Effects of Virtual Reality System Fidelity on Presence using the Fidelity-based Presence Scale

Paper Title

Effects of Virtual Reality System Fidelity on Presence using the Fidelity-based Presence Scale

Publication Info

• Topic area: Investigating the impact of system fidelity components on the sense of presence in virtual reality (VR) using the Fidelity-based Presence Scale (FPS).
• Keywords: Virtual reality, system fidelity, presence, Fidelity-based Presence Scale, interaction fidelity, scenario fidelity, display fidelity, locomotion, user study.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Existing presence questionnaires do not systematically measure presence based on VR system fidelity components (interaction, scenario, and display). Limited research investigates how these components individually affect presence.
• Significance: Understanding how system fidelity influences presence can guide the design of VR environments, enhancing user experience and immersion.
• Motivation and related work: Prior studies have shown that higher fidelity in VR environments generally increases presence, but few have examined all three fidelity components simultaneously. The Fidelity-based Presence Scale (FPS) offers a new way to measure presence based on system fidelity, addressing gaps in traditional presence measurement tools.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A 2 × 2 × 2 within-subjects user study to evaluate the effects of interaction, scenario, and display fidelity on presence during a locomotion task using the FPS.
• Novelty:
  1. Application of the FPS to a locomotion task, expanding its use beyond object manipulation tasks.
  2. Comprehensive evaluation of all three system fidelity components (interaction, scenario, display) in a single study.
  3. Reporting of effect sizes for presence metrics to facilitate broader comparisons across studies.
  4. Insights into participant perceptions of fidelity differences and phantom tactile sensations.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Participants (n=50) performed a locomotion task in VR, attempting to catch a butterfly under eight conditions varying interaction, scenario, and display fidelity.
  • Interaction fidelity: real walking (high) vs. point-and-teleport (low).
  • Scenario fidelity: continuously flying butterfly (high) vs. teleporting butterfly (low).
  • Display fidelity: high-poly textures with ambient sounds (high) vs. low-poly textures with no sound (low).
  • Participants completed the FPS after each trial, with scores calculated for Total Presence, Interaction Presence, Scenario Presence, and Display Presence.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • High fidelity in interaction, scenario, and display increased Total Presence scores (interaction: F = 62.776, p < 0.001; scenario: F = 4.677, p = 0.03; display: F = 70.549, p < 0.001).
  • Interaction fidelity (real walking) significantly improved Interaction Presence (F = 67.94, p < 0.001).
  • Display fidelity (high audiovisual fidelity) significantly improved Display Presence (F = 75.689, p < 0.001).
  • Scenario fidelity (continuously flying butterfly) did not significantly affect Scenario Presence (F = 2.64, p = 0.105).
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Large effect sizes for interaction fidelity (f = 1.133) and display fidelity (f = 1.199) on Total Presence, indicating strong impacts of these components.
  • Medium effect size for scenario fidelity (f = 0.309) on Total Presence.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Participants (n=50, mean age = 23.48) completed eight trials in a VR environment using the Meta Quest 3.
  • FPS scores were analyzed using ANOVAs with Aligned Rank Transform for non-parametric data.
  • Results were compared to prior studies, with effect sizes calculated for broader applicability.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Limited investigation of behavioral coherence within scenario fidelity.
  • Exclusion of sensory modalities like olfactory and gustatory feedback.
  • Lack of participant avatars to avoid confounding effects.
  • Future work could explore phantom tactile sensations, iterative design using FPS, and the impact of LLM-backed virtual agents on presence.

Summary

This study investigated how interaction, scenario, and display fidelity affect the sense of presence in VR using the Fidelity-based Presence Scale (FPS). Results showed that interaction and display fidelity significantly enhance presence, while scenario fidelity had no significant effect in this context. The study highlights the utility of FPS for systematically evaluating VR design decisions and introduces effect size reporting to compare results across studies. Future research could explore additional sensory modalities, behavioral coherence, and the phenomenon of phantom tactile sensations to further refine VR design and presence measurement.