Connections between lighting impressions and presence in real and virtual environments

Abstract

A between groups experiment was carried out to assess whether positive correlations between responses relevant to subjective impressions of illumination and perceived presence could be identified after exposure to a Virtual Environment. In particular, a study that compares a real-world task situation to its computer graphics simulation counterpart is presented. The computer graphics simulation is based on photometry data acquired in the real-world space and is displayed mainly on Head Mounted Displays utilising either monocular or stereo imagery and interaction interfaces such as either the common mouse or head tracking. 105 participants across five conditions were exposed to the real and computer graphics environment and after completing a spatial task, were given two questionnaires: A presence questionnaire and a questionnaire investigating subjective responses to lighting. Relevant results show a positive correlation between presence and subjective impressions of lighting (e.g. 'warm', 'comfortable', 'spacious', etc.) for the HMD monocular conditions. How real-world responses for both presence and lighting could be incorporated into a computer graphics simulation is still an open research question.