Table 3.
A comparison of different forms of immersive reality technology against relationship, collaboration, and engagement: the comparison assists predetermining the relevance of a given form of immersive reality to enable cultural learning in virtual heritage applications.
| Immersive reality | Relationship | Collaboration | Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augmented Reality (AR) | AR can establish a relationship between users and virtual content (cultural content) | Both remote and co-located collaborations can be implemented in AR | Engagement with the cultural content in virtual environments depends on the interaction interfaces' capability to enable intuitive interaction between users the virtual environment |
| Interaction and relationship between users and their physical environment can be maintained since users view to the physical word isn't blocked. However, there is no direct relationship/interaction between the real world and virtual content, except virtual elements are superimposed over the real world | |||
| Interaction is always between users and virtuality (virtual content), and digital representations or simulations of cultural assets | Tangible and sensor-based interaction interfaces can enhance engagement since they pause relatively lower cognitive load | ||
| Virtual Reality (VR) | Interaction is always between users and virtual environments (cultural content) | Remote collaboration can be achieved by representing users as avatars in virtual environments | Virtual environments in VR are engaging due to their higher level of visual realism, immersivity, and presence |
| There is no direct interaction/relationship between users and the real world because VR blocks users view to the real environment. However, indirect relationship can be established via virtual simulations and representations of cultural assets in the virtual environment | Collaborative VR isn't common in VH | Sensor-based and device-based interaction interfaces are employed commonly in current VR systems. However, device-based interfaces might hinder the level engagement because users are required to physically manipulate those devices, and this might cause a discontinuation of presence | |
| Augmented Virtuality (AV) | Interaction is always between users and virtual environments (cultural content) | Remote collaboration can be achieved by representing users as avatars in the virtual environment or streaming a live video of users into the virtual environment. However, collaborative AV is extremely rare in any domain | Level of the virtual environment's realism and immersivity can directly determine the extent of engagement in AV |
| Indirect relationship can be established between users and elements from the real world since live scenes are streamed from the real world to the virtual one | Usually, scenes streamed from the real world to the virtual environment aren't live 3D reconstructions. Hence, level of engagement could be hindered due to fusion of 2D and 3D images | ||
| The relationship between elements from the real world and the virtual environment benefits the virtual environment | |||
| Mixed Reality (MxR) | A symbiotic relationship can be maintained between the real and virtual environments by blending elements from both worlds | Co-located and remote collaboration can be implemented in MxR | Engagement is higher in MxR in contrast to the other forms of immersive reality since it can combine elements from both the real and virtual worlds. This means virtually reconstructed cultural content can be blended with cultural heritage elements at their natural location |
| Unlike other forms of immersive reality, interaction and relationship can be established between users, reality, and virtual environments (cultural content) | MxR is an idea option for VH applications that require face-to-face collaboration at heritage sites and museums | Multimodal interaction interfaces that combine gestural, speech, and movement-based inputs can enhance user's engagement since the cognitive load of operating such interfaces is lower in contrast to other interfaces |