Slide deck for presentation made to IASummit 2017 in Vancouver, B.C., March 26th, 2016 at 10:15AM. Talk describes how presence can be used as a way to talk about the user experience of interacting with blended and virtual environments in virtual, mixed, and augmented reality contexts.
17. “… THE SENSE OF BEING PRESENT
IN TIME OR SPACE AT A PARTICULAR
LOCATION. THUS, PRESENCE IS A
COGNITIVE STATE WHICH OCCURS
WHEN THE BRAIN PROCESSES AND
MAKES USE OF THE MYRIAD OF
STIMULUS INFORMATION IMPINGING
ON THE HUMAN SENSORY SYSTEM.”
20. [1] Presence (a shortened version of the term “telepresence”) is a psychological state or subjective perception in which even though part or all of an
individual’s current experience is generated by and/or filtered through human-made technology, part or all of the individual’s perception fails to accurately
acknowledge the role of the technology in the experience. Except in the most extreme cases, the individual can indicate correctly that s/he is using the
technology, but at *some level* and to *some degree*, her/his perceptions overlook that knowledge and objects, events, entities, and environments are
perceived as if the technology was not involved in the experience. Experience is defined as a person’s observation of and/or interaction with objects, entities,
and/or events in her/his environment; perception, the result of perceiving, is defined as a meaningful interpretation of experience.
[2] All experience of the physical world is mediated by the human senses and complex perceptual processes. This experience, identified by some scholars as
“first order” mediated experience, is the “normal” or “natural” way we perceive the physical world and provides a subjective sensation of being present in our
environment (constituting a broader conception of the term “presence” – i.e., not a shortened version of “telepresence”). Although this “first order” mediated
experience generally provides perceptions that correspond to the true nature of the physical world, it can also provide perceptions that do not correspond to
the true nature of the physical world; presence refers to the subset of human experience in which this misperception involves, at least in part, the actual role of
technology in the experience: Presence occurs when part or all of an individual’s experience is mediated not only by the human senses and perceptual
processes but also by human-made technology (i.e., “second order” mediated experience) while the person perceives the experience as if it is only mediated
by human senses and perceptual processes (i.e., “first order mediated experience). Thus, presence requires researchers to compare human perceptions and
responses in the context of technology with human perceptions and responses in contexts that do not involve technology (often referred to as “face-to-face” or
“interpersonal” contexts or, somewhat confusingly, “nonmediated” or “real” contexts).
[3] Technology is defined as a machine, device, or other application of human industrial arts. It includes traditional and emerging electronic media such as
television, radio, film, the telephone, computers, virtual reality, and simulation rides; traditional print media such as newspapers, books, and magazines; and
traditional arts such as painting and sculpture. Technologies used to correct deficiencies in “normal” perception of the physical world (e.g., eye-glasses and
hearing-aids) as well as those designed to augment or enhance perception are included. Most technologies provide stimuli to the human sense apparatus, but
this definition also includes technologies that provide stimuli directly to the human neural processing system.
[4] Presence is a property of an individual and varies across people and time; it is not a property of a technology or one of the technologies commonly referred
to as a medium, although technologies or media with specific constellations of characteristics are likely to evoke a similar set of presence responses across
individuals and across time (e.g., an IMAX 3D presentation typically produces greater presence in viewers than a small television presentation)
[5] A person’s sense of presence can vary in degree: Presence does not occur when a technology user’s perceptions fully and accurately acknowledge the
role of technology in an experience (e.g., a television viewer might accurately perceive that s/he is watching a human-made technology and that the images on
the small box in her/his living room are merely representations of objects, events, and people that may or may not exist elsewhere). Presence is greater, but
not maximized, when a technology user’s perceptions only partially acknowledge the actual role of technology in the experience (e.g., the user of an advanced
virtual reality system may simultaneously be consciously aware of – i.e., think about – the nature of the technology that is generating her/his experience,
accurately acknowledging the technological channel through which the experience has been generated, but nevertheless also perceive that s/he is inside the
technology-generated environment). Presence is maximized when a technology user’s perceptions fail to accurately acknowledge any role of the technology in
the experience (e.g., the user of a sophisticated flight simulator may, at least for short periods, be completely unaware of the technological channel through
which the experience has been generated and perceive that s/he is actually flying an aircraft).
