Evaluating Presence for Customer Experience in a Virtual Environment: Using a Nuclear Power Plant as an Example

In contrast to experiences offered by traditional media, this study used a three-dimensional virtual environment to evaluate customer experiences. The aims of this study were twofold: first, to investigate whether virtual interaction can impress customers in a visual or auditory sense and thereby further induce "presence"; and second, to understand how to provide a better sense of presence by using virtual interactions. This study used a nuclear power plant control room to construct virtual customer experience patterns. The results of the questionnaire showed no statistical significance, except for one question: "How responsive was the environment to actions that you initiated or performed?" During the experience, interactively receiving information in the active model offered a more significant sense of presence. For the physiological measurement, we used the multiscale entropy of complexity to analyze the heart rate. The complexity index for the active model proved significantly larger than for the passive, indicating better adaptability to the active model.

[1]  Bernard C. Jiang,et al.  Multiscale entropy approach to physiological fatigue during long-term Web browsing , 2009 .

[2]  Mel Slater,et al.  Measuring Presence: A Response to the Witmer and Singer Presence Questionnaire , 1999, Presence.

[3]  J. Gibson.  The Senses Considered As Perceptual Systems , 1967 .

[4]  Jonathan Steuer,et al.  Defining virtual reality: dimensions determining telepresence , 1992 .

[5]  A. Sarkar,et al.  Multiscale Entropy Analysis: A New Method to Detect Determinism in a Time Series , 2006 .

[6]  Brad Manor,et al.  Physiological complexity and system adaptability: evidence from postural control dynamics of older adults. , 2010, Journal of applied physiology.

[7]  J. H. Gilmore,et al.  Welcome to the experience economy. , 1998, Harvard business review.

[8]  Doug A. Bowman,et al.  Virtual Reality: How Much Immersion Is Enough? , 2007, Computer.

[9]  M. Whitton,et al.  Review of Four Studies on the Use of Physiological Reaction as a Measure of Presence in StressfulVirtual Environments , 2005, Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback.

[10]  Monica Cameirao,et al.  Physiological Responses during Performance within a Virtual Scenario for the Rehabilitation of Motor Deficits , 2007 .

[11]  S. Filipović,et al.  Psychophysiology: Human Behavior and Physiological Response (4th ed.) , 2001 .

[12]  C. Peng,et al.  Noise and poise: Enhancement of postural complexity in the elderly with a stochastic-resonance–based therapy , 2007, Europhysics letters.

[13]  Julian F Thayer,et al.  Heart rate response is longer after negative emotions than after positive emotions. , 2003, International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology.

[14]  Joseph Hamill,et al.  Time-to-contact and multiscale entropy identify differences in postural control in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. , 2011, Gait & posture.

[15]  J. Freeman,et al.  Development of a New Cross-Media Presence Questionnaire: The ITC-Sense of Presence Inventory , 2000 .

[16]  Wijnand A. IJsselsteijn,et al.  Presence: concept, determinants, and measurement , 2000, Electronic Imaging.

[17]  Woodrow Barfield,et al.  A Conceptual Model of the Sense of Presence in Virtual Environments , 1999, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[18]  Jeffrey M. Hausdorff,et al.  Multiscale entropy analysis of human gait dynamics. , 2003, Physica A.

[19]  Matthew Lombard,et al.  At the Heart of It All: The Concept of Presence , 2006 .

[20]  Mel Slater,et al.  Using Presence Questionnaires in Reality , 2000, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[21]  Madalena Costa,et al.  Multiscale entropy analysis of biological signals. , 2005, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[22]  G. Breithardt,et al.  Heart rate variability: standards of measurement, physiological interpretation and clinical use. Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. , 1996 .

[23]  M. Bradley,et al.  Picture media and emotion: effects of a sustained affective context. , 1996, Psychophysiology.

[24]  F. Selnes.  An Examination of the Effect of Product Performance on Brand Reputation, Satisfaction and Loyalty , 1993 .

[25]  Dagmar Sternad,et al.  Complexity of human postural control in young and older adults during prolonged standing , 2008, Experimental Brain Research.

[26]  Michael J. Singer,et al.  Measuring Presence in Virtual Environments: A Presence Questionnaire , 1998, Presence.

[27]  Mary C. Whitton,et al.  Walking > walking-in-place > flying, in virtual environments , 1999, SIGGRAPH.

[28]  T. Brunner,et al.  Satisfaction, image and loyalty: new versus experienced customers , 2008 .

[29]  Ammar Ben Brahim,et al.  Second Law Analysis in Convective Heat and Mass Transfer , 2006, Entropy.

[30]  D Thalmann,et al.  Artificial Life and VirtualReality , 1994 .

[31]  Mel Slater,et al.  The Influence of Body Movement on Subjective Presence in Virtual Environments , 1998, Hum. Factors.

[32]  G. Zocchi,et al.  Local cooperativity mechanism in the DNA melting transition. , 2005, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[33]  S M Pincus,et al.  Approximate entropy as a measure of system complexity. , 1991, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[34]  J. Richman,et al.  Physiological time-series analysis using approximate entropy and sample entropy. , 2000, American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology.