Workout at a virtual gym: Surrounding avatar's motion speed and exercise intensity effect on the user's time...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality Studies
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Time perception is influenced by motion speed and exercise intensity.
• Virtual reality (VR) environments can alter temporal experiences.
• The impact of surrounding avatars on time perception in VR gymnasiums is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how surrounding avatars' motion speeds and exercise intensities affect time perception in a VR gymnasium.
• To determine the relationship between visual cues from avatars and subjective time judgments.

Main Methods:

• Participants engaged in stationary cycling or observation tasks within a VR gymnasium.
• The study manipulated the motion speeds and exercise intensities of surrounding avatars.
• Participants provided duration judgments and reported their feeling of time passage.

Main Results:

• Faster motion speeds of surrounding avatars led to longer perceived durations and a quicker sense of time's passage.
• Higher exercise intensity of surrounding avatars resulted in a faster perception of time's passage.
• Both motion speed and exercise intensity of avatars significantly influenced participants' time perception.

Conclusions:

• Surrounding avatar behavior in VR significantly modulates users' time perception.
• Visual cues related to motion and intensity are critical factors in VR time perception.
• Findings have implications for designing immersive VR experiences that manage user temporal expectations.