Augmented Virtuality: A Study of Presence in the Dwelling of Virtual Architecture

Augmented virtuality (AV) is a technology that superimposes virtual elements onto the real world. This research study investigates the potential of AV to emulate inhabiting, through a dual experience in which the sensation of user presence is evaluated in an atmospheric scene of virtual reality (VR) and AV. The study involved two groups of participants, one group who experienced a VR environment and one group who experienced an AV environment. The AV environment incorporated the construction of a scenography built from the virtual scene with physical and atmospheric elements. The presence instruments revealed a result in favor of the AV experience, denoting the ease with which visitors adapted to the virtual environment, despite the limited visual fidelity. It is concluded that augmenting the virtual experience can demonstrate the value of presence in architectural representation, when participants are observed to act as dwellers of the virtual space and not just spectators.