Virtual Reality is not real life. Instead it is life-like creations using computer-generated scenarios. Human behavior is replicated in virtual scenarios, where every detail is controlled by computers, and in situations that can be repeated under the same conditions.
Based on technology and design, the user can experience presence. In the virtual world, users are embodied in avatars that represent them and are the means to interact with the virtual environment. Avatars are graphical models that behave on behalf of the human behind them. The user avatar is a proxy that also backs interaction with others, allowing computer-mediated interactions.
Analyses directed to understand people's perceptions, personal and social behavior in computer mediated interactions, comprise a multidisciplinary area of study that involves, among others, computer science, psychology and sociology. In the last two decades a number of studies supported by Virtual Reality have been conducted to understand human behavior, in some cases the implications of the technology, or to reproduce artificial human behavior. This book presents a collection of studies from recognized researchers in the area.
About the Author: Adriana Peña Pérez Negrón received her doctoral degree cum laude in Informatics Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain. Currently, she is a researcher professor at the Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico. Her main areas of interest are virtual reality, mainly on its application for teamwork, and gamification.
Graciela Lara López received her Ph.D. in Software and Systems in 2016 from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain. A Master in Information Systems in 2003 and Degree in Computer Science in 2000 from the Universidad de Guadalajara. Her areas of interest are in virtual reality, mainly on its application for training, 3D object modeling, and spatial mental models. She is an associate professor at the Computer Science Department of the Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
Hécor Rafael Orozco Aguirre is a full-time professor Autonomous University of Mexico State, Mexico. In 2011, he was awarded by the Mexican Society of Artificial Intelligence to the Third Best Doctoral Thesis nationwide. Currently, he works on Research Projects related to Simulation of Crime Prediction and Anticipation Strategies for its Control and Reduction, Virtual Tutors for the Improvement of Educational Teaching, as well as Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation of Vehicle Traffic and Pedestrian Behavior.
