VRSART A Tool For Evaluation of Contributory Factors Associated with Presence in Spatially Immersive Environments

There have been many attempts to define a straightforward definition for presence, largely without success. Indeed, it is tempting to try and derive a simple measure for the amount of presence a particular system is able to provide and then relate this to user task performance. Unfortunately, this approach is flawed because presence is a multidimensional parameter that is arguably an umbrella term for many inter-related factors. However, it is clear is that presence is a cognitive factor that must be treated differently than other aspects of a human-computer interface such as brightness or contrast of an image. By dealing with causal factors that affect user task performance and are related to achieving a sense of presence it is possible to understand the key contributory factors. This contribution will address the use of a VR Situation Awareness Rating Technique (VRSART) as a diagnostic tool for investigating presence and its effect on user/task performance. The following aspects will be addressed in this paper and subsequent presentation: