Evaluating the Importance of Multi-sensory Input on Memory and the Sense of Presence in Virtual Environments

322 subjects participated in an experimental study to investigate the effects of tactile, olfactory, audio and visual sensory cues on a participant's sense of presence in a virtual environment and on their memory for the environment and the objects in that environment. Results strongly indicate that increasing the modalities of sensory input in a virtual environment can increase both the sense of presence and memory for objects in the environment. In particular, the addition of tactile, olfactory and auditory cues to a virtual environment increased the user's sense of presence and memory of the environment. Surprisingly, increasing the level of visual detail did not result in an increase in the user's sense of presence or memory of the environment.