Extended reality (XR) in embodied musical art and science
Pieter‐Jan Maes, Bavo Van Kerrebroeck, Mattia Rosso, Ioulia Marouda, Marc Leman · 2024
In this chapter, we focus on the possibilities of extended reality (XR) – including virtual (VR), augmented (AR) and mixed reality (MR) – for musical art and science. In line with the sensorimotor and embodied cognition theory, we argue that XR technologies enter into the coupled action-perception processes that regulate human embodied interaction with the naturalistic “analog” world. Our central argument is that XR technologies extend action-perception couplings into computer-generated virtual worlds. We elaborate this argument and propose it as the foundation of our concept of virtual embodiment , in turn leading to users’ psychological sense of presence , the illusory feeling of actually being in and interacting within XR environments. We propose that XR allows us to design radically new musical spaces for musical art and science. In our research, we define three types of XR musical spaces: spaces for empirical research in the domain of embodied music interaction (‘ research labs of the future’), spaces for artistic-creative interaction (‘ concert halls of the future’), and finally, spaces for human interaction with cultural heritage (‘ museums of the future’). To conclude the chapter, we describe several cases that illustrate the potential of XR spaces for musical art and science.