This project aims to investigate in detail how it is possible to obtain a credible virtual environment in which the five senses of the user are stimulated in order to achieve high immersiveness. Thus, it was investigated, at a fundamental level, how perceptual problems affect the delivery of stimuli to the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch (temperature, drafts, movement). In order to measure the impact that each of the senses has on the virtual environment experience, the assessment was conducted through objective forms, such as heart rate, breathing or skin conductance. Subjective metrics were also used, such as questionnaires, which attest whether the experience is immersive or not.
Participation in the project aimed at creating ontologies for the representation of multisensory virtual environments, and authoring tools and the procedural generation module of these virtual environments for scientific experiments. As a result of this project, a research laboratory was developed for the area of immersive systems, at the INESC TEC center in Vila Real / UTAD - the MASSIVE laboratory. This laboratory is essential for attracting and developing new projects in this area of innovation.