Socially wise mediated reality for hollistic smart environments

Computing technology is radically changing the manner in which we work and communicate with computers. Ubiquitous Virtual Reality (ubiquitous VR) has been researched in order to apply the concept of virtual reality and its technology into ubiquitous computing. In this paper, we present characteristics of Ubiquitous VR. The main characteristics are classified into Reality-Virtuality, Static-Dynamic context, and Personal-Social activity continuums. In this continuums, Ubiquitous VR is represented as socially wise mediated reality which supports human social connections with highest-level user context (wisdom) in mixed reality environments. Various paradigms including Ubiquitous VR are classified into these continuums to clarify the position and meaning of Ubiquitous VR. Future research direction for Ubiquitous VR is also discussed at the end of this paper. We expect that the main characteristics would guide the future research direction in ubiquitous virtual reality.