Persky Susan, Dolwick Alexander P
Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Front Virtual Real. 2020;1. doi: 10.3389/frvir.2020.571812. Epub 2020 Sep 28.
Virtual reality (VR)'s effectiveness as a medium for training, education, research, entertainment and other uses is based on the fact that users can be deeply immersed and feel present within virtual environments. Olfaction has received less attention regarding its ability to add realism to VR environments. It is important to investigate under which circumstances olfactory stimuli are likely to add to user experience and help achieve the goals of VR applications. This study examined the role of scent in a VR-based buffet restaurant environment. French fry scented oil was administered while participants made a plate of food in the VR Buffet. Participants were asked afterwards to report on smells they perceived. Only 18% of participants perceived the olfactory stimulus, 78% of whom correctly identified it. Perceiving the olfactory stimulus was associated with higher levels of presence in the VR Buffet. Correctly identifying the olfactory stimulus was associated with heightened presence and increased likelihood of choosing french fries from the VR Buffet. These results demonstrate the potential for variability in scent perception and related user experience in VR. Additionally, this study highlights a need for future research into factors that underlie and moderate olfactory perception in VR environments.
虚拟现实（VR）作为一种用于培训、教育、研究、娱乐及其他用途的媒介，其有效性基于用户能够深度沉浸并在虚拟环境中产生身临其境之感这一事实。嗅觉在增强VR环境真实感方面受到的关注较少。研究在何种情况下嗅觉刺激可能提升用户体验并助力实现VR应用的目标具有重要意义。本研究考察了气味在基于VR的自助餐厅环境中的作用。在参与者于VR自助餐厅制作一盘食物时，使用了散发薯条气味的油。之后，要求参与者报告他们察觉到的气味。只有18%的参与者察觉到了嗅觉刺激，其中78%正确识别出了该气味。察觉到嗅觉刺激与在VR自助餐厅中更高的临场感相关。正确识别嗅觉刺激与增强的临场感以及从VR自助餐厅中选择薯条的可能性增加相关。这些结果表明了VR中气味感知及相关用户体验存在变异性的可能性。此外，本研究凸显了未来对VR环境中嗅觉感知的潜在因素及调节因素进行研究的必要性。
