized unidirectional association between three-dimensional perception and presence in two different virtual environments (non-immersive and immersive). Results indicate no association in either of the systems studied, contrary to the assumption of many scholars in the field but in line with recent studies on the topic. Consequently, VR applications in architectural design may not necessarily need to incorporate advanced stereoscopic visualization techniques to deliver highly immersive experiences, which may be achieved by addressing factors other than depth realism. As findings suggest that the levels of presence experienced by users are not subject to the display mode of a 3D model (whether immersive or non-immersive display), it may still be possible for professionals involved in the review of 3D models (e.g., designers, contractors, clients) to experience high levels of presence through non-stereoscopic VR systems provided that other presence-promoting factors are included.Item Virtual reality for safety training: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis(Elsevier B.V., 2023-11-18) Scorgie D; Feng Z; Paes D; Parisi F; Yiu TW; Lovreglio RUnsafe behaviour in the workplace and disaster events can lead to serious harm and damage. Safety training has been a widely studied topic over the past two decades. Its primary aim is to save lives and minimise damage but requires regular refreshers. New digital technologies are helping in the process of enhancing safety training for better knowledge acquisition and retention. Among them, Virtual Reality (VR) can provide an engaging and exciting training experience, and there is a need to evaluate its application and effectiveness in safety training. This study aims to investigate VR safety training solutions applied to various industries (excluding medical and military applications), such as construction, fire, aviation, and mining. This was achieved by systematically reviewing 52 articles published between 2013 and 2021 to answer nine research questions. Fourteen domains were examined, with construction and fire safety training being the most prevalent since 2018. Findings reveal that only a small percentage (9.6 %) of the studies explicitly adopted theories while developing and testing VR applications. Additionally, this review highlights a critical need for long-term retention measurements, as only 36 % of studies provided such data. Finally, the two meta-analyses proposed in this work demonstrate that VR safety training outperforms traditional training in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention.Item Optical see-through augmented reality fire safety training for building occupants(Elsevier B.V., 2024-03-15) Paes D; Feng Z; King M; Khorrami Shad H; Sasikumar P; Pujoni D; Lovreglio RFire safety training is crucial to increase building occupants' chances of surviving a fire emergency. Traditional training methods, such as lectures using video presentations, have limitations that can hinder learning performance. This article describes the development and testing of an alternative training solution using Augmented Reality (AR) technology. Through a controlled between-subject experiment, the AR-based fire safety training method was compared against a conventional video-based one based on participants' knowledge acquisition and retention, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy. Results suggest that the AR system was well-designed and as effective as the traditional method in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention and overall learning experience. However, it was found to be superior in terms of intrinsic motivation gain and self-efficacy retention. These findings demonstrate the potential of AR-based training methods to enhance building occupants' safety and provide directions for future developments and research in the field.