Lebenstreue Medien. Von immersierten Körpern zu digitalen Menschmodellen

Abstract

Taken the concept of immersion literally, one detects a technique of plunging or submerging of bodies into a liquidity, thus into a different environment. The immersing of bodies into an alien environment changes from the mid-20th century on heavily with phenomena like aviation, spaceflight as well as with submarines. Thus, the techniques how to model these ‹immersed bodies› change as well – especially with the advent of the digital computer and computer graphics. The article traces the specific break that the immersed bodies left behind in the engineering sciences and in the human factors engineering. Hence, it takes up the example of current digital man models to show that these immersed bodies opened up a grey zone when dealing with the relation of digital media and the body. A relation between feeling and calculating a body, that has been so far quite neglected in the realm of ubiquitous computing.