Embodied Representation of Time in Virtual Reality

Abstract

Recent advancements in 3D graphics and AI-assisted generative techniques have accelerated the creation of realistic scenes for immersive technologies, including virtual reality, yet most systems continue to encode time as a linear parameter, relying on timeline-based playback. Mesh-based representations are typically constrained by fixed topologies and rely on predefined animations, which limit their capacity to encode temporal change as a spatial or perceptual phenomenon. In reality, human experience of time is embodied and dynamic, perceived through interaction and memory. Existing digital systems fail to capture this dimension, reducing time to a passive parameter. This thesis proposes a framework for representing time as an embodied and spatial dimension within virtual reality by embedding it directly into the geometry and interaction logic of point cloud data. The system consists of three parts: (1) processing 2D images into layered volumetric point clouds to enable structural fluidity and temporally responsive spatial form; (2) enabling perceptual and spatial modulation in response to user distance and contact, with color influencing the character of change and opacity shaping its perceptual reveal at both global and local scales; and (3) enabling real-time visualization of modulated point cloud through a custom pipeline optimized for mobile virtual reality. By embedding temporal dynamics directly into geometry and interaction logic, this thesis contributes a novel representational approach to spatiotemporal modeling in immersive systems. By doing so, we create new opportunities for architectural visualization, interactive simulations, game design, and reimagining how we perceive and construct digital spaces.