Musings on Telepresence and Virtual Presence

“Environmental richness: The greater the extent of sensory information transmitted to appropriate sensors of the observer, the stronger the sense of presence will be (Sheridan, 1992).”

“Sheridan (1992) identifies five variables that contribute to inducing a sense of telepresence.”

“A strong sense of telepresence is induced by vividness and interactivity (Sheridan 1992), as well as focused attention.”

“Presence has been studied by many researchers in recent years, for example (Heeter, 1992; Held and Durlach, 1992; Loomis, 1992; Sheridan, 1992; Steur, 1992; Barfield and Weghorst, 1993; Barfield et. al., 1995).”

“…referred to as telepresence or presence— the ‘sense of being there’ in the environment depicted by the virtual reality system (Held & Durlach 1992; Sheridan 1992; Barfield & Weghorst 1993; Sheridan 1996; Slater & Wilbur 1997; Draper et al. 1998; Bystrom et al. 1999; Sanchez-Vives & Slater 2005).”

“Three of the four elements of sensory factors cited by them can be found in the QI factor: environmental richness (Sheridan, 1992), multimodal presentation (Held & Durlach, 1992), and consistency of multimodal information (ibid.).”

“Factors that are critical for effective sensory substitution have been known for several years (Heeter, 1992; Held and Durlach, 1992; Loomis, 1992; Sheridan, 1992, 1996; Steuer, 1992; Zeltzer, 1992; Barfield and Hendrix, 1995; Ellis, 1996; Slater and Wilbur, 1997): such as wide field-of-view…”

“In terms of media characteristics, Ijsselsteijn and Riva (2003) refer to Sheridan (1992) who suggested three types of determinants of presence: (1) the extent of sensory information presented, (2) the amount of control one has over the sensors in the environment, and (3) the degree to which one can…”

“These factors have been discussed by (Held and Durlach, 1992; Loomis, 1992a, 1992b; Sheridan, 1992; Zelter, 1992; Heeter, 1992; Steuer, 1992; Barfield and Weghorst, 1993), and may be summarised as: (a) High quality, high resolution information should be presented to the participant's sensory…”

“In addition to these specific definitions, presence has been variously described as a “mental manifestation” (Sheridan, 1992a), a (general) “existential phenomenon” (Draper, Kaber, & Usher, 1998), and a “cognitive state” consistent with a sense of “being there” in an environment, a state that results”

“Practical design problems made issues of conceptualization and measurement critical [(Held & Durlach, 1992; Sheridan, 1992; Zeltzer, 1992)].”

“…raised about how these appearances and behaviors influence peoples’ levels of telepresence or immersion (Draper, Kaber, & Usher, 1998; Minsky, 1980; Sheridan, 1992; Steuer, 1994), copresence, or connection with another human (Goffman, 1963; Nowak, 2001), and social presence, or perception of a…”

“Consider, for example, the early papers discussing the notion of presence (Held and Durlach, 1992; Loomis, 1992; Sheridan, 1992; Zelter, 1992; Heeter, 1992; Steuer, 1992).”

“We acknowledge that existing research uses several variations of this term (e.g., simply “ presence ” , Mantovani & Riva, 1999), virtual presence (Sheridan, 1992), or mediated presence (Bourdon, 2020) synonymously for our definition of telepresence.”

“Although it has been argued that the subjective quality of presence necessitates a subjective measure such as verbal self-reports about the sense of “being there” (Sheridan, 1992), research has increasingly emphasized the need to measure the similarity between behavioral responses in the real world and in a mediated e…”

“The influence of having a virtual body (an avatar) on presence (Slater & Usoh, 1993);”

“The basis for early conceptual work was provided by Held and Durlach (1992), Sheridan (1992), and Zeltzer (1992) and extended by Witmer and Singer (1994; 1998).”

“Researchers, especially those working on human performance in virtual reality, have noted that there is a need to conceptualize and measure telepresence more effectively [(e.g., Biocca & Delaney, 1995; Held & Durlach, 1992; Sheridan, 1992 )].”

“The term ‘presence’ is often used to describe and evaluate the experience of VR making you feel like you are somewhere else (Sheridan, 1992; Usoh, Catena, Arman, & Slater, 2000), and ‘co-presence’ or ‘social presence’ is used to describe the experience of being with someone else (Casanueva & Blake,…”

“However, any particular immersive system does not necessarily always lead to presence for all people: the factors that determine presence, given immersion, are an important area of study [Barfield and Weghorst 1993; Heeter 1993; Held and Durlach 1992; Loomis 1992; Sheridan 1992].”

