Immersive environment technology is set to go fully virtual by 2039. An immersive virtual world (IVE) has already advanced rehabilitation treatments and come up with ways to create positive motivation with a heightened sense of presence. One of the best advantages of creating an immersive experience in a virtual environment is its potential to create a positive experience of body transfer and making it easier for social interaction with serious games.
Immersive VE to create positive body transfer experience
IVEs Create A Physical Presence
Virtual reality (VR) immersion creates the perception that a participant is actually present in an artificial world.
The user of the VR system is surrounded by sound, images, and other stimuli that form the perception of an absorbing complete immersive environment.
The IVE is a software immersive environment in which the user(s) experiences some kind of physical or actual presence.
There was a paper written to study the effectiveness of IVEs, which are digitally generated spaces with sensory-rich simulations that make it possible for users to experience controlled events taking place in a virtual world as if they were in the real world. This was done to further improve involvement with nature and feelings of interconnectedness.
Immersive virtual reality is envisioned to be the future of technologies, the anticipated holy grail. A fully-immersive VR world will develop the capability to interact with the brain and nervous system directly and would be able to engage every sense. It might potentially be a replacement for consensual reality in some sense.
Types Of IVEs
You can categorize immersion into three main types of categories:
Tactical immersion
You can feel tactical immersion when conducting tactile operations that require skill. Players have the feeling they are in the zone, as they perfect their actions leading to success.
Strategic Immersion
This type of immersion is more cerebral, as strategic immersion is often connected to a mental challenge. This is observed in chess players who invariably experience a strategic immersion when they choose the right solution from an extensive array of possibilities.
Narrative Immersion
Narrative immersion takes place when players invest themselves in a story that feels like watching a movie or reading a book. Body transfer is a perception that can be induced when the individual gets the impression that a body part is touched when she or he observes an external entity touched at that very moment. The actual experience is that the brain stimulates a perception of ownership directed towards the visible entity that is touched rather than the body part of the individual that is being touched.
Types Of Immersive Environments
Virtual environment technology creating immersive environments
- Immersive Virtual Reality
- Mixed Reality
- Augmented Reality
Virtual environments or non-immersive virtual realities are not considered part of this category.
The difference between virtual, augmented, and mixed realities can be defined in the following ways:
Users in a virtual reality get fully immersed in an immersive environment that does not allow them to interact with the physical world.
The real world is overlaid with virtual objects when you implement augmented reality.
Objects overlaid into the real world are also anchored into it when you consider mixed reality.
For example, the virtual environment is affected when a user begins to manipulate an object within the physical world.
Use IVEs As A Basic Tool In Psychology
Immersive virtual environment (IVE) technology holds massive promise as a basic tool that can be used in psychology research experiments. IVE technology provides the participants an experience that is very similar to a computer-synthesized environment.
There has often been a discussion about the different kinds of devices that are needed to properly implement immersive environments such as social interaction and object manipulation.
Experts take note of the drawbacks and benefits that occur in virtual environment technology and then make a comparison of it with the more traditional ways of performing basic research experiments.
IVE technology is used to gather a variety of examples for research in the areas of social interaction, perception, and spatial cognition.
IVEs For Human Behavior Research – The Design
The purpose of designing IVEs is to empower researchers with tools that can help them create their own IVEs using some of the background knowledge about how these IVEs work.
Proposed strategies and key categories are taken into consideration when these researchers decide on the detail level required for prototyping IVEs used in human behavior research.
Context: Animation social interactions, cues, contextual element
Reasonable level of detail (primarily visual) within an immersive environment: Realistic textures, minimizing unnecessary details, vital environmental accessories that are commonly found, and cost of computation to increase details
Social cues: Animation of social interactions and agent-avatars controlled by computers
Navigation concerns, participants’ head direction changes, and self-avatars
IVE technology: A Promising Tool For Future Social And Behavioral Genomics Research And Practice
There have been many advances, and the field of genetics has taken massive strides into the creation of new molecular biology technologies. Nevertheless, there is still a gap between the basic knowledge of genetics and its application that’s capable of improving human health. Novel ways are being introduced into IVEs with the intention of closing this gap that comes in the way of studying how genes work in humans. We are seeing massive strides in the field of genetics with respect to how disease risk factors are now identified with the study of genes. There is a problem though, as all these advances do not match the progress already made with the collection of genetic information used in the study of human behavior and other aspects of life. A paper has already been published with an overview of the efforts currently being made to have a better understanding of the relationship that exist between human behavior and genetics. This is done with the help of IVEs as one kind of methodical approach to advance the knowledge base.
