Immersion

=IMMERSION / PRESENCE=

toc Immersion is a term used in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) evaluations. It is one of the basic elements of a VR, thought to be positively correlated with the quality of the experience. Some researchers describe it as a sensation of being "there" or immersed within the manufactured environment. Advancements in technology, for the most part, have concentrated on mimicking natural experience in order to create a VR experience high in fidelity.

=Types=

Immersion or presence as it is also called in the field can be broken down into physical and mental. Physical involves the stimulus of bodily senses while mental immersion refers to the suspension of disbelief. Though to date, no one has achieved perfect immersion which would eliminate the line between reality and VR, several factors are highlighted as key influences on the experience. Presence literature often refers to other fundamental elements of VR as active factors on immersion. The construct of the virtual world, sensory feedback, and Interactivity are among these. Because limitations persist in modeling reality via technology, a high level of emphasis has been placed on mental immersion rather than all-around physical immersion, with visuals leading the way.

Physical / Sensory Immersion
Physical immersion is important element of a virtual reality experience which distinguishes VR from other media. It is achieved by presenting users with a world and synthetic stimuli to one or more of their senses based on participants’ location and in response to actions.


 * Components
 * perspective-dependent images to each eye
 * synchronized audio to ears
 * haptic information to body
 * haptic information to body

While the above sensory stimuli aid in establishing physical immersion, precision and balance between them is key. These qualities must change in response to the users’ movements. For instance, approaching targeted objects generally means the object must give off greater sound, be bigger in size and so forth when proximal. Haptic tools allow the user at least some degree of manual manipulation of the environment such as touching a wall.

Mental Immersion
Some researchers argue that, similarly to reading a book, mental immersion can be achieved by content of the medium alone. Because mental immersion is not as quantitatively controlled as physical immersion, it if often difficult to gauge the degree of necessary immersion or even how it is to be achieved. For different individuals under varying environments, mental presence is dictated by various factors. Hence, Just how much sensory immersion is necessary to produce mental immersion is another topic still under investigation.

Factors which come together in creating mental suspension of disbelief include:
 * Confluent Factors


 * **personally meaningful world** - covers the topic and presentation style of content aimed to engage.
 * **interactivity** - non-linear presentation of content through computer where participant can control action-specific responses. In order to be effective, interactivity must sometimes be limited for continuity of a narrative or path involved in a VR.
 * **resolution** - includes resolution of display modalities, spatial (amount of information in one image), temporal ( response to dynamic changes - eg. frame or sample rate).
 * **sensory coverage** - number of sensory displays presented as well as amount of coverage for each sense.

Controversies
Recently, researchers have begun to challenge the traditional model of VR by proposing top-down processes involved in mental presence/immersion. This would indicate that suspension of disbelief may not purely rely on the actual amount of physical stimulus, rather than the right kind to suit the target goal.

For instance, psychologists researching the role of VR in treatment of phobias have found that a world low in realism does not prevent immersion or engagement in the environment.

Related Articles
[|Virtual Reality: A Short Introduction]
 * [|Immersion vs. Interactivity: Virtual Reality and Literary Theory]
 * [|Human Intefacing Issues of Virtual Reality]


 * //Image//** **//Source//**

<[|http://www.iao.fraunhofer.de/d/images/IAO_PERSONAL%20IMMERSION.jpg]>

Chattoe, John. "AR and VR Medium". University of Toronto. CCIT, University of Toronto at Mississauga. 13 Jan. 2006.
 * Works Cited

IJsselsteijn, W. “Understanding Presence “. 2000. Eidnhoven University of Technology. 5 Feb. 2006 .

Robertson, Czerwinski, and Dantzich. "Immersion in Desktop Virtual Reality". 1997. Microsoft Research. 17 Feb. 2006 

Sherman, W.R. and Craig, A.B. __Understanding Virtual Reality Interface, Application, and Design.__ San Francisco:Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2003.