[6] Presence occurs during an encounter with technology and not before or after this encounter (although the consequences/effects of presence can occur
after the encounter). Presence occurs in an “instant by instant” manner. Although it appears that presence is a continuous rather than dichotomous variable, it
has not been determined whether 1) presence can exist in varying degrees at each instant (as it seems) or 2) our sense that presence is continuous is the
result of the cumulative effect of instants, which may be as short as milliseconds, in which presence either does or does not exist.
In either case, as a misperception regarding the role of technology in an experience, presence can be “broken” by external events or internal mental processes
that bring the true nature of the experience to the person’s conscious awareness, at which point presence is reduced or extinguished.
7] Presence is a multi-dimensional concept; i.e., there are different types of presence. Little is currently known concerning which types exist but several (in
many cases nonorthogonal or overlapping) dimensions have been proposed by different scholars; researchers are beginning to empirically test the validity of
some of these dimensions. Some argue that the types should be divided into those that involve perceptions of physical environments, those that involve
perceptions of social interaction, and those that involve both of these. In identifying dimensions of presence it is important to distinguish between
antecedents/causes of presence, presence itself, and consequences/effects of presence. Major proposed dimensions include:
[7a] “Spatial presence,” “physical presence,” “a sense of physical space,” “perceptual immersion,” “transportation” and “a sense of being there” occur when
part or all of a person’s perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of technology that makes it appear that s/he is in a physical location and
environment different from her/his actual location and environment in the physical world.
An example: A variety of stimuli provided by a virtual reality system can cause the user to perceive that s/he is moving through and interacting with the
environment created by the technology rather than the user’s actual physical environment; the user may comment, “It seemed as if I was someplace else!”
[7b] “Sensory presence,” “perceptual realism,” “naturalness,” “ecological validity”, and “tactile engagement” occur when part or all of a person’s perception fails
to accurately acknowledge the role of technology that makes it appear that s/he is in a physical location and environment in which the sensory characteristics
correspond to those of the physical world, i.e., s/he perceives that the objects, events, and/or people s/he encounters look, sound, smell, feel, etc. as they do
or would in the physical world. Note that although technology-generated environments that look, sound, etc. the same as environments in the physical world
are more likely to evoke this, and perhaps other, type(s) of presence, it is the *perception* that the sensory characteristics of the technology-generated
environment and those of the physical world correspond that defines this type of presence rather than the *actual* correspondence of the characteristics.
An example: Because it provides large, high resolution, three-dimensional images and high fidelity, dimensional sound, a 3D IMAX film presentation can cause
the viewer to perceive that s/he is in an environment that looks and sounds as the viewer believes it does or would in the physical world; the user may
comment, “It seemed so real!”
[7c] “Social realism” occurs when part or all of a person’s perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of technology that makes it appear that s/he is in
a physical location and environment in which the social characteristics correspond to those of the physical world, i.e., s/he perceives that the objects, events,
and/or people s/he encounters do or could exist in the physical world. Note that although technology-generated environments in which objects, people, and
events act as they do in the physical world are more likely to evoke this, and perhaps other, type(s) of presence, it is the *perception* that the social
characteristics of the technology-generated environment and those of the physical world correspond that defines this type of presence rather than the *actual*
correspondence of the characteristics.
An example: A well written, well acted, filmed version of events that have occurred in the physical world can lead the film viewer to perceive that s/he is in an
environment in which objects, events, and people act and/or respond in the way(s) the viewer believes they did or would in the physical world; the user may
comment, “It seemed so realistic!”
[7d] “Engagement,” “involvement,” and “psychological immersion” occur when part or all of a person’s perception is directed toward objects, events, and/or
people created by the technology, and away from objects, events, and/or people in the physical world. Note that the person’s perception is not directed toward
the technology itself but the objects, events and/or people the technology creates.
An example: A virtual reality system, 3D IMAX film, or a well written and acted film can cause the user or viewer to devote all of her/his mental effort to
processing the stimuli created by the technology and ignore stimuli (e.g., other people, equipment, furniture, etc.) in her/his actual physical environment; the
user may comment, “It was so involving!”
[7e] “Social presence” (distinct from social *realism*) occurs when part or all of a person’s perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of technology
that makes it appear that s/he is communicating with one or more other people or entities.