IVE In Cue Exposure
Distance is not a barrier in an immersive environment
Behavioral scientists are able to conduct realistic ecological experiments with precision control using digital immersive virtual environment technology. These authors were able to employ IVET to make a detailed study of the interpersonal distance between participants and the virtual humans. Participants in the current study traveled across a three-dimensional virtual room where a standing virtual human was positioned. These participants in addition also offered more personal space to these standing virtual agents who looked over and met their gaze. They then moved away from virtual human agents when their personal space was being invaded by those virtual humans.
Interpersonal Distance In IVEs
This was a situation where a virtual human was made to approach participants.
There were two studies conducted where the virtual human gender, participant gender, virtual human gaze behavior, and situations where virtual humans were supposedly controlled by computers (i.e., agents) or humans (i.e., avatars) were found to have different results.
Participants were found to maintain more distance between them and the virtual humans who approached their fronts as compare to those who approached their backs.
The Study Of Ostracism In IVEs
Electronic communication (like IVEs) is likely to provide new ways to satisfy the need of social connection. However, they are also likely to show ways to avoid this need. Ostracism that is excluded and ignored is a social experience that poses a threat to fundamental human needs (I.e., self-esteem, belonging, meaningful existence, and control).
Ostracism research has previously used a variety of paradigms, including minimal use of communication (e.g., Short Message Services and chat rooms) and digital interactions (e.g., Cyberball). Those paradigms could not, however, create the same realism that IVEs of today can do. Moreover, the IVE paradigms of today that are made to measure ostracism are also likely to provide researchers with a chance to test additional nuanced hypotheses related to ostracism effects.
Feeling Nature: Manifesting Animals In IVEs Increases Inclusion Of Nature In Self And Involvement With Nature
IVEs are capable of producing simulations that replicate sensory experiences that are not mediated. Scientists conducted three experiments (N=228) with IVEs in which different modalities were tested to see how they increased environmental experience and involvement by permitting users to take over the body of animals or experience these IVEs on video. Manifesting direct experiences of animals inside these IVEs led to a perception of manifesting into a virtual world, created a feeling of embodiment, and brought about an interconnection between nature and self when compared to watching the same experiences on video. The intense interconnection that took place with nature manifested into perceptions of immense that exist when there is involvement with nature and an increased environmental risk.
The effect sizes measured from small to moderate, but the findings also revealed that embodied experiences that took place in IVEs can be used as a tool to effectively promote the involvement of humans in environmental issues.
Summarizing 15 Years Of Redirected Walking Research Within IVEs
Scientists are increasingly making use of IVEs for training purposes. These tools are getting popular day by day. The primary advantage of using IVEs as compared to traditional methods like simulations or computer games is their ability to produce experiences that are realistic and which have not been achieved by other technologies. For example, virtual reality users use head-mounted displays to take part in an illusion that allows them to walk in any direction and cover any distance. In reality, however, these users take a curvilinear path that exist in physical environments or space. A technique known as redirected walking achieves this illusion by introducing rotations that are hardly noticeable in the virtual environment. There’s a paper published on this that gives an overview of what kind of research was conducted 15 years ago with the use of redirected walking.
Behavior Research Methods – Immersive Virtual Environment Technology Becomes The Basic Psychology Research Tool
People can link up with computers using their body’s sensory feedback
Virtual reality is a fast-emerging field that permits people to link up with computers by using their own bodies to get sensory feedback. Virtual reality is used to make a study of human behavior in laboratory experience as well as naturalistic settings. A paper has been published about some of the advantages and disadvantages of using this method when compared to methods such as video recordings and live observations. The included discussions also covered virtual reality applications in psychological science. The study of visual perception is the most common application, though there are others as well.
