Previous research has shown that even low end-to-end latency can have adverse effects on performance in virtual environments (VE). This paper reports on an experiment investigating the effect of latency on other metrics of VE effectiveness: physiological response, simulator sickness, and self-reported sense of presence. The VE used in the study includes two rooms: the first is normal and non-th...

Based on a distributed architecture for real-time collection and broadcast of haptic information to multiple participants, heterogeneous haptic devices (the PHANToM and the CyberGrasp) were used in an experiment to test the performance accuracy and sense of presence of participants engaged in a task involving mutual touch. In the experiment, the hands of CyberGrasp users were modeled for the co...

This paper explores how traditional narrative language used in film and theatre can be adapted to create interactivity and a greater sense of presence in the virtual heritage environment. It focuses on the fundamental principles of narrative required to create immersion and presence and investigates methods of embedding intangible social histories into these environments. These issues are explo...

This user study investigated how rendering quality contributes to the sense of presence and level of task performance of participants in a virtual environment. Fiftyfive participants performed the task of dropping four objects in a two-room, virtual environment which was drawn with varying degrees of texture and lighting quality. Their physiological reactions were measured along with their accu...

In an initial section, operators' sense of remote presence during teleoperation or use of virtual environment interfaces is analyzed as to what characteristics it should have to qualify it as an explanatory scientific construct. But the implicit goal of designing virtual environment interfaces to maximize presence is itself questioned in a second section in which examples of human-machine inter...

We provide a battery of examples of delusions against which theoretical accounts can be tested. Then we identify neuropsychological anomalies that could produce the unusual experiences that may lead, in turn, to the delusions in our battery. However, we argue against Maher’s view that delusions are false beliefs that arise as normal responses to anomalous experiences. We propose, instead, that ...

Compared to collocated interaction, videoconferencing disrupts the ability to use gaze and gestures to mediate interaction, direct reactions to specific people, and provide a sense of presence for the satellite (i.e., remote) participant. We developed a kinetic videoconferencing proxy with a swiveling display screen to indicate which direction that the satellite participant was looking. Our goa...

B of the coronary arteries may vary in origin, distribution, number, and size. Congenital anomalies of the coronary arteries occur in 0.2-1.2% of the general population.1 Most coronary artery anomalies do not cause myocardial ischemia and are often found incidentally during angiographic evaluation for other cardiac diseases. These pathologic anomalies may be present from early infancy and can r...

In investigating cases of alleged anomalies, particularly when physical evidence appears to corroborate the anomalous nature of an event, a tendency to jump to hasty conclusions can manifest. Here we describe a case in which multiple rounds of DNA analysis of a biological sample appeared to corroborate its reported anomalous (extraterrestrial) origins. In September 2000, an object resembling a ...