“Social actor within the medium” and “parasocial interaction” occur when part or all of a person’s perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of
technology in her/his perception that s/he is engaged in two-way communication with another person or people, or with an artificial entity (e.g., a computer
“agent”), when the communicationis in fact one-way, from the technology to the person without feedback from the person to the other entity(ies).
An example: Those who create and appear in television programs use a variety of techniques (e.g., direct address and sincerity) that can lead the viewer to feel
that s/he is interacting with and/or in a “relationship” with the personalities and characters s/he encounters; the user may comment, “It seemed like we were
interacting!”
“Co-presence” and “transportation: shared space” occur when part or all of a person’s perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of technology in
her/his perception that the person or people with whom s/he is engaged in two-way communication is/are in the same physical location and environment
when in fact they are in a different physical location.
An example: Advanced video-conferencing systems can create for a user the illusion that s/he is in a face-to-face meeting in which all the participants are in the
same room; the user may comment, “It felt like we were all together there!”
“Medium as social actor” occurs when part or all of a person’s perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of technology in her/his perception that s/he
is engaged in communicationwith another entity when in fact the other entity is merely a technology or medium (e.g., computer, television, etc.).
An example: The ability of a computer to interact with a user in real-time, use human (rather than machine or technical) language, and fill a social role (e.g.,
bank teller or teacher) can lead even an experienced user to follow social norms (e.g., regarding gender stereotypes and third-party evaluations) that are
usually reserved for human-human interaction; the user might not be aware of this phenomenon, but if s/he is, s/he may comment, “It seemed like a person!”
[8] There is currently disagreement regarding whether presence that occurs in the context of non-interactive (“passive” or “audio-visual”)technologies (e.g.,
television and film) is comparable with presence that occurs in the context of interactive (“active” or “motor”) technologies (e.g., computers and virtual reality).
[9] A number of types of misperceptions of the physical world seem to be examples of presence (short for “telepresence”) as defined here: the hearing of voices
by schizophrenics; perceptions during dreams and daydreams, and less clearly, perceptions during role-playing games and perceptions that result from the use
of various drugs. While these types of misperceptions typically do not fit the definition of presence (short for “telepresence”) because they do not involve a
misperception regarding the role of human-made technology in experience (i.e., the distinction between “first order” and “second order” mediated experience),
they are related to the broader conception of the term “presence” (i.e., not a shortened version of “telepresence”) because they concern misperceptions in “first
order” mediated experience, the subjective sensation of being present in a certain environment, and as such they are worthy of study.
[10] The exact nature and location of the processing that results in presence is not known. It is likely that our initial and immediate responses to external
stimuli (i.e., sensations) are identical when the external stimuli are created by or filtered through technology and when the external stimuli are not created by
or filtered through technology (i.e., the role of technology is not acknowledged in the former situation). It may be that in some cases processing continues
“automatically” and the possible role of technology in generating the experience is not evaluated, while in other cases a “higher order” or “active” or “conscious”
evaluation is made regarding the possible role of technology (a role which may or may not be accurately recognized). It may be that parallel streams of
processing occur during perception, so that when we have a sense of presence we simultaneously acknowledge the role of technology in one stream and fail to
do so in another, thus we can be “aware” that we are using a technology (e.g., a virtual reality system) but simultaneously perceive objects, entities, and events
we encounter (e.g., sharp objects, avatars, etc.) as if no technology was involved. It is also possible that people encourage or discourage their own sense of
presence by directing their attention away from aspects of their experience that serve to remind them of the role of technology in it (e.g., when virtual reality is
used in treatment of psychological phobias).
[11] A large number of possible causes of some or all of the different types of presence have been proposed; the causes may function individually or in various
interactions to evoke presence. Although the causes are of particular interest to those who study the role of technology in experience, many of them are
relevant to presence-related phenomena that occur in the context of “first order” mediated experience (see [2] above) – i.e., experience in which technology
plays no role, as well. These causes include but are not limited to:
Characteristics of media/technology *form* such as the number and consistency of sensory outputs, image size and quality, viewing distance, use of motion and
color, audio volume and fidelity, visual and aural dimensionality, subjective camera techniques such as direct address, obtrusiveness of the technology,
technology size and shape, and a number of variables related to interactivity.
