본 연구의 목적은 사용자가 경험하는 정체성의 변화와 감각경험의 특이성을 고찰하는 것이며, 이를 통해 예 술치료 공간으로서 메타버스의 가능성을 점검하는 것이다. 최근 메타버스는 오락과 교육, 경제, 정치와 같은 사회문화적 체계를 모방할 뿐 아니라 직접 구성하고 실현하는 플랫폼으로 자리잡고 있다. 메타버스의 정서 소통의 내용이 세밀해지고 범위가 넓어진 만큼 예술표현과 치료도 다양한 형태로 구현될 수 있다. 메타버스 의 ‘정서적 소통’과 ‘감각적 표현’의 특이성은 원격현전의 존재감, 그리고 상호작용의 소통에서 비롯된다. 원격 경험이란 물리적 자아와 현전적 자아의 일치와 분리의 정서를 동시에 느끼는 것이기 때문에 감정 경험에서 도 분리와 일치가 일어날 수 있다. 사용자는 스스로 만들어내고 맥락화한 세계를 경험하며 가상공간에서 미 학적 내용은 물질적 경험은 감소한 채 총체감각의 몰입을 추구하는 유희적 상호작용 행위의 반복에 의해 창 조된다. 가상공간은 양가적 개념을 동시에 수용하는 공간이기도 하지만 그것을 사용하는 사람의 정서도 양가 적으로 발현되는 특징이 있으며. 사용자 본인의 정서 상태, 심리적 안정성의 상황에 따라 증상이 다르게 나 타난다. 메타버스는 양가성의 수용, 현실과의 연계성, 가상 및 물리적 감각경험의 혼합을 통해 분열되고 변형 되는 자아상의 재통합을 가져오는 치료실로 활용될 수 있다.

Virtual reality is the extension of every major technology we already use today (Manjoo, 2014). Barnes, Mattsson, and Hartley (2015) argue that VR is a significant new environment for experiential customer service interactions as well as a recreational activity. It is capable of blurring the boundaries between the consumer’s virtual and physical environment (Schlosser, Mick, & Deighton, 2003). In other words, in our fitness context where people enter a VR while performing a core body workout, VR is capable of blurring the boundaries between physical servicescape and virtual service environment created. In our study we answer the question which reality is predominantly perceived by the customers and which implications that has for service providers. Previous scholars focused on the evaluation of customer’s presence and perception of the physical servicescape (Baker, Levy, & Grewal, 1992; Bitner, 1992; Wakefield & Blodgett, 1999) and demonstrated the impact of cues on post-consumption constructs like emotion, customer satisfaction or service quality (Hooper, Coughlan, & R. Mullen, 2013; Reimer & Kuehn, 2005; Wall & Berry, 2007). We extend that knowledge by analysing the potential of simultaneous presence in both the physical and virtual environments. Psychological immersion into the virtual world, or in other words, escape from the servicescape into the virtual environment will both be dominant over the physical servicescape and generate additional value to the users (Holbrook, 1994; Innocenti, 2017; Yee, 2006). To address the research question, we used sports equipment which allows the survey participant to virtually fly through the Rocky Mountains while performing a workout (ICAROS). The data was generated using a questionnaire which was answered after the workout. The data shows a direct positive relationship between telepresence and escapism, supporting (a) the theory that people predominantly perceive the VR as their actual reality during the service consumption (i.e. workout) and (b) that escaping the servicescape supports participants overall desire to escape from reality, which in turn has a positive impact on participants’ functional and emotional evaluation of the service. These results contribute to a rising research interest in the use of VR in a service environment and offers great potential to practitioners on how an application of VR technology may enhance service experience and subsequently increase customer satisfaction by changing the servicescape at low cost.

