N. Durlach et al., Virtual environments and the enhancement of spatial behavior: Towards a comprehensive research agenda, PRESENCE-T, 9(6), 2000, pp. 593-615
There is currently much research activity involving virtual environments (V
Es) and spatial behavior (spatial perception, cognition. and performance).
After some initial remarks describing and categorizing the different types
of research being conducted on VEs and spatial behavior, discussion in this
Forum paper focuses on one specific type, namely. research concerned with
the use of VE technology for training spatial behavior in the real world. W
e initially present an overview of issues and problems relevant to conducti
ng research in this area and then. in the latter portion of the paper, pres
ent an overview of the research that we believe needs to be done in this ar
ea.
We have written this paper for the forum section of Presence because, despi
te its length. it is essentially an opinion piece. Our aim here is not to r
eport the results of research in our own laboratory nor to review the liter
ature, as other available papers already serve these goals. Rather, the pri
mary purpose of this paper is to stimulate open discussion about needed fut
ure research. In general, we believe that such a discussion can serve the r
esearch establishment as much as reports of completed work.