Edinburgh Napier University

  Motivation – The work described in this paper investigated the potential of a low fidelity desktop application using the metaphor of the ‘tourist gaze’ in conveying a sense of place.
Research approach – An exploratory study was used, in which an application was developed and evaluated by 25 participants.
Findings/Design – The results suggest that the simple, non-immersive representation of Edinburgh through augmented images and sound supported a reasonable degree of sense of place.
Research limitations/Implications – This was a small scale study and trials against other environments are required.
Originality/Value – Relatively economical applications of this type could be of value in resource-constrained contexts such as therapeutic arenas.
Take away message – Low fidelity virtual reality applications may be surprisingly effective if expectations are constrained.