Where are we now?Re-visiting the Digital Earth through human-centered virtual and augmented reality geovisualization environments

The original Digital Earth concept,formulated by Al Gore(1998),is essentially a virtual reality system.In this(imagined)system,users are able to freely explore all possible recorded knowledge or information about the Earth though an interactive interface.While we imagine such an interface primarily as visual for now,it can be expected that in the future other senses will be engaged,allowing for even more realistic virtual experiences.Even though‘realism’in the experience is desirable(i.e.,it feels real),immersive experiences provided by visualization environments can go beyond reality,as they can be enhanced with queryable information.Of course one can also create fictitious experiences and simulations in such environments;including information about possible pasts(e.g.,ancient Rome)and futures(e.g.,a planned neighborhood);or spaces that we cannot(easily)directly experience(e.g.,the Moon,Mars,other far-away spaces,under the oceans,core of the earth,etc.).

Collaborating remotely:an evaluation of immersive capabilities on spatial experiences and team membership

Today’s workforce environments are steadily becoming more distributed across the globe,calling for improved ways of facilitating collaborations at a distance,including geo-collaborations or collaborations at critical locations.Newer technology is allowing distributed teams to move away from traditional conference rooms,taking collaborations into the field and giving remote teams more information about the environment.This idea of situating a remote collaborator’s experiences in the field,virtually,promises to enhance the understanding of geographically remote spaces.Newer technologies in virtual reality(VR)hold promise for providing mobile spatial experiences in real-time,without being tied to fixed hardware,such as systems in conference rooms.An exploratory study using VR technology on remote user experiences in a collaboration was conducted to identify the added value for remote collaborators.The findings suggest immersive capabilities improve feelings of presence in the remote locations and perceptions of being in the remote location increase feelings of team membership.