A Framework for Immersive Virtual Environments (FIVE): Speculations on the Role of Presence in Virtual Environments

TLDR

Presence is a state of consciousness that accompanies immersion, reflecting a sense of being in a place and influencing autonomous responses and higher‑level participant behaviors in virtual environments. This review proposes that immersion can be objectively measured by technological characteristics and outlines the FIVE Working Group’s objectives and the 1995 FIVE Conference. The authors examine immersion dimensions such as body matching and narrative autonomy, and analyze single‑ and multi‑participant shared environments using insights from Computer‑Supported Cooperative Working research.

Abstract

This paper reviews the concepts of immersion and presence in virtual environments (VEs). We propose that the degree of immersion can be objectively assessed as the characteristics of a technology, and has dimensions such as the extent to which a display system can deliver an inclusive, extensive, surrounding, and vivid illusion of virtual environment to a participant. Other dimensions of immersion are concerned with the extent of body matching, and the extent to which there is a self-contained plot in which the participant can act and in which there is an autonomous response. Presence is a state of consciousness that may be concomitant with immersion, and is related to a sense of being in a place. Presence governs aspects of autonomie responses and higher-level behaviors of a participant in a VE. The paper considers single and multiparticipant shared environments, and draws on the experience of ComputerSupported Cooperative Working (CSCW) research as a guide to understanding presence in shared environments. The paper finally outlines the aims of the FIVE Working Group, and the 1995 FIVE Conference in London, UK.