This study aimed to explore the experiences, responses and conceptualizations of sense of presence experiences in bereavement in terms of family meaning-making. A case study framework was chosen, using group and individual interviews and ethnographically-derived observations in a father-bereaved family in the south of England. Interview data were analyzed by applying both phenomenological and s...

In our everyday presentations of an immersive projection technology (IPT) system we have noted some problems and issues that can detract from the overall experience. In this paper we take the view that in order to make a successful demonstration of an IPT system, it is important to consider the complete experience, from preparation to enter, to retirement from the place of the demonstration. Th...

Virtual worlds are receiving increasing attention as a promising technology to engage students in learning. However, the use of these technologies for educational purposes is currently hampered by a lack of understanding of how better learning can be achieved in such environments. Thus motivated, this study uses the lenses of flow and social translucence of technology theories to model the indi...

In order to enable the user of a virtual reality system to be fully immersed in the virtual environment, the user must be presented with believable sensory input. Although the majority of virtual environments place the emphasis on visual cues, replicating the complex interactions of sound within an environment will benefit the level of immersion and hence the user’s sense of presence. Three dim...

This paper proposes a bio-cultural theory of presence based on four different positions related to the role and structure of presence, as follows. First, presence is a defining feature of self and it is related to the evolution of a key feature of any central nervous system: the embedding of sensory-referred properties into an internal functional space. Without the emergence of the sense of pre...

Virtual reality is one of the ways that designers and game programmers are seeking to change the way user's experience digital technology. This paper detailed a minimal approach for providing an effective sense of presence in digital virtual environments. Instead of reproducing realistic sounds, we are finding minimal sound objects and sound events. The user studies of people’s imagination of s...

Previous research has shown that Virtual Reality can be used for treatment of phobias. To further investigate these and other types of VR applications a testbed is needed that is both effective in phobia treatment and easy to adapt. This effectiveness is in general associated with the sense of presence experienced in a VR. Presence depends in part on characteristics of the VE, such as interacti...

Sound has a multitude of applications in areas ranging from engineering, architecture, entertainment, to environmental noise control. Sound also plays a crucial role in immersive virtual environments with studies showing it can improve the sense of presence and fidelity in training, simulation, education, and entertainment. This makes it important to simulate sound in a perceptuallyaccurate way...

This paper presents an evaluation of the benefits and user acceptance of a multimodal interface in which the user interacts with a game-like interactive virtual reality application ‘‘The Enigma of the Sphinx’’. The interface consists of a large projection screen as the main display, a ‘‘magic wand’’, a stereo sound system and the user’s voice for ‘‘casting spells’’. We present our conclusions c...

This paper describes a multilevel bandwidth haptic display devoted to fundamental studies on tactile and kinesthetic interaction. The proposed concept is an alternative design based on a multistage display that combines several actuation technologies in order to reproduce stable and “factual” haptic sensation for a truthful sense of presence. Each layer concerns a specific bandwidth that is to ...