Virtual Reality as a Human Factors Design Analysis Tool for Architectural Spaces - Control Rooms to Space Stations I: Objective Measures

Abstract

One class of Virtual Reality (VR) applications is as a Human Factors design analysis tool for work areas and other architectural spaces. A study was conducted to compare subjects' qualitative and quantitative judgments of two “real” world control rooms at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and their corresponding virtual counterparts. The overall Independent Variables (IVs) were World (Real/Virtual) and Room (PCR/SIM) with Gender and World Order (Virtual-Real/Real-Virtual) as blocking variables. Nested within Room were range and relative range estimations. Range estimations were comprised of two IVs: 1) Item (Object/Surface) and 2) the Item's Range from the observer (Near/Far). The relative range estimations were comprised of two IVs: 1) Field-of-View (FOV) (Same/Different, i.e., whether or not the subject can see both objects simultaneously in the same FOV) and 2) the objects' Distance from the observer (Close/Away). There appears little difference between real and virtual worlds in one's ability to differentiate and estimate gross distances and to discriminate small relative range differentials within the same FOV. For different FOVs, this discrimination ability starts to deteriorate in the real world and is lost in the virtual world. There is also a clear World main effect of increased time to make judgments in the virtual world. The different perceptions, and the longer response times, point to a level of filtering occurring in the virtual environment that must be carefully considered when deciding where and how to use VR as a Human Factors analytical tool.