Immersive Sampling

This paper proposes immersive sampling as a design method that can be used to collect a variety of inspiration materials. We first characterize sampling by defining it and contextualizing it within creativity theory. We then adapt and extend sampling in the context of immersive environments and implement VRicolage as a way to explore how the interactions might appear. Through this work, we can better understand how to support creative practitioners in collecting materials for their work beyond the confines of the screen.

Abstract

Immersive Sampling: Exploring Sampling for Future Creative Practices in Media-Rich, Immersive Spaces

Evgeny Stemasov, David Ledo, Fraser Anderson, George Fitzmaurice

ACM Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) 2023

Creative practitioners rely on sampling to understand, explore, and construct problems; or gather resources for later use. Despite practitioners’ ability to experience immersive environments, sampling from them remains limited to primarily visual captures (e.g., screenshots, videos), which overlook the richness and variety of available media. To address these challenges, we describe “Immersive Sampling” as a new way to frame information gathering in the context of immersive environments. In the context of Immersive Sampling, practitioners engage in experiencing immersive environments, while capturing, organizing, revisiting, and remixing found content. We situate this subset of tasks in literature and argue for their importance for emerging, future content creation domains. To further explore how Immersive Sampling might take place, we created VRicolage, a proof-of-concept prototype showcasing a set of interactions in Virtual Reality to sample, revisit, and remix captures. Given the democratization of immersive environments, Immersive Sampling provides practitioners with a means to collect, revisit, and remix digital materials.