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Road crossing decisions in real and virtual environments: A comparative study on simulator validity.
Ilja T Feldstein1, Georg N Dyszak2
1Harvard Medical School, Dept. of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Accident; Analysis and Prevention
|February 15, 2020
Summary
Virtual reality (VR) street crossing behavior differs from real-world actions. Participants in VR relied on spatial distance, unlike real-world decisions based on time-to-contact, highlighting the need for VR environment validation.
Area of Science:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Perception and Behavior Science
- Virtual Reality Applications
Background:
- Virtual reality (VR) offers a safe environment for studying human perception and behavior.
- It is crucial to validate VR environments, as behavior within them can differ from real-world actions.
- Previous research indicates potential discrepancies in how individuals perceive and react in virtual versus physical settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare street-crossing decisions made by participants in a real environment versus a highly immersive virtual reality setup.
- To investigate the factors influencing these decisions, specifically the reliance on temporal versus spatial cues.
- To determine if participant gender or the order of environmental exposure affects crossing behavior.
Main Methods:
- Thirty participants performed a street-crossing task, deciding when it was unsafe to cross an approaching vehicle.
- The task was conducted in both a physical, real-world environment and a virtual reality environment using a head-mounted display (HMD).
- The step-back method was employed to assess crossing decisions, with vehicle time-to-contact and distance recorded.
Main Results:
- Significant differences were observed in participants' street-crossing behaviors between the real and virtual environments.
- Time-to-contact for crossing decisions was significantly lower in the virtual reality setting.
- Participants in the real environment based decisions on time-to-contact, while VR participants appeared to use spatial distance, potentially ignoring vehicle velocity.
Conclusions:
- Virtual reality street-crossing simulations yield different behavioral outcomes compared to real-world scenarios.
- The reliance on spatial cues in VR, as opposed to temporal cues in reality, necessitates careful validation of VR environments for research.
- Participant gender and the order of environmental exposure did not significantly influence street-crossing decisions in this study.
