About

The Research Center for Virtual Environments and Behavior (ReCVEB) is a recently established (1998) multi-disciplinary research organization at the University of California, Santa Barbara, devoted to understanding the complex interplay of computer-generated virtual environments and human behavior, broadly defined (see Areas of Research).

Unique to UCSB, ReCVEB enables researchers to conduct pioneering research and break new ground in a fast growing technological enterprise with important societal ramifications. ReCVEB facilitates the development of virtual-environment based research methods relevant to the scientific study of human behavior and advancement of the capabilities and effectiveness of virtual environment systems using the latest advances in virtual environment technology and software. Given the interest and expertise, both scientific and technical, of UCSB scholars as well as the level of external federal funding accrued, ReCVEB has become one of the leading virtual environment research centers in the world.

ReCVEB has the potential of creating a methodological paradigm shift in the behavioral and social sciences at the same time providing society with knowledge pertinent to the diffusion of immersive virtual environment technology.

Immersive virtual environment technology has advanced to the point where one can place ambulatory individuals within illusory contexts simulating physical and social environments completely controlled by researchers. Individuals can and do act relatively unrestrictedly and in real time within such virtual worlds. At ReCVEB, members use virtual environment technology, which heretofore has been used most widely for purposes of training and entertainment, to investigate behavioral science issues scientifically.

A recent grant from the National Science Foundation's Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence program funds basic research employing immersive virtual environment technology on learning, visual perception, social interaction and spatial cognition (see Current Projects). Other ReCVEB projects include researchers from the arts, communication, and clinical psychology.

Furthermore, two recent grants from the National Science Foundation's Information Technology Research division are funding projects on eyewitness testimony and collaborative virtual environments. More information on these projects can be found here.

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