title: Correlations between vocal input and visual response apparently enhance presence in a virtual environment.
abstract: Abstract This work investigates novel alternative means of interaction in a virtual environment (VE). We analyze whether humans can remap established body functions to learn to interact with digital information in an environment that is cross-sensory by nature and uses vocal utterances in order to influence (abstract) virtual objects. We thus establish a correlation among learning, control of the interface, and the perceived sense of presence in the VE. The application enables intuitive interaction by mapping actions (the prosodic aspects of the human voice) to a certain response (i.e., visualization). A series of single-user and multiuser studies shows that users can gain control of the intuitive interface and learn to adapt to new and previously unseen tasks in VEs. Despite the abstract nature of the presented environment, presence scores were generally very high.
authors.affiliation: EVENT Lab, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. cgroenegress@ub.edu
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Groenegress
authors.forename: Mette Ramsgard
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Thomsen
authors.forename: Mel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slater
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D049250:Speech Recognition Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014705:Verbal Behavior