Document Type
Theses, Masters
Disciplines
1.2 COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
Abstract
The concept of presence in Virtual Reality has numerous definitions but lacks an objective metric. The aim of the research described in this manuscript was to assess feasibility of using physiological responses to measure presence objectively. To evaluate physiological responses to changes in presence (in isolation from factors potentially confounding the results) physiological responses observed in a Physical Environment were evaluated against measures obtained in a Virtual Replica of that Physical Environment. Design and development of the procedure methodology and software used for its delivery and analysis of the results was aimed at increasing robustness, replicability and applicability of the procedure. The hardware used for data collection was synchronized in the temporal domain with hardware used for delivering the environment. In such an approach a broader range of sensors can be used in the future to explore physiological responses to modulation of presence. Furthermore, the software developed to conduct this experiment does not require any specific model of the data collecting sensor, as long as the sensor can be synchronized in temporal domain with the clock of the machine delivering the procedure. Open-source SDK and cross-platform engine were used to maximise applicability of this method to various types of Head Mounted Displays. Tasks required to conduct the experiment were also organized to facilitate their division when additional human resources were available for participants recruitment, data collection and analyses. This thesis reports on the results of the exploratory study conducted with a sample of sixty-six (n = 66) participants (thirty-three [n = 33] males and thirty three [n = 33] females). An experiment was conducted to evaluate if physiological responses of participants bodies differ during exposure to the Virtual Replica of the Physical Environment that they were occupying. Mounting on the Head Mounted Display by participants had an unexpected and significant impact on recorded biofeedback data. Therefore, conducting the original planned analysis was not viable, because the data after HMD mounting began was contaminated. It demonstrates that the action of mounting VR headset impacts data and should be taken under consideration for future experiments employing such methods. Therefore, modifications to the methodology employed in the experiment described in this thesis are proposed for following experiments extending the methodology, to reduce the contamination of the Skin Conductance and Heart Rate data that has occurred in this study. Therefore, the modified method described in this thesis should bring researchers closer to an objective evaluation of different hardware configurations and rendering pipelines of different software engines in relation to mediated presence. Further work is recommended to improve this methodology, increasing its reliability and replicability, and extending the range of participants' physiological responses being measured. A literature review was performed to facilitate the design of further experiments and analysis of results in the context of general cognition and perception of the environment not limited to mediated experiences. The utility of an objective method for measuring presence can be generalized to a metric applicable to virtual, remote, imaginary, and natural environments providing a method approaching a real-time objective evaluation of presence in the environment, assessed objectively through biometrics rather than qualitative methods. Furthermore, quantitative methods could be potentially used to evaluate and improve existing qualitative methods. Results of biometric data analysis are included in this thesis. They can be used to support hypotheses presented; however, it is argued by the author of this thesis that a stricter approach must be employed in future studies to increase validity of results.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21427/45cn-b878
Recommended Citation
Szczurowski, Krzysztof, "On Physiology of Mediated Spatial-Presence Assessed Through Biometrics" (2022). Masters. 115.
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/scienmas/115
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Publication Details
Submitted in part of fulfillment for the degree of M.Sc. by Research in Technological University Dublin Dublin, Ireland, 2022.
doi:10.21427/45cn-b878