Presence in Virtual Environments

Computer technology has been evolving for decades; thus, why should virtual environments (VE) be so fascinating? Undoubtedly, it is the conceived notion that one can step into a virtual environment, be transported to any desired place, and do things impossible in reality. Likely due to exaggerated portrayals in movies and books, to the general public the virtual experience appears limited only by one’s imagination. Current VE technology falls short of this ideal; however, it does allow users to have unique experiences, such as standing inside a molecule, which were never before possible. Yet, current VEs are certainly not realistic enough to dupe someone into perceiving the VE as physical reality. Virtual environments take advantage of the imaginative ability of people to “psychologically transport” their “presence” to another place that may not exist in reality. This concept is demonstrated when one becomes engrossed in a book or movie and attends to it to the exclusion of one’s surrounding environment. The primary characteristic distinguishing VEs from other means of displaying information is a focus on such immersion. Virtual environments add a dimension of physiological immersion by removing many real world sensations (e.g., obstructing the view of the real world via an head-mounted display HMD), while substituting sensations that would be imparted if the VE were real (e.g., the visual scenes of the virtual world).