The Mixed Tangible Catalog: Toward Tangible and Sustainable B2B Metaverse Fashion Showrooms.

The metaverse, driven by mixed reality (MR), is positioned as the future market, revolutionizing product exploration in virtual space. Existing literature on this subject mainly focuses on business-to-consumer perspectives, leaving a gap in understanding business-to-business (B2B) applications, particularly in the fashion industry. This article introduces a "Mixed Tangible Catalog" (MTC) for B2B that combines a physical, foldable cardboard booth with an MR application linked to a head-mounted display. Targeting the fashion sector's need for high standards in material evaluation, the MTC allows retailers and distributors to browse garments, customize material attributes, and receive visual and tangible feedback. Evaluation through a focus group of 10 industry experts revealed positive feedback. The MTC maintains the tangibility of traditional B2B showrooms and reduces the environmental impact by minimizing transportation, samples, and waste. This innovative approach offers an efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional physical showrooms, enhancing both economic and ecological aspects.

Enhancing Well-Being: A Comparative Study of Virtual Reality Chromotherapy Rooms with Static, Dynamic, and Empty Environments.

Chromotherapy rooms (CRs) are physical spaces with colored lights able to enhance an individual's mood, well-being, and, in the long term, their health. Virtual reality technology can be used to implement CR (VRCRs) and provide higher flexibility at lower costs. However, existing VRCRs are limited to a few use cases, and they do not fully explore the potential and pitfalls of the technology. This work contributes by comparing three VRCR designs: empty, static, and dynamic. Empty is just a void but a blue-colored environment. Static adds static abstract graphics (flowers and sea texture), and dynamic adds dynamic elements (animated star particle systems, fractals, and ocean flow). All conditions include relaxing low-beta and ocean sounds. We conducted a between-subject experiment (n = 30) with the three conditions. Subjects compiled a self-perceived questionnaire and a mathematical stress test before and after the VRCR experience. The results demonstrated that the dynamic condition provided a higher sense of presence, while the self-perceived stress level was insignificant. Dynamic VR conditions are perceived as having a shorter duration, and participants declared that they felt more involved and engaged than in the other conditions. Overall, the study demonstrated that VRCRs have a non-trivial behavior and need further study of their design, especially considering their role in a future where VR will be an everyday working interface.