Characteristics of media/technology *content* such as social realism (i.e., believability), quality of writing, quality of acting, physical appearance of
actors/personalities, fame or notoriety of actors/personalities, use of media conventions, and the nature of the task or activity.
Characteristics of the media/technology *user* such as her/his willingness to suspend disbelief, knowledge of and prior experience with the technology, age,
and gender.
[12] A large number of possible consequences of some or all of the different types of presence have been proposed and serve as motivations for further study of
presence. The consequences may occur individually or in various combinations and depend on a large number of complex interacting factors (see 11 above].
Although the consequences are of particular interest to those who study the role of technology in experience, all of them can occur in the context of “first order”
mediated experience (see [2] above) – i.e., experience in which technology plays no role, as well. These consequences include but are not limited to:
Increases or decreases in physiological arousal; feelings of self-motion (vection), motion sickness, enjoyment, empathy, learning, improved task performance
and skill training, psychological desensitization, connectedness (involvement, mutuality, engagement) with other people (e.g., media personalities), parasocial
relationships, a number of different emotional responses, persuasion, and distorted memory and social judgments.
21. [1] Presence (a shortened version of the term
“telepresence”) is a psychological state or
subjective perception in which even though part
or all of an individual’s current experience is
generated by and/or filtered through human-
made technology, part or all of the individual’s
perception fails to accurately acknowledge the
role of the technology in the experience.
22. Presence
The Subjective experience of being in one
place or environment, even when one is
physically situated in another. – Witmer and
Singer (1998)
50. A small sample of named concepts
in Information Architecture:
• Affordance
• Channel
• Content
• Context
• Data
• Ecosystem
• Experience
• Facet
• Frame
• Information
• Interface
• Meaning
• Navigation
• Placemaking
• User
• Etc.
75. Recap
• Define Presence
• Theoretical problems with the lack of a concept of presence in
virtual, mixed, and augmented
• The problems of multiple immersion factors in virtual reality
and mixed reality devices
• How presence effects the practice of information architecture
• Using measures and tests to discover presence in virtual and
mixed reality
• Tools can be used to facilitate presence and avoiding the
presence Noid
76. T. Zachary Frazier
PhD Student at University of South
Carolina
Research focuses on information
behavior and creativity in design
Twitter: @wildbookchase
78. Thank You!
• A special thanks to: The IA Summit Committee,
Adam Polansky, all those who encouraged me to
submit, the Dutchess, Jessica Dame, Dr.
Samantha K. Hastings, Dr. Chuck Curran, Dr. Paul
Solomon, George Shaw, Dr. R. David Lankes, The
School of Library and Information Science at The
University of South Carolina for their financial
support, and I am sure the IMLS was involved in
this somehow.
79. Further Reading
Bachelard, G., Danielewski, M. Z., & Kearney, R. (2014). The Poetics of Space.
(M. Jolas, Trans.) (Revised ed. edition). Penguin Classics.
Barfield, W., & Furness, T. A. (1995). Virtual environments and advanced
interface design. New York: Oxford University Press.
Benedikt, M. (1994). Cyberspace: first steps. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: MIT
Press.*
Hinton, A. (2015). Understanding context: environment, language, and
information architecture.
Michael Heim. (1994). The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Waterworth, J. A., & Hoshi, K. (2016). Human-experiential design of presence
in everyday blended reality: living in the here and now.
*Added based on advice from an audience member
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92. Copyright notice
• This presentation is an educational work.
Images reproduced within this
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with the creators of the image, or image
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Editor's Notes
I would like to talk to you today about presence and what that concept means for information architecture.
My talk is about how presence can be used to as a focus for practice. So it will be less to do with the idea of information architect’s meditating and practicing mindfulness, though that’s cool.
. We’ll look at how we understand information spaces, particularly virtual and mixed reality environments that require complex information components to be embedded within them.
I’ve been interested in how information systems and environments deal with space since 2011 when as I attended InfoCamp: Berkeley.
One of the keynotes highlighted amongst other things, some work that Microsoft Research had done, combining space and information for big history visualization.
The visualizations reminded me of working with microforms and microcard, using this technology it seemed like we could network knowledge together visually,
fulfilling some of what HG Wells and Vannevar Bush envisioned with the world brain and Memex.
