Being in Virtual Worlds: How Interaction, Environment, and Touch Shape Embodiment in Immersive Experiences
– CHI 2025, ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Keywords – embodiment, presence, interaction, touch, virtual reality
Summary –
This paper reconceptualizes embodiment in virtual reality by arguing that traditional approaches (focusing mainly on body ownership via visual-tactile synchronization) are too narrow. Instead, the authors propose that VR embodiment emerges through the dynamic interplay of interaction, environment, and touch. They build an Interactional Framework of Virtual Embodiment, integrating perspectives from philosophy, psychology, HCI, and VR. Through case comparisons (such as pseudo-haptics, shared avatars, and creative VR installations) and reflective design practice, they derive 12 VR design principles aimed at enhancing presence and meaningful embodied experience in virtual worlds.
