Representing Built Environments with Digital Tools …
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technological development of sensory substitution is heading. Sutherland established
three characteristics of VR: immersion, interaction, and imagination [18]. Since they
are important concepts, let us discuss them one by one.
VR systems can be classified in terms of immersiveness. An immersive VR
system enables a person to perceive a visualized object through his natural sensorimotor capabilities, and represents as many aspects of human perception as technically possible. While immersion refers to the technical capabilities of a system,
its emotional side is represented by presence. Presence is defined after Minsky [19]
as the subjective, psychological state of being in one place while physically being
in another. In this process, the recognition of the real environment is transformed
to the recognition of the digital environment regardless of the observers’ certainty
that what they see is not authentic. The illusory sense of place and reality within the
virtual environment is what discerns it from alternative media [4].
The second characteristic of VR according to Sutherland is interaction, here representing interaction between a person and the virtual reality. We have to consider a
user’s experience in using digital tools. Navigation within virtual representations is
substantially different from navigation in real built environments. Being virtual not
only in name, virtual realities are practically unexplorable without dedicated tools—
namely, human-computer interaction (HCI) devices and methods. According to ISO
standard “Ergonomics of human-system interaction—Human-centred design for
interactive systems,” HCI “includes individual preferences, psychological responses,
behaviors (etc.) that happen before, during and after an interaction with a product.”
[20]. In advanced VR systems, interface is substantially different from a stationary
computer with external control devices, such as a mouse. In HCI VR systems, it is
possible to use one’s body to interact with the digital world, instead of employing
devices to fulfill autonomous tasks [4]. At times, complex VR systems lead to less
behavioral realism, one of reasons being difficulty with controls [5]. This proves that
user experience plays a role in VR, perhaps even crucial, at the very least in complex
virtual systems. This aspect needs to be investigated, in the context of employing
control devices to navigate through virtual reality, aside from the environmental
comparability issues. So important an aspect of people’s proficiency in virtual navigation, user experience must not be ignored when designing systems for specific
applications and when analyzing behavioral data collected from VR studies [12].
The resemblance factor is perhaps the most commonly discussed characteristic
of virtual environments, and it is related to the perception of recognition. Sutherland has its own term for it: imagination. The realism of a virtual environment has
been suggested to increase with the sense of presence [21]. Beginning with Radford
et al.’s seminal an article from 1997, [22] researchers have investigated how the
balance between the three key factors defining a successful visualization—namely,
abstraction, accuracy and realism—influences the effectiveness of their use. Recently,
however, this concept’s relevance has been decreasing: These days, visual displays
can have the optical resolution of the human eye, and the computing power of modern
VR digital devices allows one to map the virtual environment with great accuracy.
With current technical possibilities in HCI, what was a must some time ago—a
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technological development of sensory substitution is heading. Sutherland established
three characteristics of VR: immersion, interaction, and imagination [18]. Since they
are important concepts, let us discuss them one by one.
VR systems can be classified in terms of immersiveness. An immersive VR
system enables a person to perceive a visualized object through his natural sensorimotor capabilities, and represents as many aspects of human perception as technically possible. While immersion refers to the technical capabilities of a system,
its emotional side is represented by presence. Presence is defined after Minsky [19]
as the subjective, psychological state of being in one place while physically being
in another. In this process, the recognition of the real environment is transformed
to the recognition of the digital environment regardless of the observers’ certainty
that what they see is not authentic. The illusory sense of place and reality within the
virtual environment is what discerns it from alternative media [4].
The second characteristic of VR according to Sutherland is interaction, here representing interaction between a person and the virtual reality. We have to consider a
user’s experience in using digital tools. Navigation within virtual representations is
substantially different from navigation in real built environments. Being virtual not
only in name, virtual realities are practically unexplorable without dedicated tools—
namely, human-computer interaction (HCI) devices and methods. According to ISO
standard “Ergonomics of human-system interaction—Human-centred design for
interactive systems,” HCI “includes individual preferences, psychological responses,
behaviors (etc.) that happen before, during and after an interaction with a product.”
[20]. In advanced VR systems, interface is substantially different from a stationary
computer with external control devices, such as a mouse. In HCI VR systems, it is
possible to use one’s body to interact with the digital world, instead of employing
devices to fulfill autonomous tasks [4]. At times, complex VR systems lead to less
behavioral realism, one of reasons being difficulty with controls [5]. This proves that
user experience plays a role in VR, perhaps even crucial, at the very least in complex
virtual systems. This aspect needs to be investigated, in the context of employing
control devices to navigate through virtual reality, aside from the environmental
comparability issues. So important an aspect of people’s proficiency in virtual navigation, user experience must not be ignored when designing systems for specific
applications and when analyzing behavioral data collected from VR studies [12].
The resemblance factor is perhaps the most commonly discussed characteristic
of virtual environments, and it is related to the perception of recognition. Sutherland has its own term for it: imagination. The realism of a virtual environment has
been suggested to increase with the sense of presence [21]. Beginning with Radford
et al.’s seminal an article from 1997, [22] researchers have investigated how the
balance between the three key factors defining a successful visualization—namely,
abstraction, accuracy and realism—influences the effectiveness of their use. Recently,
however, this concept’s relevance has been decreasing: These days, visual displays
can have the optical resolution of the human eye, and the computing power of modern
VR digital devices allows one to map the virtual environment with great accuracy.
With current technical possibilities in HCI, what was a must some time ago—a