“…the sense of being in the virtual place rather than in the real physical place (such as the laboratory) where the person's body is actually located (Held & Durlach, 1992; Sheridan, 1992; Barfield & Weghorst, 1993; Slater, Usoh, & Steed, 1994; Sheridan, 1996; Ellis, 1996; Witmer & Singer, 1998).”

“These provide specific examples of ‘presence’ – the tendency of participants to respond to virtual events and situations as if they were real [9,16–18].”

“Their argument is supported by theories of presence andmedia richness (Daft & Lengel, 1986; Schubert, Friedmann, & Regenbrecht, 2001; Schuemie, van der Straaten, Krijn, & van der Mast, 2001; Sheridan, 1992; Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976; Slater & Usoh, 1993).”

“The original papers that introduced the concept of presence in virtual environments (Held & Durlach, 1992; Sheridan, 1992; Barfield & Weghorst, 1993; Slater & Wilbur, 1997) meant by presence the strong sensation of being in the space depicted by the virtual reality system.”

“In the communications field, a number of researchers have explored how telepresence is created through combinations of media capabilities (Coyle & Thorson, 2001; Kim & Biocca, 1997; Sheridan, 1992; Steuer, 1995).”

“Sheridan proposed three factors of presence: extent of sensory information, control of the relation of sensors to the environment, and ability to modify the physical environment [113].”

“Presence is a factor of both the vividness of an experience and the level of interaction (Sheridan, 1992; Steuer, 1992).”

“asked participants, after exposing them to a VE, to answer three questions on Likert scales (1-7) that served as an indication of presence: (a) their sense of ‘being there’ in the computer-generated world, (b) the extent to which there were times when the experience of the computer-generated world became the dominant…”

“Sheridan (1992) then distinguished between telepresence and virtual presence .”

“Virtual model technology will foster all three determinants of telepresence (Sheridan, 1992) found in Shih’s (1998) the direct experience of trying products in the bricks-and-mortar store, which suggests it will increase telepresence.”

“Generally, in the virtual environment or virtual world literature, the term presence (also known as physical presence) is mostly used to refer the individuals " sense of being " in a particular virtual environment (Sheridan, 1992).”

“The quantification of the participant's multisensory experience in these environments involves a set of objective measures that quantify a particular task performance as well as a set of measures that quantify the subjective experience (Sheridan, 1992a).”

“Presence research has focused on definition and ideas for measurement (Ellis, 1996; Heeter, 1992; Held & Durlach, 1992; Loomis, 1992; Sheridan, 1992, 1996; Slater & Wilbur, 1997; Steuer, 1992; Zeltzer, 1992), and there have been several empirical studies of contributing factors (Barfield &…”

“‘‘being there’’ [22] [ 46 ] [47] [49] [51]), and the more this sensation is strong, the m ore the”

“…1 , 31 , 99 , 100 , 111 ]; a l s o r e f e rr ed t o a s v i r t ua l p r e s en c e and t e l ep r e s en c e A s en s e o f “ be i ng t he r e ” w i t h o t he r g r oup m e m be r s e v en t hough t he y a r e d i s t r i bu t ed and c o mm un i c a t i ng e l e c t r on i c a ll y [ 99 , 100 ].”

“Based on previous work and a theoretical approach by Sheridan [31], who determined the underlying factors of presence (sensory information, sensor control, motor control), Wittmer and Singer [42, 43] developed a 32-item presence questionnaire.”

“Others have alluded to the importance of action in virtual reality and teleoperator systems, many claiming that it is one of a collection of determinates of presence (Held and Durlach, 1992; Sheridan, 1992; Steuer, 1992), or of virtual reality (Zeltzer, 1992).”

“The most ubiquitous component of definitions of the concept of presence in virtual VEs is the idea that it is a " sense of being there " in the situation depicted by the VE display systems (Held & Durlach, 1992; Sheridan, 1992).”

“Virtual reality typically refers to the use of interactive simulations created with computer hardware and software to present users with opportunities to engage in environments that appear to be and feel similar to real world objects and events [6-8].”

“HUMAN manipulation is inherently asymmetric, usinglow-frequency hand motions to elicit high-frequency responses from the environment [1].”

“Some existing work has studied the criteria that lead to the feeling of ‘‘immersion’’ or ‘‘presence’’ in virtual environments (Sheridan, 1992).”

“These are the fidelity and richness of sensory information presented to the operator, the dexterity of sensor control in the remote environment, and the ability to affect the remote environment (Sheridan, 1992b).”

“Other types of correlated measures might include socially conditioned responses such as grasping for an object that is presented to the user, shaking hands, or even greeting other "beings" of a virtual environment (Sheridan, 1992a).”

“Both Sheridan (1992) and Yee (2006) agree that immersion in VR is key to momentarily escape the real world.”

