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Virtual reality skinner box: A step-by-step guide with Unity and Spatial.io.

Laurent Avila-Chauvet¹, Diana Mejía-Cruz², Agustin Robles-Morua²

¹Sonora Institute of Technology, Ciudad Obregón, Mexico. laurent.ac.ags@gmail.com.

Behavior Research Methods

|June 8, 2026

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This tutorial simplifies virtual reality (VR) and immersive virtual reality (iVR) environment creation for researchers. It guides users through building virtual operant chambers using Spatial.io and Unity, lowering technical barriers for behavioral research.

Area of Science:

Behavioral Science
Computer Science

Background:

Virtual reality (VR) and immersive virtual reality (iVR) offer powerful tools for creating simulated environments.
Developing these environments for research presents significant technical and cost challenges for researchers without specialized programming skills.

Purpose of the Study:

To provide a tutorial for researchers and students to design and deploy virtual environments for behavioral research.
To introduce the Spatial.io platform and Spatial Creator Toolkit for Unity as accessible tools for VR/iVR development.

Main Methods:

A step-by-step guide is presented for setting up a virtual operant conditioning chamber.
The tutorial covers account setup, Unity project configuration, 3D model integration, Spatial component incorporation, and C# scripting for task logic.

Keywords:

Behavioral research Operant conditioning chamber Spatial.io Unity Virtual reality (VR)

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The virtual environment is designed for compatibility with head-mounted displays (HMDs), mobile devices, and web browsers.

Main Results:

The tutorial successfully demonstrates the creation of a functional virtual operant conditioning chamber.
The process is detailed to minimize technical complexity and programming requirements for users.

Conclusions:

This resource aims to reduce technical barriers, promoting wider adoption of immersive virtual technologies in behavioral research.
By simplifying VR/iVR development, the study facilitates innovative experimental designs in behavioral science.