Blended reality and presence

Human experience of public space is changing as virtual space blends with real space and technology provides increasingly hyperimmersive virtual environments. The purpose of this study is to reformulate the framework within which our virtual experience of location and self might usefully be considered, and this is articulated in terms of presence. We review the distinction between immersion and presence, illustrate various facets of immersion using a current virtual reality system specific to architecture and construction, and consider the key features of prominent presence theories. The results of an empirical study to evaluate the utility of a widely adopted survey instrument (the Slater-Usoh-Steed presence questionnaire) are presented and discussed. Incongruously, results indicate that users reporting their experience of virtual reality score that experience higher in presence terms than users experiencing the physical world. New perspectives drawn from emerging brain theory are required.