| The goal of the study was to determine whether the level of immersion of a virtual environment has a significant effect on the user's short term spatial memory. Two previous virtual environment development projects are reviewed: the Muscatatuck Virtual Tour and the 21st Century World Future City (Adamo-Villani, et al. 2009, 2010)). These projects show the viability of producing a virtual environment and a partially immersive, low-cost virtual reality system, i.e. a Fish-Tank system (The system was used for the purpose of the study). Previous research is analyzed to demonstrate the viability of using virtual reality as a testing tool for measuring the effects of immersion on cognitive processes. Results of the study show that there is a significant difference in spatial memory when the level of immersion changes. |
