Anomalous environments
Main researcher: Francesco Musolino
Abstract
The concept of anomaly and out of ordinary is well expressed in the uncanny valley effect. This cogntive phenomenon show a sudden fall of perceived affinity when trying to achieve the complete realism of a simulation. Is already well-documented in robotics and digital avatars, but its impact on VR environments is still underxplored. Starting from the studies about it’s counterpart in physical places, structural deviations have been isolated as drivers of eeriness/creepiness/uncanniness sensations in people are and implated into VR environments:
- Voidness
- Defeaturing
- Symmetry
- Size distortion
- Beliavable placement
- Repetition of elements
- Human presence
The aim of this research is to investigate how these deviations impact the user experience in various fields of application, to bring foundations to the literature concerning the design of virtual environments in order to both stimulate creativity in this increasingly pervasive new media and to consolidate the canons of language that can be applied without the material and physical limitations of tangible reality.
Research questions
- Can VR environments alone stimulate uncanny valley phenomenons in people?
- What are the most uncanny structural deviations in VR designs?
- There are factors in users that can predict a major sensibility to the cognitive effects as uncanny valley?
- Are deviated/anomalous VR environments more capable of delivering emotional experiences and be a valuable strategy for product retail?