Embodiment and telepresence: Toward a comprehensive theoretical framework
Antal Haans, Wijnand A. IJsselsteijn · Interacting with Computers · 2012
a b s t r a c tWhat explains the experience of ''being there'' in a simulated or mediated environment?In recent years, research has pointed to various technological and psychological factors deemed important in eliciting this so-called experience of telepresence, including interactivity, sensory-motor integration, media transparency, and distal attribution.However, few theories exist that can combine these findings in a coherent framework.In the present paper, we formulate such a theoretical framework.We will argue that the experience of telepresence is a consequence of the way in which we are embodied, and that it extends naturally from the same ability that allows us to adjust to a slippery surface, or to the weight of a hammer.The importance of embodiment in the understanding of telepresence has been stated before, but these works have not yet fully addressed what it means to be embodied.We argue that ''having a human body'' means having a specific morphology, a body schema, and a body image.Subsequently we describe how tools and technological artifacts may be incorporated at each of these levels of embodiment, and the implications thereof for the experience of telepresence.