Understanding the Effects of Virtual Reality System Usage on Spatial Perception: The Potential Impacts of Immersive Virtual Reality on Spatial Design Decisions

The main component of any Virtual Reality (VR) system is the human user. The ways in which a VR system shapes human experience can affect design outcomes. This research explores the differences in spatial perception between an immersive Virtual Reality Interactive Environment (IVRIE) and traditional Virtual Reality (also known as a desktop-based Virtual Reality system, abbreviated herein as the DT system). Spatial perception and the cognition of the spatial factors of virtual spaces were studied based on different features of the two systems, including the sense of immersion, forms of interaction, experience of human scale, and movement through virtual spaces. This study focused on determining how users' spatial decision making and performance were affected by differences in spatial perception created by the IVRIE and DT systems. Factors examined included the differences between and within the two virtual systems, based on differences in texture, system usage sequence, and the complexity of the experiential/spatial guidelines. Descriptive and inferential statistical testing using quantitative and qualitative data were used to find differences in spatial perception and decision making. The results showed significant space size variations produced by participants between and within the two different VR systems.