In an online environment, hedonic value such as flow is manifested when consumers continuously engage in playing online games even if it incurs extra cost: financial, physical, and psychological. Consumers also have a loyalty to their games, and they enjoy playing them. They often purchase repeatedly games they are involved in. The framework of existing online game models does not fully explain flow and telepresence to loyalty and the purchase intention of game decision-making behavior. For this reason, we examined the relationships among telepresence to flow, flow to loyalty, and loyalty to purchase intentions. Study 1, which is a behavioral analysis by SEM (Structural Equation Modeling), examines how “flow and telepresence” influence loyalty and purchase intention in an online game behavior. The introduction of hedonic perspectives as flow and telepresence produced an important extension of the online game model. The conceivable factors which may explain this type of consumer behavior are the hedonic or experiential aspect of consumer behavior. We have three hypotheses. All hypotheses are supported at 0.1% significance level. Study 1 focused on the relationships of the constructs of the online game. We also measured the state of flow while game users are playing online games by EEG (Electroencephalogram). In a neural analysis, we found that the state of flow and neural correlates exist. By this, the flow variable reflects the real mental “state of flow.” Study2, which is a neural analysis, examines flow construct in the FPS game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by using Electroencephalogram (EEG). How much flow do the subjects experience while playing this online game? The purpose of this research is to select the epochs of EEG data when the subjects reported flow, correlate those with flow variables, and compare the EEG activity. The final goal is to select the flow variables which showed the highest correlation to AEP (Auditory Evoked Potential) Suppression value. We analyzed 8 AEPs to correlate flow. We found out that Alpha_RF is casually decided with the mean of flow which has six variables. Mean of Flow correlated to Alpha_RF -.419 significantly (5%). As subjects feel Flow, Alpha_RF is suppressed. This study focuses on the subjective flow experience and AEP suppression. We found out that the state of flow and neural correlates exist. By our analysis, the flow variable reflects the real mental “state of flow.” Therefore, when game companies develop their games, they should take into account how much flow people feel while they are playing the games. In addition, the state of flow should be used not only in developing and designing games but also in sports, entertainment, etc.

Virtual reality means artificial reality which can be realized through five senses. Observation can be possible as virtual reality leads to that human being are at tele-existence. In addition, human beings can have teleconferences and do cooperative work in the virtual reality environment. If we hear 3D sound in the space of virtual reality, we can almost realize such operations. 3D sound is essential to realize virtual reality. A variety of factors need to be considered such as intensity of sound delivered to ears, frequency spectrum, phase of sound and auditorial senses to implement 3D sound. In this paper, the information of the software can be transferred to the hardware, the hardware can be controlled, then 3D sound for teleconferences can be implemented in the virtual space, using Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF). Furthermore, it can also apply to 3D games.

There exists a popular belief that the elderly are more conservative than the younger people in acceptability of new technology. This study explores whether the generation gap in technology acceptance exists in the case of using telepresence robots, which project the presence and mobility of remote operator, for the universal purpose of social participation rather than for specific applications. Two groups of senior citizens and undergraduate students in their twenties personally experienced the telepresence robots operation and conducted a survey on how they perceived the social participation of a remote operator mediated by telepresence robot and to what extent the remote operator deserve equal rights to be treated as if one really exists in the local environment. The results show that the elderly have higher expectation on the role and functions of telepresence robots, and more favorable in principle for a remote operator to exercise equal rights by operating telepresence robot. It suggests that the stereotypes, the elderly lag behind younger generation in accepting new technology, is unlikely to fit into the telepresence robot market, for the elderly have more favor and support using telepresence robots as an universal avatar for social participation.

This paper presents a robotic system that provides telepresence to the visually impaired by combining real-time haptic rendering with multi-modal interaction. A virtual-proxy based haptic rendering process using a RGB-D sensor is developed and integrated into a unified framework for control and feedback for the telepresence robot. We discuss the challenging problem of presenting environmental perception to a user with visual impairments and our solution for multi-modal interaction. We also explain the experimental design and protocols, and results with human subjects with and without visual impairments. Discussion on the performance of our system and our future goals are presented toward the end.