Immersive virtual environments for emotional engineering: description and preliminary results.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Sensory Engineering

Background:

• Understanding user emotional responses is crucial for interior design and furniture selection.
• Virtual Reality (VR) offers an immersive platform for controlled emotional induction studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify arousal and presence levels during an emotional engineering study using VR.
• To determine the influence of sight, hearing, and smell on emotional responses in virtual environments.
• To provide insights for the furniture and interior decoration industry.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a high-immersion Virtual Reality (VR) system (CAVE-like configuration).
• Thirty-six volunteers navigated customizable virtual houses designed for emotional induction.
• Controlled stimulation of sight (lighting), hearing (music), and smell.
• Recording physiological variables: Electrocardiogram (ECG), Respiratory signal, and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR).

Main Results:

• Physiological data (ECG, respiration, GSR) were collected during sensory-stimulated virtual experiences.
• Quantifiable measures of arousal and presence were obtained in response to environmental stimuli.
• The study established a methodology for assessing emotional impact in virtual interior spaces.

Conclusions:

• Sensory inputs significantly influence emotional states and presence within virtual environments.
• Results provide a foundation for user-centered design in furniture and interior decoration.
• This research bridges emotional engineering, VR technology, and consumer product development.