Abstract
Plenty of theories, models, measures, and investigations target the understanding of virtual presence, i.e., the sense of presence in immersive Virtual Reality (VR). Other varieties of the so-called eXtended Realities (XR), e.g., Augmented and Mixed Reality (AR and MR) incorporate immersive features to a lesser degree and continuously combine spatial cues from the real physical space and the simulated virtual space. This blurred separation questions the applicability of the accumulated knowledge about the similarities of virtual presence and presence occurring in other varieties of XR, and corresponding outcomes. The present work bridges this gap by analyzing the construct of presence in mixed realities (MR). To achieve this, the following presents (1) a short review of definitions, dimensions, and measurements of presence in VR, and (2) the state of the art views on MR. Additionally, we (3) derived a working definition of MR, extending the Milgram continuum. This definition is based on entities reaching from real to virtual manifestations at one time point. Entities possess different degrees of referential power, determining the selection of the frame of reference. Furthermore, we (4) identified three research desiderata, including research questions about the frame of reference, the corresponding dimension of transportation, and the dimension of realism in MR. Mainly the relationship between the main aspects of virtual presence of immersive VR, i.e., the place-illusion, and the plausibility-illusion, and of the referential power of MR entities are discussed regarding the concept, measures, and design of presence in MR. Finally, (5) we suggested an experimental setup to reveal the research heuristic behind experiments investigating presence in MR. The present work contributes to the theories and the meaning of and approaches to simulate and measure presence in MR. We hypothesize that research about essential underlying factors determining user experience (UX) in MR simulations and experiences is still in its infancy and hopes this article provides an encouraging starting point to tackle related questions.
Highlights
The construct of presence is strongly linked with user experience in Virtual Reality (VR) (e.g., Skarbez et al, 2018)
Other variants have less immersive features and continuously interfere with the real physical space. Those variants that allow for fluent transitions between virtual and physical realities question the interplay between virtual and physical referential cues and their consequences for corresponding outcomes
Based on these new ideas, we identify three research desiderata, including research questions about the referential power of entities occurring in MR, the corresponding dimension of transportation, and the dimension of realism in MR
Summary
The construct of presence is strongly linked with user experience in Virtual Reality (VR) (e.g., Skarbez et al, 2018). In our opinion, detaching from environmental entities as anchor cues is the essential assumption to discuss the spatial presence in MR Based on these new ideas, we identify three research desiderata, including research questions about the referential power of entities occurring in MR, the corresponding dimension of transportation (i.e., place-illusion in VR), and the dimension of realism (i.e., plausibility-illusion in VR) in MR. In our opinion, detaching from environmental entities as anchor cues is the essential assumption to discuss spatial presence in MR From this point of view, we discuss in the following subsection how we can operationalize the degree of real or virtual entity manifestations of MR experiences as one possibility to determine objectively the position of the mRVC. On the other hand, overcoming the distinction between environments and objects (by introducing entities possessing different degrees of referential power) leads to the RD1, including the following research questions: C-RQ 1.1: Do users have/need a dominant reference frame in MR experience? The results would indicate how the sense of transportation (i.e., place-illusion in VR) or realism (i.e., plausibility-illusion in VR) are evaluated in MR
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