Immersive Environments and Virtual Reality: Systematic Review and Advances in Communication, Interaction and Simulation

Jose Rubio-Tamayo,Manuel Gertrudix Barrio,Francisco García García

doi:10.3390/mti1040021

Jose Rubio-Tamayo, Manuel Gertrudix Barrio + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/mti1040021

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Abstract

Today, virtual reality and immersive environments are lines of research which can be applied to numerous scientific and educational domains. Immersive digital media needs new approaches regarding its interactive and immersive features, which means the design of new narratives and relationships with users. Additionally, ICT (information and communication theory) evolves through more immersive and interactive scenarios, it being necessary to design and conceive new forms of representing information and improving users’ interaction with immersive environments. Virtual reality and technologies associated with the virtuality continuum, such as immersive and digital environments, are emerging media. As a medium, this approach may help to build and represent ideas and concepts, as well as developing new languages. This review analyses the cutting-edge expressive, interactive and representative potential of immersive digital technologies. It also considers future possibilities regarding the evolution of these immersive technologies, such as virtual reality, in coming years, in order to apply them to diverse scientific, artistic or informational and educational domains. We conclude that virtual reality is an ensemble of technological innovations, but also a concept, and propose models to link it with the latest in other domains such as UX (user experience), interaction design. This concept can help researchers and developers to design new experiences and conceive new expressive models that can be applied to a wide range of scientific lines of research and educational dynamics.

Highlights

Immersive and interactive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), are a new milestone in the way we interact with our environment, and even how we conceive new approaches in our relationship with reality
How can we build a culture of a medium, based on VR and immersive environments? How can we describe and analyse the language that evolves in that medium?
We have identified the more relevant information about every research area, mainly, human factors and VR and immersive environments in the same contents block, analysing the different applications and advances in research in these domains

Summary

Introduction

Immersive and interactive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), are a new milestone in the way we interact with our environment, and even how we conceive new approaches in our relationship with reality. As virtual reality can be a powerful tool to bring about changes in social reality itself, it is necessary to define and analyse its potential implications and influence on how new media and communication technologies can create new messages and cultural approaches Languages are understood as the expression of cultural reality [2] and ways of interacting with technology and the environment [3], as well as a natural language interface [4]

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