This was the point when I started to think about how information systems will change as they become less tied to a monitor.
What do we need to do to make information systems usable when they’re embedded in virtual reality or overlaid in such a way to be indistinguishable from the real?
As I’ve thought about these and other questions, I have looked for ways to engage with the subject with limited resources. I have read HCI literature on virtual reality, design manuals for mixed reality, and some of the defining texts of information architecture.
I’ve wondered how will users find the information they need to navigate the virtual worlds that we will begin to inhabit? My explorations led me to “discover” a key term and the subject of this talk, presence.
This presentation will not feature extensive VR demos, and will likely be a bit heavy on theory.
I am primarily an academic
but I will be presenting some of the existing frameworks for testing presence, and a few design insights which you may find useful.
In order to solve problems caused by the shifting contexts of our computer interface paradigms, Information architecture needs a way to be able to speak about both users and information in complex environments. In much the same way as information architecture had to appropriate or develop language from other disciplines to deal with the challenge of developing in both desktop and mobile environments, information architecture must now do for virtual and mixed contexts. The term that we might be temped to go to immersion doesn’t work because one can be involved in an experience technologically facilitated experience that is immersive and still be pulled out of it by attention, affective, and other cognitive factors.
As an example; As an example, when I saw Avatar I was totally immersed in the movie, until the theater erupted in celebration at a moment I thought was inappropriate. Then I was pulled out of the experience of watching the film in iMax 3d, and left the theater realizing how mediocre the film was. My presence in the immersion had been disrupted.
Immersion doesn’t work because one can be involved in an experience that is immersive and still be pulled out of it by attention, affective, and other cognitive factors. To get understand and design for experience we need presence.
Presence, as a term used in relation to virtual reality has been in use for a fairly long time. In 1995, Barfield et al, defined presence in a chapter in Virtual Environments and advanced interface design as: “… the sense of being present in time or space at a particular location. Thus, presence is a cognitive state which occurs when the brain process and makes use of the myriad of stimulus information impinging on the human sensory system.” Barfield and company later argue that presence is essential for understand how humans perceive and interact with virtual environments.
Further extending and operationalizing presence happens in the context of virtual reality when the user have sufficient ability to control sensors, effect the environment, and enough sensory information that the mind is fooled.
The International Society for the study of presence currently offers a definition of presence that has 12 numbers sections. The first describes presences as:
“a psychological state or subjective perception in which even though part or all of an individual’s current experience is generated by and/or filtered through human-made technology, part or all of the individual’s perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of the technology in the experience. Except in the most extreme cases, the individual can indicate correctly that s/he is using the technology, but at *some level* and to *some degree*, her/his perceptions overlook that knowledge and objects, events, entities, and environments are perceived as if the technology was not involved in the experience.”
This of course, can be shortened to the “the subjective experience of being in one place or environment, even when one is physically situated in another” as articulated by Witmer and Salter. On face this seems to be resolved by the idea of immersion, however, recent conceptualizations recognize that a technology providing good sensational input and the ability to manipulate virtual environments does not make for a good experience.
I’m cautious to say that virtual reality has arrived as a computing paradigm. I agree with several technology pundits that its role is probably limited,
, and that mixed and augmented reality are probably the future of computing interfaces. However, mixed contexts are still a bit farther off, but VR is here in a big way.
This is true not just in terms of commercial availability of headsets but also in terms of easy of use, and ability to develop applications.
We’ve heard of Occulus Rift, Playstation VR, and Steam’s HTC Vive. Some of us may even have one or multiple of these devices at this point. But VR is far more available than that.
Each one of you is holding a virtual reality device. Google cardboard which is available for android and IOS devices, is a VR platform. Google has purposefully pushed VR to the masses. And depending on your head mount there are augmented reality programs that will work for cardboard as well. With every device a VR headset, all that’s left is to develop VR applications
How many people here can program with Javascript, or know someone who can?
You all know a potential VR developer. The image on the screen is an example of WebVR. WebVR, supported by MozillaVR is a javascript API for developing VR experiences with web browser. Yes, anyone who can work in Javascript can write VR applications and experiences that will run in a compatible web browser.
