The concept of immersion has been widely used for the design and evaluation of user experiences. Augmented, virtual and mixed-reality environments have further sparked the discussion of immersive user experiences and underlying requirements. However, a clear definition and agreement on design criteria of immersive experiences remains debated, creating challenges to advancing our understanding of immersive experiences and how these can be designed. Based on a multidisciplinary Delphi approach, this study provides a uniform definition of immersive experiences and identifies key criteria for the design and staging thereof. Thematic analysis revealed five key themes – transition into/out of the environment, in-experience user control, environment design, user context relatedness, and user openness and motivation, that emphasise the coherency in the user-environment interaction in the immersive experience. The study proposes an immersive experience framework as a guideline for industry practitioners, outlining key design criteria for four distinct facilitators of immersive experiences–systems, spatial, empathic/social, and narrative/sequential immersion. Further research is proposed using the immersive experience framework to investigate the hierarchy of user senses to optimise experiences that blend physical and digital environments and to study triggered, desired and undesired effects on user attitude and behaviour.
MULTIFILE
Immersive technologies are redefining and revolutionizing the staging of experiences and co-creation of value, implicating the management of customer experiences. However, limited studies have looked at the role of immersive technologies as part of the customer experience management (CXM) process. Incorporating the concepts of experience economy and value co-creation, this study proposes a dynamic CXM framework that highlights the emerging field of immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality as part of business and marketing research. The framework acts as a guide for researchers and industry practitioners to initiate immersive technology ventures that are rooted in the co-creation and management of customer experiences
MULTIFILE
In this study, we test the immersive character in an interactive content narrative developed for Microsoft HoloLens 2 mixed reality glasses in the dining context. We use retrospective think aloud protocol (RTAP) and galvanic skin response (GSR) to explore different types of immersion that can be created through interactive content narratives. Leaning on the core dimensions of the experience economy, we expand the current understanding on the role of immersion through integration of four immersive experience facilitators. The study revealed that these immersive experience facilitators occur simultaneously and can be enhanced through interactive content narrative design. Perceived novelty and curiosity were identified as key determinants to keep consumers engaged in the immersive experience and engage with the content. The study verifies the use of galvanic skin response in combination with retrospective think aloud protocol as a suitable approach to measure emotional engagement potential in interpreting consumers’ recollection of immersive experiences.
MULTIFILE
The AR in Staged Entertainment project focuses on utilizing immersive technologies to strengthen performances and create resiliency in live events. In this project The Experiencelab at BUas explores this by comparing live as well as pre-recorded events that utilize Augmented Reality technology to provide an added layer to the experience of the user. Experiences will be measured among others through observational measurements using biometrics. This projects runs in the Experience lab of BUas with partners The Effenaar and 4DR Studio and is connected to the networks and goals related to Chronosphere, Digireal and Makerspace. Project is powered by Fieldlab Events (PPS / ClickNL)..
Digital innovations in the field of immersive Augmented Reality (AR) can be a solution to offer adults who are mentally, physically or financially unable to attend sporting events such as premier league football a stadium and match experience. This allows them to continue to connect with their social networks. In the intended project, AR content will be further developed with the aim of evoking the stadium experience of home matches as much as possible. The extent to which AR enriches the experience is then tested in an experiment, in which the experience of a football match with and without AR enrichment is measured in a stadium setting and in a home setting. The experience is measured with physiological signals. In addition, a subjective experience measure is also being developed and benchmarked (the experience impact score). Societal issueInclusion and health: The joint experience of (top) sports competitions forms a platform for vulnerable adults, with a limited social capital, to build up and maintain the social networks that are so necessary for them. AR to fight against social isolation and loneliness.
This project develops a European network for transdisciplinary innovation in artistic engagement as a catalyst for societal transformation, focusing on immersive art. It responds to the professionals in the field’s call for research into immersive art’s unique capacity to ‘move’ people through its multisensory, technosocial qualities towards collective change. The project brings together experts leading state-of-the-art research and practice in related fields with an aim to develop trajectories for artistic, methodological, and conceptual innovation for societal transformation. The nascent field of immersive art, including its potential impact on society, has been identified as a priority research area on all local-to-EU levels, but often suffers from the common (mis)perception as being technological spectacle prioritising entertainment values. Many practitioners create immersive art to enable novel forms of creative engagement to address societal issues and enact change, but have difficulty gaining recognition and support for this endeavour. A critical challenge is the lack of knowledge about how their predominantly sensuous and aesthetic experience actually lead to collective change, which remains unrecognised in the current systems of impact evaluation predicated on quantitative analysis. Recent psychological insights on awe as a profoundly transformative emotion signals a possibility to address this challenge, offering a new way to make sense of the transformational effect of directly interacting with such affective qualities of immersive art. In parallel, there is a renewed interest in the practice of cultural mediation, which brings together different stakeholders to facilitate negotiation towards collective change in diverse domains of civic life, often through creative engagements. Our project forms strategic grounds for transdisciplinary research at the intersection between these two developments. We bring together experts in immersive art, psychology, cultural mediation, digital humanities, and design across Europe to explore: How can awe-experiences be enacted in immersive art and be extended towards societal transformation?
