不连续虚拟现实空间中的再定向

虚拟空间的特点之一是具有不连续性, 即在无连接型建筑单元的情况下各个单体间可直接通达的特性。本研究对人在不连续的虚拟空间中的再定向能力进行了探究, 将人类空间再定向能力的研究从现实空间延伸到了虚拟空间, 并研究了人在不同虚拟现实设备中的行为表现差异。结果表明, 人在不连续的虚拟空间中能完成再定向任务, 而虚拟空间中建筑单元的几何信息对人在不连续虚拟空间中的再定向表现无显著影响, 但被试在桌面式虚拟现实中的成绩显著高于在头盔式虚拟现实中的成绩。这些结果表明了人对不连续的虚拟空间的适应性。

Reorientation in uncontinuous virtual reality space

We propose that one of the significant characteristics of the virtual reality (VR) might be the so-called “uncontinuity.” That is, VR users can go from one region of the virtual space directly to another region simply by switching the virtual scenes, regardless of whether there is a physical connection between these two regions or not. However, it remains unclear how well people are able to adapt to the uncontinuous visual space and stay oriented. Here we report a study designed to investigate whether the participants are able to perform a reorientation task in the uncontinuous virtual space. Considering the effect of immersion and the influence of the geometric information available in the virtual environment, we also examined how the participants’ reorientation performance might be influenced by the type of the VR and/or the shape of the virtual rooms. We used a 2 (Type of VR: Head-Mounted-Display or desktop VR) × 2 (Shape of Room: square or rectangle) between-participants design and conducted two experiments. There were three different experimental stages on each trial, including the exploration, disorientation, and reorientation stages. During the exploration stage, the participants virtually went through 2 to 4 disconnected rooms, while each room was named after a fruit. In each room, there was a box in each corner, and one box (target) was different from the other three boxes. The participants were asked to remember the location of the target before they left for the next room. This procedure was repeated until the participants arrived at the last room in which a fruit cue appeared. The participants were instructed to press a button upon seeing the fruit cue. Then they were suddenly placed in the room which was named after this fruit again, and therefore were disoriented. During the reorientation stage, the participants were asked to regain orientation and then to indicate at which corner the target was located in this room. Their choices of corners and reaction times were recorded and analyzed. The results revealed that the participants were able to perform the reorientation task in the uncontinuous virtual space, but their performance was not significantly correlated with their self-reported sense of direction. Surprisingly, they also showed better performance with the desktop VE than with the Head-Mounted-Display VE, though the shape of the room did not seem to matter. Taken together, the findings of the present study suggest that humans are able to perform the reorientation task in the uncontinuous virtual space, implying that humans can adapt to the uncontinuous virtual space and stay oriented in it. These findings shed light on a bright future of the implications of the Virtual Reality.