As these technologies have developed further, Information Architects, Designers, and UX professionals have begun thinking about these spaces. As evidenced by recent writing by Shanon Marks on boxes and arrows, and Joe Sokhol’s fantastic blog post on Augmented reality on the interactions blog.
My concern is that in the present we don’t have a way to understand the users experience in these environments. Rather we seem to see these spaces as difficult chaotic places where are art and craft become unstable As a result our impulse when we have difficult task for the users we create either an object or an event to serve as a prompt to spur them on.
However, in a commercial VR space, as on a commercial web space,
the many demands of the client’s business, or the venture will be competing for the attention of the user. How do we navigate these competing demands? If tasks become unclear users will fail in these spaces.
Beyond the coming rush on users attention, The fact that users interact
with these environments means that like their interactions with the real world, information needs will arise. A task will be to difficult, an object may arise curiosity. To resolve these information needs users will engage in search using whatever tools are available to them. That could be as complicated as taking off the headset, walking over to the computer, tabbing, or closing, the VR program, finding the answer using Google, and then if you’re lucky returning to the program, and hopefully the takes they work working on. This creates a tremendous amount of baggage that the user brings back into their experience.
Space and interactions need to be designed to take advantage of the immersion of virtual reality, or seamlessness with a mixed reality context. This means developing an information systems within virtual experiences to help users achieve their goals, and find the information they need. We can’t think of these as small contained pet projects, simple skeumophic maps, or a constrained linear journeys anymore. Designing for these spaces must create complex information environments contained with the applications for quality user experience.
Jamie in a video game but they keeps dying and can’t figure out the answer to the door puzzle to escape. In order to progress they has to figure it out.
After their fifth try they decides to see how other people have solved the puzzle.
Taylor needs to pay their cell phone bill but has a question, they sees that while there isn’t a store near by they can talk to a virtual representative on the companies new VR website.
They log in and are immediately bombarded with offers. After figuring out how to ignore floating billboards, they still cannot find where to go to talk to the virtual agent.
Jean, is looking at buying a couch for their office.
An augmented reality app on their tablet lets them see how it would look in their location. After seeing that it fits, Jean wants to see how it would look in another color.
In each of the above scenarios the user has an information need that has to be met or they will fail, or they will become frustrated and leave. Either way without a concept to help us develop a solution for their problems, a way to understand their experience, As information architects we can’t do our jobs.
In addition to the problem of information needs, we also have to deal with the fact that while we may be using a common framework like webvr to deliver content, there are currently 6 major and different commercial virtual reality units.
Each with its own interaction framework, frame rate, depth of field, etcetera, that immerse users in there experience.
Just like with IA and web design needing a way to address vastly different screen sizes, there will be the same issue in information architecture .
Fortunately I think that as we develop and figure out how to integrate information technology into our lives as mart of the internet of things this conceptual framework while bolster by presence is something Ias are will equipped to handel.
So, now that we have defined presence how do we use this idea? First, it allows us to name the experience of users in virtual environments. Naming the experience is important. We have definitive ideas for much of the activities that users do in the spaces in which we currently work. Just as search, practice, browsing, and encountering have all refined information science’s ability to describe behavior presence enables information architects to talk about how users are perceiving virtual and mixed environments.
In addition to expanding information architectures ability to conceptualize and discuss what users go through in an actualized level, presence also is a term that helps us empathize with users. We’re all meat bodies in meat space. Context. The idea of asking ourselves how the information environments we create affects presence, is an easy exercise in activating mirror neurons and placing ourselves in another persons shoes. All of us are present in our own experiences. You are present now, in the context of this talk, unless your checking twitter, in which case that app on your phone, and the twitter fire hose has your attention, and you are present in the context of using that app within the temporal spatial instance of this talk. My point is that we have all experience presence. Phrasing user experience in this way helps us build an empathetic connection with our users.
I just mentioned the spatio-temporal instance of this talk. Talking about time is tricky. But when we think about experience in time, our current way of designing is less reliant on a cohesive experience in time. Users can generally tab away or even leave the window and come back without affecting their experience within the context of the task. However VR will likely be closer in temporality to real life than online, where moving to get information will not “stop time” in the virtual environment.
This is especially true when the virtual environment is co-inhabited by multiple users. For instance a meeting in a Virtual environment, or in a customer service interaction in virtual reality where users are attempting to trouble shoot some problem with a customer service representative. In mixed reality and augmented reality contexts the need for a temporal persistency of presence, is even more clear as these environments are much closer to “the real”.
