An eye-tracking study on visual perception of vegetation permeability in virtual reality forest exposure

Area of Science:

• Environmental Psychology
• Forestry Science
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Forest stand attributes like type, understory cover, and height influence visual perception.
• The relationship between vegetation permeability and visual perception, an interaction of multiple attributes, remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine how vegetation permeability, derived from forest type, understory cover, and height, affects visual perception.
• To investigate the physiological and psychological responses to varying forest visual characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Created 18 virtual forest videos manipulating forest type, understory vegetation cover (10-100%), and height (0.1-3m).
• Utilized virtual reality (VR) eye-tracking technology and questionnaires to collect visual perception data.
• Analyzed correlations between vegetation permeability, physiological responses (pupil size), and psychological perceptions (attractiveness, safety).

Main Results:

• Vegetation permeability significantly impacts visual perception, with higher permeability negatively correlating with pupil size.
• Understory density (interaction of cover and height) significantly affects visual attractiveness and perceived safety.
• Increased understory density negatively correlates with perceived safety, and average pupil diameter negatively correlates with perceived safety.

Conclusions:

• Vegetation permeability is a crucial factor in forest visual perception, affecting both physiological and psychological responses.
• Findings inform forest park management and urban green space design by highlighting the importance of understory characteristics.
• VR eye-tracking offers a valuable method for studying human perception in simulated natural environments.