Experimental investigations into the feasibility of using augmented walking to facilitate the intuitive exploration of large scale immersive virtual environments

Abstract

Through the use of Immersive Virtual Environments (IVE) technology, we seek to enable participants to experience a computer-represented environment in the same way as they would if it were actually real. Although the state of the technology is not sufficient, at present, to mimic the experience of reality with such fidelity as to raise ambiguity in peoples' minds about whether the environment that they are immersed in is real or virtual, there are many indications that IVEs in their present state can be successfully used as a substitute for real environments for many purposes, including job training, psychotherapy and social psychology. Much recent and historical research in the field of virtual reality (VR) has focused on the question of how much and what type of fidelity (visual, auditory, haptic, proprioceptive, etc.) we need to maintain between a virtual and real experience in order to enable participants to achieve similar results from their VR experience as they would in reality.