There are several tests that we can use to evaluate how our virtual environments are facilitating user experience and presence, by making presence the focus of the evaluation. Many of these are familiar adaptations of tests that we already use. These are adapted from Bowman and Gabbard, and have a long history of use in HCI and evaluation of virtual enviroments
This test is basically, story boarding or flow charting the course users should take, to complete tasks and listing in an systematic way what supports that action in the virtual enviroments.
Formative evaluations involve testing representative users by isolating them with a specific task scenario and evaluating them based on metrics. If there isn’t a voice input in the virtual reality application, you can also use think aloud to build a qualitative understanding.
Smith and Hart (2006) proposed Cooperative evaluation, which mixed think aloud protocols with co-creation involving a more open dialog between facilitator and test participant. Then encourage using this approach with a variant of mixed methodologies that quantify, high and low priority problems found in the evaluation.
)): a method in which several usability experts separately evaluate a user interface design (probably a prototype) by applying a set of “heuristics” or design guidelines that are relevant. No representative users are involved. Results from the several experts are then combined and ranked
This is the best practice evaluation seen in Neilson’s book 100 web pages which evaluates 100 sites based on best practices
As mentioned above, the most common way to test virtual environments is post use questionaires. These have obvious problems. Staging tasks IE may help. By that I mean breaking the experience into sections and running users tests in groups, where Each group moves through more sections until one group runs through the entire section and using post experience questionnaires with each group.
Idea been around for a while Kahnemen et al early as 1967 showed correlation between pupil dilation and task difficulty. In addition to measuring instances of cognitive strain, which can take away from, or enhance presence. Recent VR technology is using gaze as a control mechanism for interactions in virtual reality. Researchers and developers are further using eye tracking to enhance communication in telepresence contexts and emotional responses to digital agents by harnessing gaze and other eye tracking data.
Now that we’ve seen how the problems presence can help with, how its defined, and how we can test it, lets talk about a few tools that might be able to help with presence.
Last year Jose Aragano gave a fantastic talk about the design of Disneyland. Aragano analyzed its design using a framework developed by Kevin Lynch in his book, the image of the city. Lynch’s concern about the development of cities as a legible image is similar to the challenge faced by designers building virtual environment. Lynch argues that the image of the city is made up of five parts. Paths, edges, districts, landmarks, and nodes.
Paths:
Paths are the channel that the observer customarily, occasinaly, or potentially moves. Lynch writes that for many these elements are the predominant ones.
Edges:
Edges are often linear elements, not consider paths, they are boundries betwee two faces. Linear breaks in continituity. Shores, fences, a railroad cut.
Districts
Districts are medium to large sections of the city, conceived as having a two dimensional aspect, which the observer is inside of. Normally having some identifiable characteristic. IE a neighborhood, a development, an out door mall.
Landmarks
Objects that we orient ourselves along. External points of reference that serve to locate us within our environment. Near or far, these objects make place, by their mere presence and visibility.
Nodes
Nodes are locations where users ingress into the image or choose and change paths.
Using these concepts we can knit together a virtual environment that allows users to navigate within a cohesive image. Presence is enhanced by this legible image
You should definitely check out Jorge Arango’s presentation from last years I A summit in Atlanta.
When focusing on presence, its critical to avoid the noid.
Today’s talk uses the “introduction” of this term as a way to discuss some of the very real challenges, and potential solutions that IA will face in the near future due to the incredibly dynamic and ecological frameworks that technology will transport from screen to space. To illustrate the point I will begin by defining Presences and discuss issue with the way in which Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality, and Augmented reality have been in the absence of this concept. This is a general, not an exhaustive critique. Then I’ll discuss the problems of immersion factors with virtual reality and mixed reality devices. Then I will talk about presence, and how it allows the evocation IA and UX in Virtual and Mixed environments. We’ll talk about how presence can be measured and tested to understand user experience. Finally we’ll talk about what tools can be used to facilitate presence.
Hello, My name is Zachary Frazier. I am a doctoral student at the university of South Carolina, recovering pun addict, and occasionally work as an information architect.
Cyberspace: First steps was added on the advice of an audience member.