Abstract
Presence is the sense of being in a virtual environment when physically situated in another place. It is one of the key components of the overall virtual reality (VR) experience, as well as other immersive audio applications. However, there is no standardized method for measuring presence. In our previous study, we explored the possibility of using electroencephalography (EEG) to measure presence by using questionnaires as a reference. It was found that an increase in the subjective presence level was correlated with an increase in the theta/beta ratio (an index derived from EEG). In the present study, we re-analyzed the original data and found that the peak alpha frequency (PAF), another EEG index, may also have the potential to reflect the change in the subjective presence level. Specifically, an increase in the subjective presence level was found to be correlated with a decrease in PAF. Together with our previous study, these results indicate the potential use of EEG for the objective measurement of presence in the future.
Highlights
Presence is the participant’s physiological sense of “being there” in the virtual environment while physically situated in another place [1,2]
We found some clues that might shed light on research into this mechanism. It was found in the previous study that an increase in the subjective presence level was correlated with an increase in the theta/beta ratio [21]
The present study investigated the objective measurement of auditory presence using
Summary
Presence is the participant’s physiological sense of “being there” in the virtual environment while physically situated in another place [1,2]. Subjective measurement based on questionnaires is both valid and reliable since it reflects the subjective evaluation of the participants. Researchers have been exploring and improving objective methods of measuring presence. Objective measurement uses physiological signals from the body directly, and can be straightforward and in real time if conducted under strictly controlled conditions. It can prevent the break in presence (BIP) [3,12,13] caused by the act of answering the questionnaires, since participants are no longer required to leave the virtual environment
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