Introduction

The space around us influences our emotional state and our performance. Educational space is no exception: classroom design has a significant impact on curriculum development and student motivation. To study the impact of classroom space on students, environmental simulations are often used because they offer the possibility of easily modifying different design variables. A multitude of simulation systems are available. Currently there is a trend towards virtual reality or 360º panoramas formats, shown through head-mounted displays (HMD). For the purposes of studies on space, the concept of validity (the capacity to evoke a response similar to the one that the represented environment would) is fundamental. The invalidity of a simulation system could disallow the application of the conclusions obtained through its use to physical spaces. However, although this set-up (combination of format and display) has been validated in other spaces, it lacks physiological validation in educational spaces. Taking into account that the context (space and its users) can be determinant, it is a necessary question. This paper addresses this issue: its physiological validation for the specific case of educational spaces.

Methodology

A laboratory fieldwork was developed to address the objective. Participants visualized a virtual classroom or its virtual replica, in a counterbalanced way. The sample was made up of 20 Spanish university students, and 20 Mexican university students; both groups sex-balanced and from engineering educations. While the participants performed these tasks, their heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) were recorded. On the one hand, HRV analysis in the frequency domain allows discerning two metrics: low frequency, related to the sympathetic nervous system (indicating an increased activity); and high frequency, related to parasympathetic activity (indicating a decreased activity). On the other hand, the analysis of the EDA allows discerning two metrics: tonic component, the basal level of conductance; and phasic component, a fast-varying activity concerning responses to stimuli (indicating an increased activity). The means and standard deviations of the previous metrics were studied (8 total metrics). This provided a physiological record of the participants during the experience in both the virtual and physical classrooms. Complementarily, the sense of presence was quantified, according to the SUS questionnaire.

Results

Results can be commented at the presence and physiological levels. Regarding the level of presence, the average level generated by the virtual simulation of the classroom was relatively high (considering similar studies). Therefore, the simulation was satisfactory at this level. Regarding the physiological response, differences were found in only 2 of the 8 metrics studied. This suggests that 360º panoramas in HMD classrooms simulations evoke a physiological state comparable to the one that physical classrooms evoke.

Conclusions

This work advances in the physiological validation of 360º panoramas in HMD, for its use in education studies. On the one hand, it has been found that participants feel a high sense of presence in these simulations. It could be proposed that this is due to the fact that the combination of the 360º panorama with HMD generates a realistic, fluid, and highly immersive experience. This supports, in some way, the development of educational applications based on these technologies. On the other hand, the results show that physical and simulated classrooms evoke comparable physiological responses. Therefore, the conclusions obtained through studies that use this set-up are supported for its application in physical spaces. Considering all of the above, since the 360º panorama in HMD set-up is currently very accessible (economically and technically), it can be useful both for researchers focused on human behaviour in educational environments and for education professionals.


Physiological Validation of the 360\xb0 Panorama in HMD for Research and Design of Engineering Classrooms

Division / Sponsors: 
Aerospace, Bioengineering, Applied Mechanics, Design Engineering Division, Advanced Energy Systems, Manufacturing Engineering Division, Noise Control and Acoustics, Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Prognosis (NDPD), Nuclear Engineering Division, Process Industries Division, Fluids Engineering, Heat Transfer, Materials, Microelectromechanical Systems, Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis, Computers & Information in Engineering


Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IMECE/IMECE2020/volume/84478

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