Virtual reality transition to underground: human responses across sequential spatial transitions.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality Technology

Background:

• Increasing utilization of underground spaces necessitates understanding human psychological and physiological responses.
• Physical construction for underground environment research is expensive and lacks flexibility.
• Virtual reality (VR) presents a viable, cost-effective alternative for simulating these environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the Virtual Reality Transition to Underground (VRTU) framework.
• To assess the effectiveness of VRTU in simulating the transition to underground environments.
• To evaluate human responses within a VR-simulated underground setting.

Main Methods:

• Development of the VRTU framework with multimodal sensory cues for immersive transitions.
• Experimentation within VRTU, simulating descent from aboveground to underground.
• Assessment of participant responses using psychological scales (PANAS, IPQ), cognitive tasks, subjective questionnaires, and heart rate monitoring.

Main Results:

• Participants exhibited increased negative affect and physiological changes mirroring real-world underground experiences.
• The VRTU framework successfully simulated the transition and immersion into underground environments.
• Significant differences in psychological and physiological responses were observed post-exposure.

Conclusions:

• The VRTU framework is an effective tool for simulating underground environments and evaluating human responses.
• VR simulations offer a practical approach for assessing human factors before physical underground space development.
• Findings highlight the psychological and physiological impact of simulated underground environments.