“…defined as the degree to which participants feel that they are somewhere other than where they physically are when they experience the effects of a computer-generated simulation (Sheridan, 1992a, 1992b; Barfield & Weghorst, 1993; Slater & Usoh, 1994; Barfield, Sheridan, Zeltzer, & Slater, 1995).”

“As Sheridan concluded, in a study of teleoperation, it is not always the sense of presence that is vital but having sufficient information in the appropriate format and the ability to duly consider it [65].”

“It is hypothesized that more depth could lead to more presence if the depth is provided to a sensory modality essential to the task (Barfield & Weghorst, 1993; Sheridan, 1992).”

“Just as virtual reality research makes a distinction between the technological concept of immersion and the psychological concept of presence [Sheridan 1992; Slater et al. 1994], so we also separate transportation from notions of presence or co-presence.”

“In VR, the term presence is not necessarily related to having a body, but as the feeling of “being there” (Held and Durlach, 1992; Sheridan, 1992). his phenomenon has been referred to by scientists such as Mel Slater as “PI” in order to distinguish it from diferent concepts and is deined by “the…”

“The fi rst two illusions we consider are part of the concept of “ presence ” originally considered as the sense of “ being there ” in the virtual world (Held and Durlach, 1992; Sheridan, 1992, 1996; Sanchez-Vives and Slater, 2005).”

“Results Since both GEQ and GITQ are based on the theoretical work by Sheridan [1] who suggested that the factors that underline the concept of presence could be grouped into 4 categories (Control, Sensory, Distraction and Realism), it is reasonable to think of the tendency to get immersed as a predictor for engagement.”

“…1995; Barfield & Weghorst, 1993; Barfield, Zeltzer, Sheridan, & Slater, 1995; Fontaine, 1992; Heeter, 1992; Held & Durlach, 1992; Loomis, 1992; Sheridan, 1992; Slater & Usoh, 1992; Slater, Usoh, & Steed, 1994; Steuer, 1992; Zeltzer, 1992), very little in the way of controlled, quantitative…”

“Sheridan (1992) adapted this notion for use in a virtual reality setting referring to it as virtual presence .”

“The concept of presence was initially defined as the subjective feeling of “being there” (Heeter, 1992; Sheridan, 1992; Slater et al., 1994), or later as the illusion of non-mediation (Lombard and Ditton, 1997).”

“Variants of the idea have been proposed several times in the literature (for example, Sheridan, 1992; Held & Durlach, 1992; Slater & Usoh, 1994; Slater, Usoh, & Stead, 1994; Slater & Wilbur, 1997; Prothero, 1998; Hendrix & Barfield, 1996; Ohmi, 1998).”

“The potential efficacy of VEs for training to perform real world tasks is generally attributed to the level of presence provided by the VE system (Fontaine, 1992; Sheridan, 1992; Zeltzer, 1992).”

“Different forms of interactivity are related to presence: Witmer and Singer (1998), building upon Sheridan (1992), refer to the ability to actively search the VE: "An environment should enhance presence when it permits observers to control the relation of their sensors to the environment (p.”

“This feeling is sometimes strongly associated with vividness, arousal, focused attention, and interactivity, as well as high degrees of skill and control (Choi & Kim, 2004; Draper & Blair, 1996; Finneran & Zhang, 2003; Novak et al., 2000; Sheridan, 1992; Steuer, 1992).”

“Telepresence occurs in the case of teleoperation, when a person feels as if they are actually at the remote site of operation; whereas presence refers to the feeling of being present in the computer-generated environment (Sheridan 1992).”

“This means the user starts experiencing the VE as an actual, physical place; suspending disbelief, and forgetting that the VE is being viewed through a computer device (Bystrom et al., 1999; Draper et al., 1998; Nicovich, 2017; Sheridan, 1992; Steuer, 1992).”

“definition [1] because one does not have to feel as though one”

“feeling of being ‘there’ (Sheridan, 1992) results from the immersion in the virtual environment and allows users to momentarily ‘escape’ from the real world (Yee, 2006).”

“The ability of the VR HMD to encompass the individual in a virtual world may have increased the level of immersion, supporting the trainees’ perceived sense of presence which can contribute to significant training outcomes (Sheridan 1992).”

“Presence, also termed ‘telepresence’ (McMahan 2003; Tamborini and Skalski 2006) refers to the feeling of being ‘present’ in a mediated environment (McMahan 2003; Schloerb 1995; Sheridan 1992; Steuer 1992; Witmer and Singer 1998).”

“The definition of presence was introduced by Sheridan [31], who described it as “the effect felt when controlling real world objects remotely” (pp.”