Collaborative IVEs For Education In Geography
Immersive virtual reality (IVR) devices have already turned into the vital part of how we lead our lives. This has turned into a new way in which people can interact with each other and computers. The consequences and impact of this technology has not yet been fully explored. There was an empirical study done about the social and cognitive aspects of collaboration taking place in immersive, shared virtual reality. An interdisciplinary team was involved to develop Collaborative Immersive Virtual Environments (CIVE), a unique application that was used to implement an immersive environment for virtual collaboration. This software solution was used for educational purposes making use of two scenarios to learn hypsography, which are explanations of contour line principles. These two scenarios allowed users to switch between a 3D model and the usual 2D contour map of the corresponding terrain in order to increase clarity and intelligibility of the educational content. User engagement was augmented by applying gamification principles to both scenarios while the completion of tasks took place. Deep insight was gathered about the experience of users by taking a qualitative research approach to develop the CIVE.
Questions and Answers (Q&A) – IVEs & User Engagement In Immersive Environments
What’s fully immersive and non-immersive virtual reality?
Non-immersive virtual reality transmits the same image to both users’ eyes, unlike fully immersive virtual reality.
A fully immersive VR experience, on the other hand, provides a digital image that is perceived in three dimensions, including width, height, and depth.
Is it possible to have a fully immersive VR experience?
VR immersion is set to be the ultimate in future technologies, according to some.
Every sense would be included in a fully immersive VR world, which would be able to communicate directly with the nervous system and the brain.
It could even serve as a substitute for consensus reality in some respects.
Can simulation be beneficial?
The relationship between behavior and actual environment is sometimes explored through simulations.
In what ways does presence differ from being absent?
A sense of “being there” in the VR environment is called “presence.”
Which virtual reality technology has the highest level of quality?
Scientists have made a distinction between subjective psychological feelings of presence and immersion, which can be considered a technology quality.
Researchers can use VR to prototype applications while they retain the intense level of presence needed for this.
Are there advantages of investing in IVEs?
IVEs provide a rich, hands-on environment in which to explore and develop pedagogical best practices.
What are IVET’s benefits?
Role-playing for the development of social competency has not yet been implemented with IVET, but users report high levels of engagement and the perception that their behavior in a virtual environment was no different from their behavior in a real-life scenario.
Due to its ability to simulate lifelike situations, IVET can be used to immerse individuals in vivid role-playing scenarios that have been shown to alter behavior and attitudes.
Why should I use digital/IVE technology for my business?
Computer hardware and software are used to immerse users in artificially-created virtual environments (VEs), allowing them to interact with the environment in real time.
How does virtual reality differ from real life?
A virtual environment or simulation gives users the impression that they are actually inside the environment or simulation, as opposed to being outside the immersive environment and watching it as they would on a screen.
Why does experimental research suffer from the effects of real-life situations?
The more closely an experimental situation resembles the real world, the less control experimenters have over the environment as a whole (e.g., researchers have lesser control over background noise, appearance, and other features when the environment appears more like a real clinic).
IVET’s interactive patient training tools – what are they?
In safe learning environments, where failure does not carry the grave consequences of real clinical experience, IVET’s interactive simulation patient training tools have proven effective in increasing students’ competencies and knowledge.
What’s the IVE paradigm, and how does it differ from other models?
IVE differs from other models, as researchers may be able to test more nuanced hypotheses about ostracism using IVE paradigms designed to measure it.
What are the main challenges to be overcome with human transfer into animals in an IVE?
This process will present greater challenges than the experience of body transfer into virtual humans, as a result of perceived differences between humans and animals as well as the lack of schema for experiencing the world as an animal.
Are there advantages of investing in IVEs?
The use of IVEs to embody the sensory experiences of a disability that one has not personally experienced may be more effective than relying on the aschematic imagination.
How can embodied experiences benefit you?
IVEs that included sensory-rich animal experiences, as compared to video, led to a greater sense of being present in the virtual world, embodiment, and a stronger sense of interconnection between nature and the self.
What advantages does digital technology offer?
People may be able to come up with innovative solutions and experiences by using digital technology to explore existing environmental issues.
Define perspective-taking?
Applying IVEs to the process of perspective taking, or mentally simulating a situation by placing oneself in another’s shoes via imagination, is one such creative solution.
Visually immersive environments offer a wealth of sensory information that allows users to perceive external stimuli as if they were offline, taking part in the event in real time.
