Multisensory Integrated Expressive Environments: Toward a Paradigm for Multimodal and Distributed Environments for the Performing Arts and New Media

This article introduces Multisensory Integrated Expressive Environments (MIEEs) as a framework for distributed active mixed reality environments for the performing arts, and discusses the structure of MIEEs and their global properties. Extended Multimodal Environments (EMEs) are introduced as basic components and described in detail, mainly with reference to what they contain – real and virtual objects, and real and virtual subjects. EMEs are then connected together into a network of spaces enabling geographically distributed performances. The concept of "active EMEs" is finally employed to introduce MIEEs as a hierarchical structure of metaspaces conceived as virtual subjects collaborating in achieving the overall narrative or aesthetic goal of the performance. Some examples of EMEs and MIEEs are also discussed.