Work

Seeing and feeling in VR: bodily perception in the gaps between layered realities

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: This essay explores the layering of perceptual information across the real and the virtual that occurs when bodies cohabit virtual environments using new commodity-priced virtual reality technologies. Specifically, we take an embodied somatic and dance perspective to better understand and characterise the perceptual gaps between how bodies are seen and how they are felt in virtual environments. Our discussion derives from observations and analysis of participant feedback obtained from a series of workshops run in July 2018 using a new multi-person VR framework. This research has opened up a fascinating fundamental question: can we harness VR's potential to awaken new modes of perception that enable people to better know their body?

Source: International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media

DOI: 10.1080/14794713.2018.1499387

Authors: Lisa May Thomas, David R. Glowacki

Institution: University of Bristol

Language: English

Topic: Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts

Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Leverhulme Trust, Royal Society, University of Bristol, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Awards: G1926648395, Chemistry and Mathematics in Phase Space (CHAMPS), G4877396937, G491041870