What is spatial presence, and how can it be measured?
It’s called spatial presence when the physical body feels in sync with the virtual experience.
Has virtual reality changed the way humans perceive the world around them?
Interactivity and naturalistic control of stimuli are expected to enhance spatial presence in the mediated environment compared to watching the same event in video form alone.
Why do video and IVEs differ?
IVEs allow for naturalistic movements to control events and objects within the mediated immersive environment, making it feel less like the direct experience in a video.
What’s redirected walking?
Redirected walking is a technique that introduces unnoticeable rotations into the virtual environment.
What exactly is an RDW (Read, Draw, Write)?
All RDWs are based on one of two types of manipulations:
(1) RDW techniques used to manipulate the mapping between the tracking space’s edges and physical obstacles, and
(2) RDW techniques used to manipulate the architectural properties of VEs, e.g., the VE’s spherical shape.
Name the different types of redirection techniques available to you today?
Divergence exists between redirection techniques that can be used without the user’s knowledge (subtle techniques) and those that can be detected by the user (overt techniques).
Most applications prefer the first category because it is imperceptible.
What exactly is IVE technology, and how does it differ from other technologies?
Technology that creates an immersive virtual environment (IVE) holds great promise as a tool for conducting basic psychological experiments.
What kind of devices are used to create fully immersive simulation?
Users must wear a headset with hand controls and headphones for a fully immersive experience that allows for movement/reflection.
There are also many games that use real-world locations as part of the gameplay.
What exactly is a CAVE?
One or more people can be immersed in a virtual environment projected on the room’s walls in a “CAVE.”
Users typically wear small, see-through glasses to view the virtual environment in stereoscopic 3D.
Along with a 3D mouse, these glasses are used to track the position of the earth in space.
Natural head and hand motions allow users to explore and interact with the virtual environment.
CAVEs are ideal for immersive collaborative learning, because of their unique features.
Through the use of see-through glasses, a CAVE does not require the use of an avatar to represent the user, as it allows users to simultaneously view their physical body, that of others, and the virtual world.
In contrast, current virtual reality headsets isolate the viewer from the physical environment and track only head and hand positions, leaving the rest of the body’s information to be either lost or inferred from the viewer’s position.
Body language and facial expressions are preserved in CAVEs, allowing groups of learners to participate in educational immersive environments.
There is a strong feeling of co-presence, because the learners are able to see and interact with other members of the group as they normally do.
How does virtual reality affect social interaction?
Virtual content has a significant impact on nonverbal behavior, task performance, and social connectedness.
What is the first-person experience of body transfer in virtual reality?
A virtual body can be assigned body ownership. Bottom-up perceptual mechanisms can temporarily override top-down knowledge, resulting in a radical illusion of body ownership transfer that is difficult to dispel.
How are extraneous variables used?
The term “extraneous variable” refers to any variable that is not specifically being studied in an experiment or test. Extraneous variables and confounding variables are those variables that are undesirable.
What ways do researchers attempt to control extraneous variables?
The researchers try to control extraneous variables in a variety of ways.
In this approach, experimental groups are randomly assigned treatments.
Matching is another important technique.
Define spatial presence?
Self-location and possible action-perceived behaviors in the virtual mediated environment are two dimensions of spatial presence.
How Is the independent samples t-test used in IVEs?
The independent samples t-test compares the means of two independent groups to determine whether the associated population means are statistically significant. It’s a parametric test that uses independent samples in immersive technology to learn problem-solving skills.
What’s the UNXIVE Model and how is it used?
Virtual reality technologies like UNXIVE (User Experience In Immersive Virtual Environment) are advancing rapidly, as are learning virtual environments that emphasize learners’ engaged behaviors, pedagogical value, and knowledge transfer.
Digital learning games have emerged as a result of the digital age.
Web, e-mail, and video conferencing are the only conventional techniques available for these games today.
Virtual learning environments (VLEs) are new types of games that fully exploit advanced technologies, such as virtual reality, by using the UXIVE model in game design.
How is the parallel mediation model used in IVEs?
Multiple variables mediate the relationship between X and Y in parallel mediation. This model is used in IVE technology to simulate personal experiences like embodying animals in IVEs and to identify causes of cyber sickness with samples that lead to practical solutions.
