User environment perception in HMD-based immersive virtual reality context

Advances in Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have enhanced the possibility of including this tool in design review procedures intuitively for users. This exploratory research investigates the users’ perception of spatial dimensions and apparent surface temperature in HMD-based Immersive Virtual Environments (HIVE). It aims to raise new questions in the study of VR technologies during design evaluation procedures. The case study consisted of modelling the Pinacoteca building north atrium in São Paulo, Brazil, in VR to assess how users perceive the room according to its dimensions and sense of surface temperature (floor, walls, footbridges, elevators and roof). This exploratory study was conducted with 40 first-time visitors at the Pinacoteca building. The results revealed that users’ immediate position and viewpoint may induce different perceptions of spatial dimensions and sense of surface temperature. The first conclusion is that instant distance to viewpoint influenced users’ perception of width of the immersive virtual environment. The second conclusion was that virtual insolation influenced users’ sense of surface temperature despite the materiality. To sum up, the contribution of this paper is the associative study of spatial perception and sense of surface temperature with instant position and viewpoint of users immersed in HIVE.