2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Clarification of distance compression and personal space perception in virtual environment using physiological signals
| Project/Area Number |
23K11152
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| Research Institution | Shibaura Institute of Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
島崎 みどり (菅谷みどり) 芝浦工業大学, 工学部, 教授 (50434288)
繁桝 博昭 高知工科大学, 情報学群, 教授 (90447855)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2023-04-01 – 2026-03-31
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| Keywords | Virtual reality / Personal space / Avatars / Interpersonal distance |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In 2023, we conducted a preliminary experiment utilizing a commercial VR social platform to investigate how various scenarios and environments influence the boundaries of personal space (PS) in virtual reality.
Our results indicated that participants experienced varying degrees of discomfort when an avatar approached them, depending on the type of avatar involved. For example, avatars that were more human-like or those that exhibited certain behaviors could induce greater discomfort compared to more abstract or static avatars.
Moreover, personal space boundaries were found to be highly individualistic, varying from one participant to another. This suggests that personal traits and possibly previous experiences with VR might play a role in how personal space is perceived and maintained in virtual environments.
A particularly interesting finding was that female participants exhibited a tendency to reduce their personal space boundaries when interacting with female avatars. This could imply a level of gender-based comfort or affinity, suggesting that social and cultural factors might influence personal space dynamics in VR.
Furthermore, we explored the personal space in an atypical environment, specifically a space without a floor, which simulates a more abstract and less grounded virtual scenario. Even in this unusual setting, personal space boundaries were consistently maintained, indicating that the concept of personal space is robust and persists regardless of the virtual environment's spatial context.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The research project is progressing rather smoothly, thanks to the collaborative efforts of our team, which includes professors and students. We successfully conducted the planned experiments and achieved our milestones on schedule. Our preliminary findings were presented at an international conference, where they were well-received by the academic community. This positive feedback has reinforced our confidence in the research direction and methodology. Moving forward, we are focusing on refining our experimental procedures and expanding our data collection to further validate our results.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
We plan to conduct additional experiments using the Unity platform to manipulate avatars and measure physiological signals, which will be interpreted as indicators of pleasant or unpleasant feelings. These measurements will be complemented by subjective questionnaires to gain a comprehensive understanding of participants' experiences. Several experiments are already underway.
In 2024, we aim to present our research findings at an international conference. By the end of the year, we anticipate publishing our results in a peer-reviewed journal, thereby contributing to the academic discourse on personal space in virtual reality environments.
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| Causes of Carryover |
We expected to buy new HMD but after several meetings with the co-PI, we decided to hold the purchase in 2023 because the existing HMD (Meta Quest 2) was enough for the preliminary experiment. In 2024, we plan to buy new HMD that has eye tracking feature, like HTC Vive Pro2 and the motion tracking sensors.
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