Table 3.1 provides a taxonomy of the experiments reported in this dissertation and where their descriptions can be found. All but two of these studies (CogE1 and BRP1) addressed questions in Areas I, II, or III. The experiments are labelled with a short index, according to the following scheme. The index begins with the area of research (``AI'', ``AII'' and ``AIII'', for Areas I, II and III; ``Cog'' for cognitive factors on presence; and ``BR'' for binocular rivalry. The next letter is either ``P'' for pilot studies (intended only for guidance, rather than to achieve definitive results) or ``E'' (for experiments which are intended to be fairly definitive, at least for the particular conditions under study). Descriptions of the experiments are usually found in the main chapters; the pilot studies are reported in abbreviated form in the appendices. The final part of the experiment index is a number, giving the logical order of the experiment within its area of research.
Label |
Title | Location |
| Importance of Presence | ||
| CogE1 | Cognitive Influences on Presence | Appendix A |
Area I: Presence Measures |
||
| AIP1 | Wide Field-of-View | Appendix B |
| AIP2 | Orientation | Appendix B |
| AIE1 | Narrow Field-of-View (Reported Presence) | Chapter 4 |
| AIP3 | Narrow Field-of-View (Nulling Measure I) | Appendix B |
| AIP4 | Narrow Field-of-View (Nulling Measure II) | Appendix B |
| AIE2 | Meaningful/Random | Chapter 4 |
Area II: Presence Manipulations |
||
| AIIP1 | Foreground Occlusions and Field-of-View | Appendix C |
| AIIE1 | Foreground Occlusions and Reported Presence I | Chapter 5 |
| AIIE2 | Foreground Occlusions and Reported Presence II | Chapter 5 |
| AIIP2 | Inside-Out Displays and Optical Flow | Appendix C |
| AIIP3 | Inside-Out Displays and Foreground Occlusions I | Appendix C |
| AIIE3 | Inside-Out Displays and Foreground Occlusions II | Appendix C |
Area III: Motion Sickness |
||
| AIIIE1 | Independent Visual Background I (low-end) | Chapter 6 |
| AIIIP1 | Undisturbed Postural Stability | Appendix D |
| AIIIE2 | Independent Visual Background II (low-end) | Chapter 6 |
| AIIIP2 | Independent Visual Background III (high-end) | Appendix D |
Binocular Rivalry |
||
| BRP1 | Foreground Occlusions and Binocular Rivalry | Appendix E |
Importance of Presence. Described under this topic is an experiment showing that presence is affected by the meaningfulness of the stimuli, with all other variables held constant. Conversely, presence may be a partial measure for the meaningfulness of the stimuli. This strengthens the assertion of this dissertation that presence is worthy of serious study.
Area I: Presence Measures. Described under this topic is a technique for measuring presence based on multi-modal nulling.
Area II: Presence Manipulations. Described under this topic are experiments on the manipulation of the sense of presence, as applied to HMD's and inside-out displays.
Area III: Motion Sickness. Described under this topic is a technique for reducing simulator side-effects using an independent visual display. (However, AIIIP2 found an interesting induced motion effect of the independent visual background which may be useful as a presence measure.)
Binocular Rivalry. Described under this topic is a literature review and pilot study on the application of foreground occlusions to reducing a binocular rivalry problem know as ``luning''. Luning is a significant problem for some HMD's which partially overlap the scene presented to the two eyes.