This paper summarises the results of several studies of individual differences among users navigating in virtual environments. These differences relate to performance of navigational tasks, and the degree of sense of presence experienced by the users. The individual differences addressed in this paper refer primarily to personality and demographic factors. The possibility of improving the desig...

Traditional musical instruments provide compelling metaphors for human-computer interfacing, both in terms of input (physical, gestural performance activities) and output (sound diffusion). The violin, one of the most refined and expressive of traditional instruments, combines a peculiar physical interface with a rich acoustic diffuser. We have built a new instrument that includes elements of b...

In this paper, expectation and discrimination are identified as two important constructs to be considered in ecological sound design to achieve a sense of presence in virtual environments. Research to investigate the extent of this is described and the results obtained are discussed. Future avenues for research, on the basis of these results, are indicated.

When collaborating, individuals rely on situation awareness (the gathering, incorporation and utilization of environmental information) to help them combine their unique knowledge and skills and achieve their goals. When collaborating across distances, situation awareness is mediated by technology. There are few guidelines to help system analysts design systems or applications that support the ...

The role of soundscape design to enhance the sense of presence in virtual reality is discussed and tested. Preliminary results which compare real versus virtual soundscapes are reported.

This minitrack addresses Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Requiring Immersive Presence (CSCLIP). Immersive Presence (IP) may be characterized in at least two ways. First, it allows same-time different-place (STDP) interaction among students, instructors, equipment and Information Technology (IT). Second, it implies a “sense of presence” that is typical in lab or training 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 ...

3-D sound field reproduction systems can provide listeners with a sense of presence. In this study, we have proposed the 3-D sound field localization system using parametric loudspeakers. This system can easily represent sound images on the wall by using parametric loudspeakers that have a high directivity. In contrast, it is difficult to reproduce reverberant environments such as a concert hal...

As Biocca pointed out, the “two poles model“ of presence has only considered the virtual and pyshical spaces, but not the imaginary spaces. This work is aimed at comparing the sense of presence between virtual and imaginary environments. 100 participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions (imagined versus virtual spaces) and the subjective sense of presence was measured in thre...