Zhang Junjun, Yang Xiaoyan, Jin Zhenlan, Li Ling
MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Iperception. 2021 Jun 18;12(3):20416695211023956. doi: 10.1177/20416695211023956. eCollection 2021 May-Jun.
The experience in virtual reality (VR) is unique, in that observers are in a real-world location while browsing through a virtual scene. Previous studies have investigated the effect of the virtual environment on distance estimation. However, it is unclear how the real-world environment influences distance estimation in VR. Here, we measured the distance estimation using a bisection (Experiment 1) and a blind-walking (Experiments 2 and 3) method. Participants performed distance judgments in VR, which rendered either virtual indoor or outdoor scenes. Experiments were also carried out in either real-world indoor or outdoor locations. In the bisection experiment, judged distance in virtual outdoor was greater than that in virtual indoor. However, the real-world environment had no impact on distance judgment estimated by bisection. In the blind-walking experiment, judged distance in real-world outdoor was greater than that in real-world indoor. On the other hand, the virtual environment had no impact on distance judgment estimated by blind-walking. Generally, our results suggest that both the virtual and real-world environments have an impact on distance judgment in VR. Especially, the real-world environment where a person is physically located during a VR experience influences the person's distance estimation in VR.
虚拟现实（VR）体验独具特色，即观察者身处现实世界的某个位置，同时浏览虚拟场景。以往研究探讨了虚拟环境对距离估计的影响。然而，尚不清楚现实世界环境如何影响VR中的距离估计。在此，我们使用二等分法（实验1）和盲目行走法（实验2和3）测量距离估计。参与者在VR中进行距离判断，VR呈现虚拟室内或室外场景。实验也在现实世界的室内或室外地点进行。在二等分实验中，虚拟室外的判断距离大于虚拟室内的判断距离。然而，现实世界环境对通过二等分法估计的距离判断没有影响。在盲目行走实验中，现实世界室外的判断距离大于现实世界室内的判断距离。另一方面，虚拟环境对通过盲目行走法估计的距离判断没有影响。总体而言，我们的结果表明，虚拟和现实世界环境均对VR中的距离判断有影响。特别是，人们在VR体验期间实际所处的现实世界环境会影响其在VR中的距离估计。
