Felt presence, an awareness of someone or something animate, present close to an experiment, is a common yet underappreciated phenomenon. Felt presence can take on different forms and may be at the root of many religious/ecstatic experiences and beliefs in the supernatural. Extent and intensity of felt presence experiences can vary: it can appear both under some extreme conditions such as sleep paralysis attack, sensory deprivation or as part of an epileptic aura; and in much milder forms during the everyday life simply as a fleeting sensation that "someone is there".
To explore the felt presence phenomenon in all its richness and subtlety it is necessary to develop a method which would be as flexible and nuanced as the experiences themselves. In the domain of film, theater, telepresence and virtual reality the presence of others enhances the level of immersion in and engagement with the artificial/imaginary space. Felt presence in this case seems to be used implicitly, and is a necessary condition to produce the desired sense of presence. Is it possible to create environments which would stimulate sensation of felt presence? How can new media technologies enhance such environments?
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